Now that Oklahoma is bowl eligible, what are the intriguing possibilities?

Just a few weeks ago, it appeared that Oklahoma's chances of reaching the requisite six wins necessary to become bowl eligible were in serious jeopardy.

With three conference games remaining and still sitting just outside of bowl eligibility with five victories, the Sooners faced a killer gauntlet that included Missouri, Alabama and LSU to close out the regular season. At the time, all three teams were ranked in the top 25.

With their veteran starting quarterback out with an injury, Missouri looked like OU's best chance to secure a win and assure a 26th consecutive bowl appearance. For a short while, it appeared that might happen. But the Tigers rallied from behind late to tie the game at 23-all, and on Oklahoma's ensuing possession, quarterback Jackson Arnold lost the ball on a scrabble and it was scooped up by a Missouri defender and returned for the winning touchdown. So scratch that opportunity.

Down to just two games remaining -- at home hosting top 10-ranked Alabama followed by a trip to the place called Death Valley in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and on a Saturday night, no less -- Oklahoma's postseason prospects looked dark indeed.

By now, every college football fan on the planet knows how that turned out -- at least the Alabama part -- and the Sooners, with a pending bowl bid in their hip pocket, are hoping to carry over that same 60-minute dominance against an LSU team that has been stumbling to the finish line.

A win this coming Saturday over one of the SEC's marquee teams over the years would boost the Oklahoma bowl stock even further entering the postseason and perhaps elevate them in the bowl pecking order.

Some might say Oklahoma has such a long and accomplished postseason bowl history that not getting to go "bowling" in any given year is no big deal, especially if the bowl designation is one that falls deep down in the overall allotment of bowl invitations. Let me assure you that nothing is further from the truth.

At the very least it serves as a reward for all the hard work and sweat equity the players and coaches have put in during the difficult Oklahoma season. Because some players will likely opt out for various reasons (NFL Draft preparation, transfer portal, etc.), it provides an opportunity for players who might not have seen as much playing time during the season to see some action and continue to get better looking to next season. And believe it or not, the players much prefer another month of practices instead of sitting at home and watching other teams continue on in preparation for a 13th game.

So what are the Sooners bowl possibilities. Several media outlets have tracked this throughout the season, offering projections of where various teams might be headed after each week's games. Early on, Oklahoma was projected for such locales as the Texas Bowl in Houston, the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa and the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, not particularly the cream of the crop in terms of bowl assignments, but a landing spot nonetheless.

That was when the Sooners stood at 4-1 heading into the rivalry game with Texas, but then the offense blew a couple of cylinders and Oklahoma went into a tailspin, losing four of its next five games. By then, OU wasn't even projected to make a bowl game.

The Southeastern Conference has bowl agreements with the Citrus Bowl (Orlando), Texas Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Music City Bowl (Nashville), Gator Bowl (Jacksonville), Liberty Bowl (Memphis) and the ReliaQuest Bowl. Thirteen of the 16 SEC teams are bowl eligible, so the possibility exists that Oklahoma could go to a bowl that is not currently contracted with the SEC.

Earlier this week, media outlets ESPN, CBS Sports, USA Today and 247Sports came out with their latest projections for the postseason bowl lineup, with the Sooners back in the picture. Kyle Bongura of ESPN has OU facing Virginia Tech in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 20. His ESPN colleague Mark Schlabach has the Sooners matched up against former Big 12 foe West Virginia in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28.

Jerry Palm of CBS has Oklahoma headed to Frisco, Texas, to take on Kansas in the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 17. Of course, this matchup would require the 5-6 Jayhawks to beat Baylor on the this weekend

Erick Smith of USA Today projects the Sooners in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas and West Virginia as the opponent. And Brad Crawford of 247Sports places OU in the Birmingham Bowl facing the University of South Florida on Dec. 27.

This is what some of the experts think as we enter the final week of the regular season, but how about a few other intriguing potential bowl matchups involving Oklahoma that would be fun to see:

• How about a showdown between Oklahoma and USC in the Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Sin City on Dec. 27? Both teams have had difficult seasons and both Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables have been under fire. Oklahoma fans would like nothing more than the chance to have the final word against the loathed former head coach who turned his back on the Sooners.

• Or how about this possibility: Oklahoma vs. Nebraska in the Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville (home of the NFL Tennessee Titans) on Dec. 27? The Cornhuskers used to be one of OU's biggest rivals. That ended when Nebraska went to the Big Ten after the 2010 season, although the two old rivals played a home-and-home series in 2021 and 2022. This will be Nebraska's first bowl appearance in eight years. This might not be a high-profile bowl game, but it would certainly draw a lot of attention because of the longtime history between these two storied programs.

As stated earlier, none of these potential outcomes are what Oklahoma and its fans would draw up or have grown accustomed to, but all things considered, it's better than what could have been. Of course, nothing becomes official until Selection Sunday on Dec. 8, when the College Football Playoff teams and bracket will be revealed. The remainder of the postseason bowl assignments will follow that.