Schedule Review: A Look at Oklahoma's Opponents After Week 14

Temple

The Owls’ season mercifully ended with a 24-17 loss to North Texas. Temple finished 2024 at 3-9 and lost four of its last five games.

Houston

Although not even bowl eligible, Houston's season finale against BYU somehow managed to control which teams got to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday. A Houston win meant Colorado would play Arizona State, while a BYU win would send Iowa State to face the Sun Devils. Ultimately, it will be ASU vs. ISU after Houston lost to BYU 30-18 in a game that was within six points at one point in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars finished the first season under Willie Fritz at 4-8.

Tulane

Tulane was not thankful for this Thanksgiving. Memphis upset the No. 17 Green Wave 34-24 on Thanksgiving night. Despite the loss, Tulane still gets into the American Athletic Conference Championship Game against Army at 7 p.m. Friday. However, as a Group of 5 team with three losses at 9-3, that loss to Memphis did dash the Green Wave’s hopes of a College Football Playoff appearance and ended an eight-game winning streak.

Tennessee

After starting the game down 14-0, the Volunteers exchanged blows with Vanderbilt before scoring 31 unanswered points to avoid an upset and beat their instate rival, 36-23. Although an impressive 10-2 and 6-2 in SEC play, Tennessee will still stay home during conference championship week. Josh Heupel should have still done enough to lead his team to the College Football Playoff, though.

Auburn

It looked like it could be another Iron Bowl classic, but then Auburn stalled in the second half, scoring only once, and fell to instate rival Alabama 28-14. An upset would have also made the Tigers bowl eligible, but instead, Auburn’s season is over at 5-7. Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State are the only SEC teams that didn’t reach bowl eligibility.

Texas

The Longhorns had the most hyped game of the week, going to College Station to renew their rivalry with Texas A&M after a 13-year hiatus. The winner would punch its ticket to the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, with Texas prevailing 17-7.

At 11-1, No. 3 Texas has already secured its second straight College Football Playoff appearance, but winning the SEC in its first season in the conference would be quite the statement.

South Carolina

Shane Beamer might have himself a playoff team. At 9-3, South Carolina beat instate rival No. 12 Clemson 17-14 to eliminate the Tigers’ playoff dreams while increasing the Gamecocks’ chances. It’s still a long shot, but USC has won seven in a row and might be the hottest team in the country heading into the postseason.

Ole Miss

The Rebels have state bragging rights after beating Mississippi State 26-14 in the Egg Bowl on Black Friday. Ole Miss is still on the outside looking in with getting into the College Football Playoff at 9-3. There’s a chance a three-loss SEC team gets in, and that includes Ole Miss, South Carolina and Alabama.

Maine

Maine’s season ended last week at 5-7.

Missouri

On a snowy field, Missouri got past rival Arkansas 28-21 to finish the regular season at 9-3. It was the first time this year Mizzou won two SEC games in a row. Now, the Tigers will await their bowl destination, which will surely not be a playoff spot.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide were on upset alert again before getting away from Auburn and winning 28-14. At 9-3 and ranked 13th, Alabama could sneak into the College Football Playoff with three losses but will have to hold its breath for another week.

LSU

The Tigers ended the regular season with back-to-back wins after losing three straight before that. LSU handled OU 37-17 and will wait for its bowl destination at 8-4.