It actually could have been worse, but thanks to Notre Dame and Auburn suffering similar fates, the Oklahoma football drop off in the national rankings kept them in the top 10.
The Sooners’ surprising upset loss to Kansas State on Saturday put them in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, mostly because it delt a serious blow to their chances to become one of the four teams that make this season’s College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma fell five spots, to No. 10, in the Associated Press Poll, which is comprised of a voting panel of 65 media representatives. The Sooners’ first loss of the season, after seven consecutive wins, cost them four spots in the Coaches Poll for Week 10, landing then at No. 9.
LSU’s third win this season over a ranked team, a thrilling 23-20 win over No. 9 Auburn, moved the Tigers ahead of Alabama, into the No. 1 position, in the AP Poll. LSU also advanced one spot in the Coaches Poll, to No. 2, hot on the heels of top-ranked Alabama, with whom the Tigers have showdown coming on Nov. 16 in Tuscaloosa (the same day that Oklahoma plays at Big 12 leader Baylor).
Rounding out the top five in the AP Top 25 this week are No. 3 Ohio State, Clemson and Penn State, all undefeated at 8-0. The same five teams make up the top five in the Coaches Poll, although in a slightly different order.
As far as the Big 12 is concerned, Baylor, which became the sole leader in the Big 12 standings following the Oklahoma loss, moved up a couple of spots to No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll this week. Texas and Iowa State, both losers over the weekend, dropped out of the AP rankings, but Kansas State was rewarded for its big win over OU, breaking into the national rankings, at No. 22 in the AP and 25 in the Coaches Poll.
Notre Dame, not surprisingly after an equally surprising 31-point loss to Michigan, took the biggest hit in this week’s rankings, tumbling nine positions, to No. 16 in both polls.
The loss to Kansas State, the first by the Sooners at K-State since 1996, now makes the Nov. 16 showdown at Baylor the biggest game on OU’s remaining schedule. The Sooners have a bye this coming weekend before returning to action Nov. 9, playing host to Iowa State.