What does The Oklahoman think OU's record will be this year?

The Oklahoma Sooners will face arguably the toughest schedule in all of college football during the 2025 season. With each of the same SEC conference opponents as last year, plus a nonconference home game against Michigan, it's a daunting task for OU and head coach Brent Venables.

Writing for The Oklahoman, Ryan Aber and Colton Sulley predicted OU's record for the 2025 season. After a disappointing 6-7 record in 2024, the Sooners have to be better this year. Otherwise, Venables will be looking for work.

Both Aber and Sulley believe the Sooners will be better in 2025. Aber has Oklahoma improving, but not by much.

I’m going with 7-5 for the Sooners this season. They could go just below or a game or two above that if things fall right. In a critical season for Brent Venables and OU, they’ll show vast improvement on the offensive side, but it will be up to the Sooners’ defense how the season goes as a whole. OU’s defensive line needs to be at the center of that defense this season. If it is, the Sooners could be at the fringes of the CFP discussion, but it’s more likely OU finishes slightly above .500. - Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman.

The question immediately becomes, would seven wins in the regular season be enough to save Venables' job? With Oklahoma's difficult schedule, that means a few really solid wins over excellent competition. However, it also means Venables would have three out of four seasons at Oklahoma that are below the standard set by Bud, Barry, and Bob.

Sulley, on the other hand, believes the Sooners will be two games better than their 2024 record.

For now, I’m predicting the Sooners to finish 8-4 with losses to Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and LSU, which would be a vast improvement from last year and be deemed a successful season in my mind. If we do this again before the season, my predictions will inevitably look different. I could really see OU losing to Michigan and finishing 7-5 or stealing a late SEC game and finishing 9-3, winding up in the CFP conversation. - Colton Sulley, The Oklahoman.

Eight regular-season wins, especially against this schedule, should be enough to buy Venables another season in Norman. While it's still not up to the standard at Oklahoma, it's a big improvement over 2024 and a very respectable mark against a daunting conference slate.

With an offense that should be much improved and a defense that looks like it has the pieces to be stout again, there's a chance that this fall in Oklahoma is quite a bit more fun than it was last year.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: What will Oklahoma's record be in 2025 according to The Oklahoman?