OU football offensive lineman Jake Maikkula and defensive end R Mason Thomas will participate in practices this week, Brent Venables said Monday.

As they prepare for Alabama in Round 1 of the College Football Playoff, the Oklahoma Sooners got some encouraging injury news.

Hosting the Crimson Tide in Norman will be a reversal of the Sooners' last battle with Alabama earlier this season. Oklahoma toppled the then-No. 4 team in the country 23-21 in Tuscaloosa, which very well may have been the determining factor in giving it a home game this time around in the playoff.

NORMAN — John Mateer has had time to reflect on the regular season in these last two weeks. As his No. 8 Sooners prepare to take on the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night, he knows the standard at the University of Oklahoma — particularly with its quarterbacks — demands nothing less than excellence.

Oklahoma has done a lot of winning on the field this season, but Brent Venables is also having some success off it. On the first day of the early signing period, the Oklahoma Sooners have a top-15 ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports.

NORMAN — Mark your calendars, Oklahoma’s 2026 schedule is here. The conference schedule includes different opponents from OU’s first two seasons in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The Sooners will still play South Carolina, as well as its three permanent opponents — Texas, Mississippi and Missouri.

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding's staff in Oxford continues taking shape after adding another critical component on Sunday evening in L'Damian Washington. The

Oklahoma finished the season as the third-best defense according to SP+, and it ranks sixth in yards per play (4.1), seventh in points allowed (14.9), and second in sack percentage (10.05). The Sooners put up those numbers against the 12th-hardest schedule in college football. They’re prepared for this gauntlet.

Alabama and Oklahoma have only played a couple of games since last playing each other, with the Sooners having bested the Tide by 2 points in a low-scoring slugfest on November 15th. Now, they’re matched up yet again in the first round of the College Football Playoffs, with the winner getting the privilege of taking on #1 Indiana.