OU lands at No. 8 in latest College Football Playoff rankings
Oklahoma saw a significant bump in the College Football Playoff Rankings following its huge win over Alabama.
The Sooners landed at No. 8 in the latest rankings on Tuesday, rising three spots from last week. The rankings come after the Sooners beat then-No. 4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa over the weekend, giving them five wins over ranked opponents.
With the Sooners landing in the top 10, they are firmly in control of their destiny. If they win their final two games against Missouri and LSU — both at home —they’ll be in the playoff field and have a great chance to host a first-round game in Norman.
If the playoffs began today, the Sooners would host No. 9 Notre Dame in Norman.
However, if they lose either of their last two games, their odds to make the playoff drop to 16%, per ESPN. Even with the Sooners (8-2, 4-2 SEC) boasting several impressive wins against a difficult schedule, a third loss would slim their playoff chances significantly.
When asked about the playoff rankings and how the CFP Committee is evaluating the resumes of each team, OU coach Brent Venables made it clear the Sooners are focused on winning out.
“I really can’t answer that because everybody’s gonna have their opinion,” Venables said. “For me, it’s a waste of time. It’ll be whatever it is without my opinion. My focus is on what’s in front of us right now. That’s a space that’s messy when you start putting things out there. I don’t even know what their metrics are. I don’t even know what our strength of schedule is. I know it’s been hard. It’s been tough, but there’s plenty of teams that’ve had a challenging schedule.
“So if they look (our resume) and they’re impressed and they want to quantify it as they compare things, great. I don’t think there’s a rhyme or reason. I’m sure there’s a fanbase or two that’s up in arms after each week’s rankings. It’s an emotional space that I just kind of stay out of.”
The Sooners return to action this weekend against Missouri (11 a.m. CT Saturday, ABC).