Where do Oklahoma Sooners Land in CFB Pre-Season Top 25?

Where will the Oklahoma Sooners be ranked in the opening AP Top 25 Poll? While it’s a tough ranking to project, some analysts have taken it upon themselves to round out the entire pre-season rankings.

Overall, there is plenty that will impact pre-season college football rankings. It’s not quite a traditional season. Of course, it’s the normal college football we know an love, but Name, Image and Likeness along with the transfer portal had already shaken the sport up. Now add conference realignment taking place.

Oklahoma and Texas are finally members of the SEC, but that’s not where the movement stops. USC, Oregon, Washington and UCLA are off to the Big Ten with four members headed to the Big 12 — virtually ending the Pac-12.

READ MORE: Oklahoma Sooners’ Freshman Defensive Lineman Labeled ‘Sleeper’ Pick in CFB

The biggest changes are to the top two conferences — the SEC and Big Ten — getting even better. This makes a ranking tough for the incoming programs, as they’ve yet to prove their place in their new conferences.

Still, Oklahoma is a blue blood, so they’re sure to be ranked heading into the season.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy was the most recent analyst to take a shot at ranking the top programs ahead of the 2024 college football season.

ESPN analyst places Oklahoma in top 25 pre-season college football rankings

McElroy, a prominent figure of ESPN, recently released his top 25 college football programs before the season. The Sooners were slotted at No. 17 on the list. Ranking anywhere from No.15 to No. 20 in most rankings, it seems the Sooners will be out of the College Football Rankings level to start the season.

In McElroy’s rankings, Oklahoma is the eighth-ranked SEC program. In order, the programs ahead of Oklahoma are Georgia (No. 2), Texas (No. 4), Alabama (No. 5), Ole Miss (No. 7), Missouri (No. 9), Tennessee (No. 10) and LSU (No. 15).

Brent Venables runs on the field before an NCAA football game between University of Oklahoma (OU) and Iowa State at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.

The SEC was already a premiere conference, and adding Texas and Oklahoma only brought even more depth to the conference.

Had the Sooners remained in the Big 12, they’d be projected to make the College Football Playoffs. The Sooners have every SEC ranked ahead of them, excluding Georgia, on their schedule next season. Splitting those games will likely leave them in the College Football Playoffs should they take care of business in the rest of their games.

READ MORE: Paul Finebaum Claims Oklahoma Sooners Are ‘On The Way Back’

Want to join the discussion? Like SoonerPulse on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Bookmark SoonerPulse.com to stay informed about all things Sooners.

Follow Kade Kimble on Twitter.