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Where will OU end up in the College Football Playoff?

headshotby: George Stoia10 hours agoGeorgeStoia

OU is waiting to find out its opponent in the College Football Playoff. And if it will host a first-round game.

The Sooners ranked No. 8 in the penultimate CFP rankings. But after a calm start to conference championship weekend, where and who they play in the playoffs might be clear.

With Texas Tech beating BYU in the Big 12 title game and Georgia beating Alabama in SEC title game, it certainly looks like OU will be hosting a first-round playoff game. It seems unlikely that the Sooners would fall in the rankings considering no team right behind them in the rankings won.

As for who they will play that’s up for debate. Notre Dame, which is currently ranked 10th, is the odds on favorite, likely jumping Alabama. But the committee will also have to decide if Miami is worthy of getting into the bracket. The Hurricanes could jump the Fighting Irish given that they beat Notre Dame earlier this season. The committee could also opt to not punish the Crimson Tide for losing on Saturday, which could mean a rematch for the Sooners.

Either way, it looks like a playoff game will be played in Norman.

“I don’t even know what that means, you know? I’d just love an invitation,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “I don’t care if it’s on the road. And I say I don’t care, of course I would love to be here, but I spend no time looking at that and I’m going to fight for this or that. I don’t know. They’re not listening to me. There’s plenty of things to look at for them to make the decisions they make. I’m sure it’s not easy. Wherever they ask us to play, we’ll show up.”

OU is in this position thanks to a November to remember. The Sooners won four consecutive games after losing to Ole Miss at home. They beat Tennessee and Alabama on the road, before completing the four-game winning streak with home wins over Missouri and LSU.

Now, OU has a chance to compete for a national title.

“If anything, we’re comfortable when it ain’t going great, when it’s tight,” Venables said. “I think that this is a team that has poise in those moments, being battle-tested. I think there’s confidence in the things that we’ve had to go through and overcome. Again, the teams that we’re playing have the ability to punch back so it’s not like we’re going against a bunch of chumps. We’re going against elite players, elite coaches and this is a team that’s, again, as we described them, they know how to find a way in those moments and just keep playing, keep throwing punches back.

“Certainly it’s prepared us. Every one of these miscues that you have to overcome and we are able to overcome, I think it just strengthens you. Those scars are things that you lean on.”

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