Oklahoma Sooners score massive win for College Football Playoff hopes without even playing a game
Oklahoma’s hopes for the College Football Playoff skyrocketed after a puzzling weekend of college football gave the Sooners some pleasant surprises
It was a bye week for the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. The team enjoyed some much-needed rest after a grueling back-to-back series against Ole Miss and Tennessee, where they fought a physical game for four quarters of each and pulled out a monumental victory over the Volunteers last week.
Thanks to their win over Tennessee, the Sooners’ hopes for the College Football Playoff remain alive, but they might need some help to get there, depending on how the rest of the year turns out. Since the bid for a conference championship looks nearly impossible, the Sooners must score an at-large bid. To do that, however, they have to prove they have a better resume than the rest of the field.
If the Sooners can finish the season strong and at least end 2-1, their hopes for a bid in the College Football Playoff skyrocketed over the weekend thanks to some unexpected losses of other teams that would have been in contention with Oklahoma for that bid.
Oklahoma’s CFP destiny is in their hands
Heading into the weekend, it appeared that the field for the at-large bids the Sooners were competing for was a crowded group. BYU, Texas Tech, Oregon, Utah, Notre Dame, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Louisville are all ranked around Oklahoma in the latest CFP rankings. However, the field cleared up for Oklahoma with the various losses teams had around them.
BYU lost to Texas Tech, almost ending its chances at winning the Big 12. The only way the Cougars have a chance at getting in is to win out and beat Texas Tech in a rematch in the Big 12 Championship game, something I am skeptical they can do. They do not have the strength of record, schedule, or even the eye test to warrant a spot as an at-large. If they lose again, they will be eliminated.
The ACC took itself out of the picture, practically assuring only one team will get in. Virginia and Louisville went down, losing to Wake Forest and Cal, respectively, all but eliminating them from the CFP conversation.
The quality of the ACC is so downtrodden, and if it wasn’t for an auto-bid for a conference champion, it wouldn’t have any team in the conversation right now. Georgia Tech could do a lot if it beats Georgia in a few weeks, but it’s the only one-loss team in the ACC.
Other peripheral teams on the outside looking in also lost this week, narrowing the competition even more for Oklahoma. No. 20 Iowa lost to Oregon in a close 18-16 game at home, putting them at 6-3. No. 22 Missouri lost to Texas A&M, giving them three losses. Washington also fell, losing to the lowly Wisconsin Badgers, marking the second Big Ten team to be defeated.
As it stands right now, the CFP picture looks something like this:
1-4: Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama/Georgia
5-12: Georgia/Alabama, Ole Miss, Big 12 winner, ACC winner, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas Tech (if they lose in Big 12 Championship game)
Oklahoma completely controls its destiny. If it pulls off a win over Alabama or keeps it a close loss and then wins out against Missouri and LSU, it’ll likely be in thanks to the ACC and Big Ten taking themselves out this weekend.
If Texas loses to either Georgia or Texas A&M to close the season, that would be its third loss, and I don’t believe they have a stronger strength of schedule than the Sooners, even if it has the head-to-head win. If Texas loses to both, it is out completely. BYU dropping a game to a 6-3 TCU squad or on the road against the 7-2 Cincinnati Bearcats would be a massive favor as well.
Regardless of how the rest of the season unfolds, the door is wide open for the Sooners to make their first appearance in the College Football Playoff under Brent Venables and their first since 2019. The ball is completely in their court, thanks to the events of Week 11. Win, and you’re in.
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