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Where OU football ranks in first College Football Playoff rankings

headshotby: George Stoia11/05/25GeorgeStoia
Syndication: The Oklahoman
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables walks on the field before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Ole Miss Rebels at Gaylord Family Ð Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.

OU is No. 12 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2025 season.

The Sooners are fresh off their best win of the season, beating No. 25 Tennessee 33-27 on the road. With three games remaining against No. 4 Alabama, No. 22 Missouri and LSU, it appears OU controls its own destiny to make the 12-team playoff. And it’s largely due to the win on Saturday in Knoxville.

“A win on the road in the SEC, went probably right to script,” coach Brent Venables said after the game. “Nothing that really surprised you. I love the refusing to flinch mindset. I felt like we knocked them back for a good part of the night. From a physicality standpoint, thought that was a big part of the game. The piles consistently went in our direction. All those little piles that go forward add up to a lot.”

OU has one of the more impressive resumes in the country this season. With wins over No. 21 Michigan, Auburn, South Carolina and No. 25 Tennessee, and two quality losses against ranked opponents in No. 11 Texas and No. 6 Ole Miss, it’s hard to argue Oklahoma’s ranking.

And the Sooners still have a lot in front of them. If they can take care of business these final three weeks, they will get in. And even if OU doesn’t win out, the door won’t be completely shut. But it will need some help.

“You get one shot, you get one kill, that’s it,” Venables said. “You don’t get to go back and do this again so making the most of our opportunity, figuring it out, finding a way. My hope and my expectation and my belief is that we’ll be able to build on that and all the things I just said become part of our identity of this football team — leaving your mark and doing something that maybe for some people’s unthinkable.”

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