Oklahoma Remains in Strong Position in This Week's College Football Playoff Rankings

As expected, Oklahoma didn’t make much of a move in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.

But the Sooners still have plenty of opportunity to make a lasting impression on the CFP selection committee.

An idle weekend last week and victories by just about everyone in front of them means OU moved up one spot to No. 11 in this week's rankings.

But no movement in week two of the CFP rankings is nothing to worry about. Not when there are still four rankings ahead of you and you’re preparing to go on the road to take on the No. 4 team in this week’s rankings.

OU (7-2 overall, 3-2 SEC) visits Alabama (7-1, 5-0) on Saturday afternoon with a reasonably clear shot at returning to the playoff bracket for the first time since 2019. The Crimson Tide are a 5 1/2-point favorite to win their nation-leading 18th consecutive home game.

They'll have to get revenge to do that, however. Alabama lost its inaugural SEC game in Norman last year when the underdog Sooners rose up and scored a 24-3 victory, setting off a nearly unprecedented storming of Owen Field by Sooner Nation hungry for a win at the end of a difficult 2024 season. That shocker also clinched a bowl berth for Oklahoma.

According to this week's rankings, OU is the "first team out" of the CFP picture after BYU's loss at Texas Tech dropped the Cougars to No. 12. Texas is the "last team in."

If the Sooners beat ‘Bama again and hold serve at home against Missouri and LSU, they’ll lock up a CFP spot with a 10-2 regular season record.

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Even if OU loses to the Crimson Tide but wins their final two home games, their strength-of-schedule and a 9-3 record would make the Sooners a strong playoff contender, despite not much of a climb from last week.

Of the 12 teams ranked above OU in last week’s initial rankings, 10 of them won last weekend. Only No. 7 BYU lost (29-7 at No. 8 Texas Tech). Like Oklahoma, No. 11 Texas and No. 13 Utah also had an open date last week, and No. 14 Virginia and No. 15 Louisville both lost.

Three teams that could give Oklahoma a boost in the CFP selection committee have been on the fringe of the rankings.

Tennessee, which OU beat 33-27 two weeks ago, was No. 25 in last week’s rankings and moved up two spots to No. 23 this week.

Missouri, who visits Norman next week, was at No. 22 in last week’s rankings but then lost 38-17 at home to No. 3 Texas A&M and fell out of this week's rankings.

OU’s only quality non-conference win was 24-13 at home over Michigan, and the Wolverines, No. 21 last week, remained in the rankings this week and climbed three spots to No. 18 despite an open date last weekend.

It also works in Oklahoma’s favor that their only two losses so far are to teams ranked No. 7 (Ole Miss) and No. 10 (Texas). The Longhorns still have tough games coming up against No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M.

The College Football Playoff expanded last year from four teams to 12.

Small changes this year mean the CFP field will consist of the five highest-rated conference champions and seven at-large bids.

The top four teams in the final CFP rankings receive a bye in the first round, while the teams ranked from 5-8 will host first-round playoff contests at their home stadiums.