Oklahoma’s push into the College Football Playoff comes in the middle of a chaotic recruiting window. The Sooners just took a hit in their 2026 class when four-star wide receiver Brayden Allen decommitted days before the early signing period.
Allen, a dynamic 6-foot-1 playmaker from Lafayette Christian Academy with 55 catches for 1,155 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior, had been one of the headliners of OU’s future haul. His decision underscores how fiercely contested this recruiting cycle has become, especially with LSU and other powers circling.
On the field, though, Brent Venables is focused on what his team has already earned. Asked whether Oklahoma carries a chip on its shoulder after securing a CFP bid, Venables delivered a grounded but pointed answer, as shared by George Stoia III on X.
“Every game we've played this year has been the biggest game of my career,” he said, noting how little outside belief there was in the Sooners’ ability to reach this stage. “Not a lot of people have believed we would do what we've done,” he continued, before summing up the team’s mindset with one line: “We're just thankful to have an opportunity.”
That mix of defiance and gratitude fits a program that finished 10-2 overall and 6-2 in its first SEC slate, scraping for respect in a loaded league. Venables has leaned hard into urgency all year, treating each matchup as a referendum on Oklahoma’s place among the sport’s elite. The payoff is a CFP shot that few thought was realistic back in September.
At the same time, he has not taken his eye off the long game. The Sooners recently flipped linebacker Kristan Moore from North Alabama, adding a versatile three-star from Selma who piled up over 200 tackles, double-digit sacks, and a string of impact plays across his 2024 and 2025 seasons while also contributing on offense. For Venables, Moore is the prototype of the kind of tough, multi-positional defender he wants anchoring future defenses.
So even as Oklahoma celebrates a hard-earned CFP berth, the message from Venables stays consistent: the outside noise never mattered, the opportunity is everything, and the roster for tomorrow is being built in the same spirit that got them here.
