BCS Rankings Week 1 Have Sooners Ranked 14th
Oct 19, 2013; Clemson, SC, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Rashad Greene (80) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
The first BCS rankings have hit and the Oklahoma Sooners open the BCS season ranked 15th in the nation. This will be the final year of the BCS rankings before the College Football Playoffs start next year and people like Condoleezza Rice can choose who plays for the national title. So, in the last year that actual strength of schedule matters when deciding who plays for the title, what do the Sooners have to do to climb those rankings?
Pray for a miracle.
Oklahoma has a BCS score of .4204. They are ranked 14th in the Harris Poll and 12th in the Coaches Poll. The computers, which usually love the Sooners, have them ranked between eighth and 20th. Meanwhile, a two-loss LSU Tigers are ranked two spots ahead of the Sooners, which makes sense because LSU lost to ranked teams while OU lost to Texas.
What the Sooners have to do is pray that the Texas Longhorns keep winning – and look good doing it. They have to hope that Texas Tech and Baylor tear through the Big 12, except when the Sooners play them over the next two weeks, where OU has to win. They also need to hope that Texas loses at least one more game – preferably to either Texas Tech or Baylor – so OU can win the Big 12.
Basically, too much needs to happen for OU to even win the Big 12, much less move into a positive position in the BCS. One loss to an unranked team in the Big 12 has severely damaged the Sooners season.
To be honest, Big 12 fans should just hope that OU loses to Texas Tech and Baylor, and that both of those teams go undefeated with the exception of their game against each other. The chance for one of those teams to somehow slide into that national title spot is more likely than any other option the Big 12 has.
Plus, Florida State and Alabama will have to lose, and that isn’t likely. Honestly, unless there is some kind of major upset over the next two months, the national title game will see Alabama and Florida State in the big game. The Seminoles are ranked first in four computer polls, second in two others and fifth in the final one. Oregon, their closest competitor, is ranked second in one and fourth in all the rest. As good as people think Oregon is, they just don’t play enough quality teams.
Maybe Oregon can wait until next year when Pat Haden can vote for them to represent the Pac-12 in the College Football Playoffs. Hell, with the new system of a voting group to choose the four teams, OU could even have a chance after losing to Texas.