OU football checked in at No. 8 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday night on ESPN.
Too high for the Sooners? Too low? Just right? Does any of it matter with two weeks — plus conference championships — left to play?
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A few thoughts on where the Sooners stand:
More: Where OU football ranks in latest College Football Playoff rankings, see full list
Why is Oregon ahead of OU in CFP rankings?
Because the selection committee has proven time and again that it cares more about the loss column than the (quality of the) wins column.
Oregon’s one loss, to No. 2 Indiana, is a “better” loss than either of OU’s losses to No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 17 Texas, but let’s compare the wins.
Top-25 wins (based on when game was played)
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OU (4): vs. No. 15 Michigan, vs. No. 22 Auburn, at No. 14 Tennessee, at No. 4 Alabama
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Oregon (2): at No. 3 Penn State, at No. 20 Iowa
Top-25 wins (against currently ranked teams)
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OU (3): vs. No. 18 Michigan, at No. 20 Tennessee, at No. 10 Alabama
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The Ducks have zero wins and one loss to teams currently ranked in the committee’s top 25. The Sooners have three wins and two losses. A 3-2 record against the top 25 is a better record than 0-1, but all the committee sees is 9-1 against 8-2.
“Oregon, while their strength of schedule metric may not be as strong as an Oklahoma, we felt like they’re a very strong team on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively,” CFP chair Hunter Yurachek said on a media call. “They rank in the top-10 in most of the statistical categories that we use in comparison to other teams.”
I’d contend that it’s easier to have better stats against a softer schedule. Oregon beat up on two OSUs (Oklahoma State and Oregon State) that are a combined 3-18 while avoiding The OSU in conference play.
Earlier Tuesday, I asked Sooners coach Brent Venables about the committee weighing strength of schedule in the case of a one-loss team (like Oregon) vs. a two-loss team with better wins (like OU).
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Venables, predictably, didn’t play ball. He’s not one for playoff politics.
“I really can’t answer that because everybody’s gonna have their opinion,” he said. “For me, it’s a waste of time. It’ll be whatever it is without my opinion. My focus is on what’s in front of us right now. That’s a space that’s messy when you start putting things out there. I don’t even know what their metrics are. I don’t even know what our strength of schedule is. I know it’s been hard. It’s been tough, but there’s plenty of teams that’ve had a challenging schedule.
“… I’m sure there’s a fanbase or two that’s up in arms after each week’s rankings. It’s an emotional space that I just kind of stay out of.”
Based on these rankings, Oregon will almost certainly stay ahead of OU if both teams win out. Oregon has a tougher close to the season: vs. No. 15 USC and at Washington. OU hosts No. 22 Missouri and LSU.
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OU vs. Notre Dame to open CFP is sweet
As things stand, No. 8 OU would host No. 9 Notre Dame in the first round with Ohio State awaiting the winner in the quarterfinals.
How sweet would that be?!?!
The other first-round matchups: No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Oregon and No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Ole Miss.
That’s assuming Miami wins the ACC, which isn’t likely to happen. The Hurricanes’ best hope is to steal an at-large bid.
Miami is right to be peeved at the committee. The Hurricanes are 8-2. Same as the Fighting Irish. And Miami beat Notre Dame! Yet Notre Dame is ranked ninth and Miami 13th. When both teams have the same record and same number of top-25 wins (one), the fact that one beat the other should count for something.
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OU reaches highest CFP rank in Venables era
OU’s prior highest rank under Venables in the CFP poll was No. 9 on Oct. 31, 2023 — the first batch of rankings that season. OU started 7-0 but lost at Kansas three days before those rankings were revealed.
On selection day, the 2023 Sooners (10-2) finished at No. 12 — the only time in Venables’ first three years that the Sooners ended the season ranked in the CFP.
Not since Nov. 9, 2021 have the Sooners been ranked as high as No. 8.
More: As OU football makes push in CFP race, Sooners aim to stay aggressive offensively
Nov 15, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables is interviewed on the field after Oklahoma defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 23-21 at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Oklahoma defeated Alabama 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images
OU’s history in CFP
Tuesday was the 69th release of the College Football Playoff committee rankings, which date back to the 2014 season.
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OU has now appeared in the poll 55 times. Alabama and Ohio State have appeared in all 69 rankings. Clemson (60), Notre Dame (58) and Georgia (55) round out the only five programs with more CFP poll appearances than OU.
Of those teams, OU and Notre Dame are the only two that have yet to reach No. 1 in any poll.
SEC on top
The Big Ten has the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, but the SEC is the deepest conference with nine teams in the CFP rankings.
Here’s the breakdown:
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SEC (9): Five of the top-10 teams hail from the SEC.
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Big Ten (6): Ohio State and Indiana are on a collision course to meet in the conference championship game.
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Big 12 (5): And four of them — BYU, Utah, Houston and Arizona State — are newcomers to the league in the last three seasons. With No. 5 Texas Tech being the legacy representative.
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ACC (3): Georgia Tech is the only team that controls its destiny.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why Oregon should not be ahead of OU football in latest CFP rankings
