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The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off one of the biggest turnarounds in college football. The Sooners went 10-3 after going 6-7 in 2024, and despite having one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Oklahoma also returns the core of that playoff team, including quarterback John Mateer, its top two running backs, four starting offensive linemen, its leading receiver and several key defensive contributors.
Oklahoma has the No. 13-best odds to win it all, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Not everyone agrees with those odds, however. On3's Kaiden Smith is one of those. In fact, he said that he thinks Oklahoma is a sleeper to win the national championship in 2026.
"When I look at the BetMGM odds of who can win a national championship, I try to pick teams that are kind of outside that top 10," Smith said on the 'Hard Count.' "And a team that is conveniently sitting outside the top 10, whose odds are a little ridiculous given what they did last year at +3000 odds, is the Oklahoma Sooners... Why are we counting out the Sooners still?"
One of the biggest things that could derail Oklahoma's season is the schedule. The Sooners again have one of the toughest schedules in college football. On top of that, Oklahoma was a master at winning close games last year. If those close games start to flip the other way, the Sooners could be a team that falls short of the playoff.
Oklahoma proved last season it can win close games and compete against elite competition. The challenge now is sustaining that success over another grueling SEC schedule. If the Sooners continue to play elite defense while taking another step offensively, they have the talent to outperform their odds and make a legitimate run at the program's first national championship since 2000.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma picked as a dark horse national championship team
Continue reading...
Oklahoma also returns the core of that playoff team, including quarterback John Mateer, its top two running backs, four starting offensive linemen, its leading receiver and several key defensive contributors.
Oklahoma has the No. 13-best odds to win it all, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Not everyone agrees with those odds, however. On3's Kaiden Smith is one of those. In fact, he said that he thinks Oklahoma is a sleeper to win the national championship in 2026.
"When I look at the BetMGM odds of who can win a national championship, I try to pick teams that are kind of outside that top 10," Smith said on the 'Hard Count.' "And a team that is conveniently sitting outside the top 10, whose odds are a little ridiculous given what they did last year at +3000 odds, is the Oklahoma Sooners... Why are we counting out the Sooners still?"
One of the biggest things that could derail Oklahoma's season is the schedule. The Sooners again have one of the toughest schedules in college football. On top of that, Oklahoma was a master at winning close games last year. If those close games start to flip the other way, the Sooners could be a team that falls short of the playoff.
Oklahoma proved last season it can win close games and compete against elite competition. The challenge now is sustaining that success over another grueling SEC schedule. If the Sooners continue to play elite defense while taking another step offensively, they have the talent to outperform their odds and make a legitimate run at the program's first national championship since 2000.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma picked as a dark horse national championship team
Continue reading...
