There are innumerable self-help books and "10 easy steps" guides across the internet that promise to teach the basics of buying and selling stocks.

What does the stock market have to do with Oklahoma football in 2025?

Well, given the proper context, quite a lot, actually.

The Oklahoma football program would be considered among the bluest blue-chip stocks if college football teams were part of the stock exchange. However, in the last couple of years, the Sooners have seen more volatility than they have at any other point in its 129-year history, save for the John Blake era in the mid-90s.

Two 6-7 seasons over the first three years isn't what anyone had in mind when Brent Venables took the job, but the dip in market value has created a buy-low opportunity that fans both in Norman and across the national landscape should seize.

(I would add a transition sentence here. Something like: "Let's take a look at why this is the perfect opportunity to invest in Oklahoma).

(Then here, you could add, "Before we do that, let's take a quick jog back...) Let's take a quick jog back through those business and economics courses and grab a few terms that apply to Oklahoma's current situation:

1. Shares and Shareholders: Who's the primary shareholder? Who's running the show, and who else gets a vote?

2. Bid and Ask: What the highest and lowest amount that buyers are willing to pay?

3. Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E): Is [company name] over- or under-valued based on its current share price?

4. Beta: What does [company name] historical volatility look like? How risky is it?

5. Index: How have other blue-chip stocks performed in this situation?

These aren't perfect definitions by any means, but they do relate directly back to the main point: right now might be the best time to buy stock in Oklahoma football.

In football terms, the shareholders would have to be the front-office staff, coaching staff, and key players, so let's start there.

Joe Castiglione has been around for a long time, and rarely, if ever, have teams dipped and stayed down under his leadership. This is particularly true of the football program. Things have been rough lately, and we've seen a fair number of detractors arise because of that. I'm not here to take any merit away from those doubts, but history would suggest that the product will rebound under Castiglione.

Wholesale changes are being made to the front office of this operation, and as a whole, it should be better organized in 2025 and beyond.

Now, let's talk coaches.

Brent Venables has yet to prove that he can be an elite head coach, but there's no questioning his pedigree of success on the sidelines. His career as a defensive coordinator is the standard for that profession nowadays, and while it hasn't correlated to success as the head man in charge, there's a feeling that it's just a matter of time.

Venables employs a young and energetic coaching staff that is also mixed in with some of the top position coaches in the country. Ben Arbuckle is a splash hire, and how he performs will define Brent Venables' time in Norman. There's reason to believe he might be the next young prodigy to come through this program as a play caller, but its still very early. Bill Bedenbaugh, Todd Bates, Brandon Hall, and Emmett Jones could be a position coach anywhere they wanted if they weren't at Oklahoma.

As for the players with the "most stock" in 2025, it starts and ends with quarterback John Mateer. The top transfer quarterback in the country followed his offensive coordinator from Washington State and appears to have the "it" factor that OU has lacked at the position in recent years.

If he's just slightly better than Oklahoma was at quarterback a season ago, the Sooners are likely a win or two better. If he's vastly better, then we might be talking about a boom.

Evidence suggests that Mateer will have success with his established play caller after a venue change, but will it correlate to more wins with a brutal SEC schedule? Only time will tell.

Oklahoma is tied as the winningest football team in college football in the 21st century, so its hypothetical stock price since 2000 has been in the company of teams like Alabama and Ohio State. However, in recent years, we've seen the Sooners fall from the company of the elite teams, and teams like Georgia, Oregon, and yes, even Texas, take their place.

There's not many ways to look around and find what the bid price or asking price on Oklahoma football would be right now. However, looking at where they project in the future compared to other teams might provide us with an idea of how the general college football public feels about them.

A deep dive into some Way-Too-Early Top 25 Polls for next season reveals that the share price for Oklahoma is about as low as it has ever been.

The Sooners weren't mentioned in seven of the 10 most popular polls, ranked No. 25 in two of them, and their highest rank was No. 18.

So, anyone looking to buy Oklahoma stock right now could get them pretty easily as an unranked team going into next season, and if you had to buy on the high side, they wouldn't be ranked any higher than the 18th-best team. When was the last time that happened?

There haven't been many times where you could have a serious conversation with someone about Oklahoma football and make a case for them to fall on either side of a 6.5-game win total. However, in 2025, that's likely right where you'll find them in the sportsbooks.

In hypothetical terms, Oklahoma's share price is near an all-time low, and you wouldn't have to look far to find a bargain on a good sum of it.

