Oklahoma, No. 14 in AP poll, slots in at No. 11 in first CFP rankings
After two shocking early-season losses, Lincoln Riley and the Sooners have rebounded to win five straight games, their last four victories each coming by at least 19 points.
As is the norm in the month of November, it's all beginning to come together for Oklahoma, and the College Football Playoff committee has evidently taken notice.
With the release of the first CFP poll on Tuesday evening, Oklahoma jumped to No. 11, up three spots from their most recent ranking in the AP poll. The only two-loss team ranked higher than the Sooners is No. 9 Georgia. OU also comes in ahead of several unbeaten programs, including No. 14 BYU and No. 15 Oregon, who both dropped six spots from their AP ranking.
The CFP's first top four of the 2020 season consists of No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Ohio State. Just off the podium are No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Florida, followed by No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 8 Northwestern.
Oklahoma is the Big 12's highest-ranked team. Also representing the conference in the initial poll are No. 13 Iowa State, No. 17 Texas and No. 23 Oklahoma State. The Sooners are fresh off a 41-13 throttling of Mike Gundy's Cowboys, and almost certainly earned some style points with their dominant victory in primetime. Spencer Rattler and Ronnie Perkins both earned Big 12 player of the week honors for their performances, as Rattler notched a career-high five total touchdowns and Perkins tallied 1.5 sacks for the second consecutive game.
Perkins and star tailback Rhamondre Stevenson missed the Sooners' first five games of the season due to suspension. According to selection committee chair Gary Barta, that key factor came into consideration.
"The committee does pay attention to who is available in games," said Barta. "Another thing the committee noted is that Spencer Rattler is playing at a level now that I think a lot of people thought he might play at earlier in the season."
Barta also referenced Oklahoma's two ranked victories (Texas and Oklahoma State), and that the Sooners' two losses came by a total of 10 points early in the season. The only team higher than OU that boasts more than one ranked win is Alabama.
Oklahoma now heads to Morgantown for a 6:30 p.m. tilt with West Virginia this Saturday, and their last opportunity to impress the committee before the Big 12 championship will come Dec. 5 against Baylor.
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