It doesn’t seem like it can get any better than the Red River Rivalry at a split Cotton Bowl Stadium. But maybe it could be at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman with a national championship on the line.
With one week of the 2025 college football season down, CBS Sports’ Bud Elliott released his latest projections for the College Football Playoff. Elliott predicted the Oklahoma Sooners to make the CFP as the 8-seed and host hated rival Texas in the first round.
Bill Elliott predicts Sooners to host Texas in College Football Playoff
.@BudElliott3’s updated College Football Playoff projection 📈
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 1, 2025
What would you change? pic.twitter.com/lb4ZZvt6uQ
Elliott has had faith in the Sooners to make the CFP since before the season kicked off. His initial projection had OU at No. 11 and traveling to No. 6 Clemson. That same bracket had Texas at No. 3 and earning a first-round bye.
Week 1’s results obviously altered expectations for Elliott. The Sooners handled Illinois State 35-3, while Texas lost to Ohio State 14-7 in a top-3 matchup. However, Elliott said during the preseason that he mostly expects the Sooners to make the CFP because of an early win over Michigan. The Sooners host the Wolverines at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday for a top-20 matchup on ABC.
If the Sooners win on Saturday, basically only Auburn stands in their way of going into the Red River Rivalry at 5-0. Considering Elliott has OU as the higher seed, that likely means he predicts an OU victory in Dallas.
As great as an OU win would be after last season’s blowout loss, it still doesn’t seem like it could get any better for Sooner Nation than having the Longhorns in Norman. It would be a historical meeting since the rivalry has never been played outside of Dallas before. A postseason clash is the only way it would ever happen. And in this case, the Sooners earned the privilege of getting to host.
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