Hosting the Crimson Tide in Norman will be a reversal of the Sooners' last battle with Alabama earlier this season. Oklahoma toppled the then-No. 4 team in the country 23-21 in Tuscaloosa, which very well may have been the determining factor in giving it a home game this time around in the playoff.

OU football offensive lineman Jake Maikkula and defensive end R Mason Thomas will participate in practices this week, Brent Venables said Monday.

As they prepare for Alabama in Round 1 of the College Football Playoff, the Oklahoma Sooners got some encouraging injury news.

Brent Venables has got to be feeling good about where the Oklahoma Sooners are in his fourth season with the program. There have certainly been ups and downs for him in Norman, but he currently has the Sooners ranked No.

Golding and Co. add another impressive staffer for the 2026 season, continue assembling group for next season.

Oklahoma finished the season as the third-best defense according to SP+, and it ranks sixth in yards per play (4.1), seventh in points allowed (14.9), and second in sack percentage (10.05). The Sooners put up those numbers against the 12th-hardest schedule in college football. They’re prepared for this gauntlet.

Oklahoma has done a lot of winning on the field this season, but Brent Venables is also having some success off it. On the first day of the early signing period, the Oklahoma Sooners have a top-15 ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports.

A brutal November awaited with consecutive matchups against preseason No. 24 Tennessee, No. 8 Alabama, Missouri and No. 9 LSU. And while the magnitude of the games shifted a bit as the season went on, it still was as tough of a closing stretch as there was in college football.

Head coach Brent Venables entered the year on the hot seat, but has seemed to quiet that noise with the strong year. The team has been led by one of the best defenses in the country. The Sooners rank No.