Sooners hold steady at No. 11 for third straight week

Oklahoma Sooners remain No. 11 in College Football Playoff rankings; Iowa State, their opponent in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 19, is up to No. 7

There are two ideal outcomes for Oklahoma at this stage in the season: either the Sooners gain ground in the polls, or Iowa State gains ground in the polls.

Consider the mission half accomplished.

Though Oklahoma didn't move at all in Tuesday night's College Football Playoff rankings, Matt Campbell's Cyclones jumped up two more spots to No. 7 after throttling West Virginia 42-6. The top six remained unchanged from last week's rankings.

For the third straight week, the state of Oklahoma has three representatives in the top 25, as No. 22 Oklahoma State and No. 24 Tulsa join the Sooners. Texas is also back in the poll this week, coming in at No. 20 after a 69-31 road win over Kansas State.

The biggest mover in the rankings this week is No. 19 Louisiana, up six spots from No. 25. The Ragin' Cajuns beat Iowa State 31-14 in Ames to open their season, and their only loss is a 30-27 squeaker at the hands of unbeaten Coastal Carolina. On their part, the Chanticleers jumped five spots, trading places with BYU after handing the Cougars their first loss of the season. Coastal vaulted from No. 18 to No. 13, while BYU plummeted from No. 13 to No. 18.

For Oklahoma, the grudge match with ISU on Dec. 19 will define their season. The Sooners' October loss to the Cyclones effectively knocked them out of College Football Playoff contention, and appeared to crush their hopes of a sixth straight Big 12 title. But as the rest of the conference cannibalized itself, the Sooners reeled off six straight victories, and they haven't slipped back into the loss column since that defeat in Ames. After a road tilt with West Virginia this Saturday, Lincoln Riley's team will set their eyes on revenge.

It's not entirely out of the question that the Big 12 champion makes waves in the CFP race, but at this point, that seems highly unlikely. At the very least, though, a New Year's Six berth will be at stake when the Sooners and Cyclones do battle at AT&T Stadium.

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