Oklahoma still among elite college football programs heading into 2026

With SEC Media Days being held this week in Tampa, Florida, and having woken up from a long winter, spring and early summer nap in the absence of any substantive college football news, we can say, with absolute certainty and high anticipation, that the new season is literally just a few short weeks away.

In many media and fan circles, when SEC Media Days rolls around on the calendar in mid-to-late July, it signals the unofficial start to the new college football season. Fall training camp will commence after the first of August, and we are just over 40 days away from the 2026 Oklahoma home opener against the University of Texas-El Paso, otherwise known as UTEP, on Friday, Sept. 4.

For the last seven months, we have been inundated with way-too-early and post-spring projections of how the top-25 teams shake out entering the 2026 season. Oklahoma, not surprisingly after a 10-3 season and a College Football Playoff appearance last season, is included in most all of the preseason top-25 projections, generally ranging from No. 8 to No. 12.

USA Today Sports this week came out with a little different twist to the traditional preseason top-25 approach. The college football experts at that publication produced a top-25 ranking of the best college football programs heading into the new 2026 season.

USA Today considers Sooners top-10 overall program

The Oklahoma football program ranks No. 8 in the USA Today ranking for the coming season behind three other SEC programs and four teams that are on the Sooners' 2026 schedule.

Following is an excerpt of what the college football writers at USA Today had to say about the OU football program historically:

"The crimson and cream have blue blood. Oklahoma trails only Alabama in all-time winning percentage. Double-digit win seasons remain the standard... Oklahoma rules the 1950s under Bud Wilkinson, then ran back their dominance with Barry Switzer's wishbone in the 1970s. Seven Heisman winners point to the program's star power."

Read more: Oklahoma in passenger seat to join college football super league

Ohio State sits atop the USA Today top-25 ranking of college football programs ahead of the start of the 2026 season. The Buckeyes are followed by Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Notre Dame. LSU, Michigan, OU, Miami and USC round out the top 10, respectively.

The top-25 football programs in the USA Today ranking included10 from the SEC, nine from the Big Ten, four from the ACC and one from the Big 12.

Today's best reads

• Oklahoma in passenger seat to join college football super league
• Analysts who think Brent Venables' job at Oklahoma is safe should probably think again
• Oklahoma 2026 football schedule sets up best for the Sooners' worst-case scenario
• The college football world has forgotten Oklahoma and that's a good thing
• Brent Venables has Oklahoma's defense as the poster for recruiting, retention and development

This article was originally published on stormininnorman.com as Oklahoma still among elite college football programs heading into 2026.