Is it too early for college football bowl projections? Probably, but we got them.
ESPN already did a set of bowl predictions that sent the Oklahoma Sooners to Tennessee for two lackluster bowl games, but CBS Sports also just joined the early mix. CBS Sports projected the Sooners to play the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl in what would be a rematch of a Week 2 meeting in Norman.
Oklahoma predicted to play Michigan in Citrus Bowl
The Sooners will host Michigan for a primetime matchup at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sept. 6 at Memorial Stadium. It's a game that has been hyped all offseason and will likely even get the treatment of having ESPN's College GameDay in Norman. However, with how bowl season goes nowadays in college football, there's no way a Round 2 between these teams would get the same pomp and circumstance.
A second meeting in a bowl game would be considered a rematch in ESPN's advertisements, but it definitely wouldn't be a clash between the same teams.
Just on Wednesday, the Sooners had 10 players on the Senior Bowl Top 300 as top NFL Draft prospects. I'm not saying all 10 would, but whether you agree with it or not, if any of those players really are serious NFL Draft prospects by that point, then at least some will likely sit out of the bowl game.
That could include quarterback John Mateer, running back Jaydn Ott and wide receiver Deion Burks on offense, as well as defensive end R Mason Thomas, defensive tackle Damonic Williams and safety Robert Spears-Jennings on defense, among others. That could leave the Sooners without some key playmakers on both sides of the ball.
The likelihood is close to zero, but if the Sooners and the Wolverines do meet again in bowl season, unless it's in the College Football Playoff, the winner of the first meeting deserves the bragging rights, not the matchup between two junior varsity squads in Orlando, Florida.
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