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Oklahoma

OU has a clear path to the College Football Playoff, ranked No. 5

headshotby: George Stoia10/08/23GeorgeStoia
OU Brent Venables and Dillon Gabriel
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) celebrates with OU coach Brent Venables after the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Oklahoma won 34-30.

The path for OU is clear: Win out and the Sooners will be in the College Football Playoff.

After beating formerly No. 3 Texas 34-30 on Saturday in Dallas, OU jumped seven spots in the AP Poll to No. 5. The Longhorns dropped to No. 9. The win at the Cotton Bowl squarely puts the Sooners in the College Football Playoff race, sitting at 6-0 and now with one of the best wins of the college football season. And with six games remaining, OU controls its own destiny to the Big 12 title game and the playoff.

“We’re 6-0, half of the season is done,” coach Brent Venables said Saturday. “We have to improve. We have to get healthy. Being a bye week, comes at a really good time for us. We have a lot of football left to be played. There is a maturity about this team after having gone what they’ve gone through. We’ve educated all the newcomers to where we’re at as well.”

Oklahoma will likely be favored in all six of its remaining games, with Kansas currently being the only ranked team left on the schedule. But as Sooner Nation knows, the path to the playoff is never easy, and road trips to Lawrence, Stillwater and Provo could be difficult for OU.

Here’s a look at the OU’s remaining schedule:

  • Oct. 14: BYE
  • Oct. 21: vs UCF
  • Oct. 28: @ No. 23 Kansas
  • Nov. 4: @ Oklahoma State
  • Nov. 11: vs West Virginia
  • Nov. 18: @ BYU
  • Nov. 24: vs TCU

OU has been here before, last reaching the playoff in 2019 with a 12-1 record as Big 12 champions. The key this season for the Sooners is taking care of business against teams they should beat. And possibly having to beat Texas again in a rematch with the Longhorns for the Big 12 Championship.

For now, OU is taking it game at a time, playing with confidence and focus. And it’s clear the Sooners have come a long way from their losing season a year ago.

“We’re better in every area,” Venables said. “And we’re not where we want to be. But this is the next step. And this team is a very determined football team. And there’s a lot, again, a lot of belief for having 63 new players on the squad, this is a team that’s close. There’s love, trust and respect, it’s genuine. And again, I think we have a very selfless football team. And as keepers of the room at this great university, there have been a lot of former great teams and players and coaches, again, what this program has represented. I think, a year 12 months into it, this is the team that they embrace that, they recognize that and they understand the responsibility that comes with that.

“And has a blue collar mindset, and that’s showing up every day with the same attitude. And to be an example of consistency. That’s what the great programs are. And we’re striving to be that, again, as we build it one day at a time.”

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