Where are the Sooners ranked in Phil Steele’s preseason Top 40?

The Oklahoma Sooners are just over two months away from kicking off the 2024 season against Temple in Norman. For now, though, it’s preseason magazine season, and one of the biggest names in the game has released his preseason Top 25.

Phil Steele ranked the Sooners a little lower than some other analysts. He has Oklahoma ranked 20th in the country at the start of the season and seventh in the SEC.

Steele also had OU ranked 20th at the start of last season after having them ranked 8th, ahead of Brent Venables‘difficult first season in charge.

This is in part due to the challenging schedule OU faces this year. Moving to the SEC from 12 big it means a big jump in competition and although Oklahoma is in a better position now than it was a year ago, getting ten wins again will be more difficult.

The defense looks stacked. Danny Stutsman It is Billy Bowman returns to lead a group that is solid in all aspects, especially in defense. The defensive line was probably the weakest of the three levels, so Oklahoma made a big move and added Damonic Williams in the spring portal window. Williams helps bolster a talented but young unit up front.

Offensively, jackson arnold takes on the role of quarterback, with many weapons such as running back and wide receiver. The offensive line and tight end leave a little to be desired, but if the transfer portal additions at those positions click, Oklahoma could improve on offense.

With Brent Venables now entering Year 3, the way for the Sooners to surpass Steele’s projections would be to take another step forward and return to the College Football Playoffsshocking the nation a bit in the process.

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This story originally appeared on Sooners Wire