College football expert considers Oklahoma a loser in first CFP rankings of 2025

The Oklahoma Sooners don’t have a game this week, but they still might have lost.

The Sooners were No. 12 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season that were released on Tuesday, and because of their position, FanSided’s Cody Williams considered the Sooners one of his losers from the initial set of rankings.

First College Football Playoff rankings did not favor Sooners

The biggest complaint from Sooner Nation, and even fans across college football, was that the Sooners, as well as Texas, were behind No. 10 Notre Dame, which also has two losses but a much weaker schedule, especially going forward.

Williams, though, believed the initial rankings revealed even more problems than that for the Sooners. Since five conference champions make the 12-team field and only three conferences were represented in the top 12, two teams would get bumped into the mix, leaving OU and Texas as the first two teams out of the CFP if the season ended today. Williams pointed out that if OU and Texas both win out, then the committee will likely choose the Longhorns if there’s still just one final spot to fill. However, considering their loaded slates in November, both teams should catapult into comfortable footing if they do finish the month unscathed.

“Instead of diving into the ACC, though, Oklahoma looks like it might be in an impossible position when it comes to the College Football Playoff,” Williams wrote. “… unlike in the AP Top 25, the selection committee is recognizing the head-to-head result in Red River against Texas.

“Granted, that doesn't mean that will stay that way. Just as Oklahoma has a tough finishing stretch (even if slightly more manageable thanks to attrition), Texas has a bear of a slate ahead with matchups against Georgia and Texas A&M still on the docket, two top-five teams. However, even if both teams were to win out, that would essentially look to be one team that the Sooners simply can't jump ahead of, which could leave them boxed out when the final rankings come out.”

After a bye week, the Sooners travel to No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 15. If they leave Tuscaloosa with a win, it would be blasphemy for them not to jump Notre Dame and probably even more. OU would also be in the driver’s seat then with back-to-back home games against No. 22 Missouri and LSU to conclude the season.

Texas, though, almost seems like a lock to suffer another blow with two top-5 teams ahead in No. 5 Georgia on the road and at home against No. 3 Texas A&M. However, it’s pretty smooth sailing for Notre Dame, so there will need to be faith in the CFP committee to eventually reward the Sooners for yet another ranked win. But there’s also no way the Sooners can avoid possibly getting replaced by two lackluster conference champions no matter how the regular season ends.