The Oklahoma Sooners are preparing for the 2026 college football season, as fall camp starts to wind down. The Sooners went 10-3 last season and made the College Football Playoff. They enter this season ranked No. 10 in the AP poll.
There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Oklahoma. The Sooners bring back one of the best defenses in college football. They also return quarterback John Mateer, leading running backs Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson, leading receiver Isaiah Sategna and four of its five starting offensive linemen from last season. The team also revamped their tight end room after being one of the worst units on the team the last few years.
Due to all that Oklahoma returns, and the momentum they built last season, ESPN's Matt
Barrie revealed on "SportsCenter" that he thinks Oklahoma has what it takes to win a national championship.
"Feel free to get me on this one over on SEC Nation all fall on campuses, but I'm a big Oklahoma believer," Barrie said. "I think they're that team that can surprise and maybe go on a run to a national championship game."
"I don't know how people realistically think Oklahoma's going to finish in the top 10."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 17, 2026
–@finebaum on the biggest surprise of the college football rankings 👀 pic.twitter.com/Y26z8hmjq3
Barrie's prediction comes at a time when the Sooners are entering the season with considerably more continuity than they had a year ago. Oklahoma knows what it takes to navigate the SEC, and the team now has another year of experience in Brent Venables' system.
The biggest reason for optimism might be the defense. The Sooners return several of the players who helped make the unit one of the best in the country last season, giving Venables a strong foundation to build another.
Offensively, the return of Mateer could be just as important. After dealing with a thumb injury for much of last season, the quarterbacks enter 2026 healthy and with a full year of experience as Oklahoma's starter.
There are still plenty of questions that will have to be answered once the season begins, particularly against another challenging SEC schedule. But Oklahoma enters 2026 with experience, talent and momentum on its side. If the offense takes the step forward many expect, Barrie's national championship prediction could quickly look less like a bold take and more like a realistic possibility.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: ESPN's Matt Barrie reveals he's a big 'believer' in Oklahoma
