They could be in for a big turnaround.
Paul Finebaum Names Struggling College Football Powerhouse In Line for a 'Big-Time Year' originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Fall practices for the 2025 college football season will begin this week, as we are about a month away from Week 1 starting.
This season brings renewed hope from some of the top programs in the sport, eager to move past a disappointing 2024 season and achieve a strong resurgence in 2025. One such program is the Oklahoma Sooners, who experienced their second 6-7 season in the first three years under head coach Brent Venables.
Before Venables took over in 2022, the Oklahoma Sooners hadn't experienced a losing season since 1998. This makes their current situation quite unfamiliar. However, after suffering their first losing season under Venables in 2022, the team rebounded with a 10-3 record in 2023. The Sooners are hopeful for similar success this time around.
On "The Paul Finebaum Show," the SEC Network analyst expressed optimism for Oklahoma this year.
"They have to be better," Finebaum said. "They have to be significantly better. And that schedule is incredibly difficult. I think they're good enough to have a big-time year. Mateer is elite. He's got a lot of compliments around him, and I don't think anything could have gone more wrong last year with all of the injuries to the line and to the wide receivers."
Finebaum believes that for Oklahoma to have a successful season, it must enter its game against the Texas Longhorns with an undefeated record. This would require them to have victories over the Illinois State Redbirds, Michigan Wolverines, Temple Owls, Auburn Tigers, and Kent State Golden Flashes.
He believes that if the Sooners do not perform well, it could lead to a challenging season. He feels that the next six games—against the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road, the Ole Miss Rebels at home, the Tennessee Volunteers on the road, the Alabama Crimson Tide on the road, the Missouri Tigers and the LSU Tigers at home—will be crucial in determining the outcome of the season.
However, as Finebaum mentioned, there is a reason to be optimistic, as the Sooners acquired Washington State quarterback John Mateer from the transfer portal, who had an impressive first season as a starter. Last year, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, while also rushing for 826 yards and adding 15 touchdowns.
He joins his former offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, who took over for Seth Littrell after Littrell was fired midway through last season. Both will need to work on improving an offense that was among the worst in the nation, ranking 113th in total offense, 119th in passing offense, 76th in rushing offense and 97th in scoring offense.
Oklahoma begins its season against Illinois State at 6:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 30.
Related: Paul Finebaum Names Prominent College Football Coach Running Out of Time
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