But, what does that mean about its value? What are you getting when you buy stock in Oklahoma this season? Does it have a six- or seven-win roster?

In terms of sheer roster talent, no. While it's hard for some to believe, Oklahoma's overall talent level is still among the 10 best schools in college football. Many inside the Switzer Center feel that the 2025 team is the best collection of talent that OU has had under Venables.

Aside from Mateer, whom we've already discussed, Oklahoma has collected a bevy of blue-chip playmakers that they expect to contribute in 2025. Jayden Gibson, Deion Burks, Jovantae Barnes, Taylor Tatum, and newcomers like Elijah Thomas are exciting pieces to work with. Add to that undervalued players like Xavier Robinson and Javonnie Gibson, and the skill talent looks set.

The offensive line was a major struggle in 2024, but it might've been a blessing in disguise for this season. Because several young players were thrust into action early, the Sooners return a lot of experience this season, and also have some incredibly exciting you pieces like Michael Fasusi and Eddie Pierre-Louis.

Defensively, Oklahoma must overcome the loss of key players in Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman. However, the upside with what is returning is tremendous. Sack leader R Mason Thomas is back, and the Sooners also added Marvin Jones Jr. to the edge. The interior of the defensive line will be stout with Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams, Gracen Halton, and David Stone all back.

The linebacker room is chock-full of talent, even after Stutsman's departure. With guys like Kip Lewis, Kobie McKenzie, Sammy Omosigho, and newcomer Kendal Daniels, there's no reason to believe OU can't be excellent there.

In the secondary, Oklahoma will have Eli Bowen, Gentry Williams, Kendal Dolby, Peyton Bowen and Robert Spears-Jennings all bringing potential and experience back. Then, add in the trio of Reggie Powers, Michael Boganowski, and Jayden Hardy, and there's an incredibly high ceiling.

Overall, the roster appears ready to be the most well-rounded that Oklahoma has had in Venables' tenure. If that's the case, this team is being undervalued—even with its murderer's row of a schedule.

Historically, Oklahoma has been among the most consistent winners in college football. In 129 years of football, the Sooners have had just 14 losing seasons.

However, two of those have come in the last three seasons, and upcoming projections are looking pretty tough. So, how risky is Oklahoma right now?

In retrospect, Oklahoma's 2024 season was the embodiment of Murphy's Law. If something could go wrong, it did go wrong for this team.

(I'd add something, either here or at the end, about the injuries. OU is surely due for some positive injury regression).

So, over the past 25 years, 6-7 is the absolute floor. If we see a repeat of that in 2025, it's probably safe to say that there are some major changes coming to the program.

What's the ceiling, though? If Oklahoma had a competent offense in 2024, the defense probably carries them to a couple more wins. What if the offense skyrockets with Mateer and a healthy group of skill players? Nine wins? 10 wins?

The offense will be better than it was, and the defense might be a better overall unit, so the overall risk in things not improving in 2025 feels pretty low, especially in terms of year-over-year performance.

Oklahoma is a blue-chip stock when it comes to college football. They belong with the other major programs vying for national titles, and it wasn't that long ago that they were doing just that.

However, the program is in a rut, something that all programs have gone through at one point or another.

Every one of college football's blue bloods has gone through a regression of some sort since the turn of the century.

Notre Dame went 4-8 in 2016. Ohio State went 6-7 in 2011. Alabama went 6-7 in 2006. Georgia went 6-7 in 2010. Michigan went 2-4 in 2020 and was 5-7 in 2014. Texas was 5-7 in 2021.

It happens to every program, and right now, it's Oklahoma's turn to go through the fire. The good news is that all of those programs rebounded in major ways, returning to the top of the college football world in the years that followed.

Is this the year that Oklahoma ascends back to its place among the best teams in college football? It certainly isn't what anyone is expecting, but that's been the Sooners' calling card for as long as anyone can remember. Perhaps more than any other team in the country, Oklahoma has always seemed to perform better when expectations are low. Before their last national championship, a quarter century ago this season, the Sooners began the year ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll.

As of now, it appears they might just enter the 2025 season unranked. Is this the hard reset button that the program has been waiting for? Is it time to jump on the wagon and ride this team back to the moon?

There's no such thing as a guarantee in college football, but one thing is pretty certain—the public perception of Oklahoma football hasn't been this low in a long time, and as history suggests, it won't stay that way for long.

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