The Oklahoma Sooners still have a chance at making the College Football Playoff, but it keeps dwindling away.
The Sooners lost to Ole Miss 34-26 on Saturday in Norman to drop to 6-2 and, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index, cut their playoff chances in more than half to 19.6% heading into Week 10 from 42.9% the week before after beating South Carolina.
Sooners' CFP chances fading ahead of Week 10
Entering Week 10, the Sooners’ 19.6% chances are the 17th-best in the country, according to ESPN’s FPI, leaving them out of the 12-team field if the season ended today. Last week, the Sooners were No. 11 on the list and projected to make the CFP.
The Sooners’ loaded schedule is ultimately what’s keeping their CFP chances on life support. OU could maybe even afford another loss and still have a chance to slip in thanks to opportunities at three more ranked wins and being able to take down two teams ahead of it in the playoff race.
The end of OU’s schedule includes at No. 14 Tennessee, at No. 4 Alabama, No. 19 Missouri and LSU, respectively. Tennessee and Alabama, according to ESPN’s FPI, both have higher CFP chances than OU entering Week 10, and so does Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Texas from the SEC.
The Sooners on Saturday travel to Tennessee, which is just above OU with a 22.6% playoff chance. Alabama is No. 4 on the list at 92.4%. A loss to Tennessee on Saturday wouldn’t put the Sooners’ playoff chances at zero with three losses and Alabama still ahead, but it could be considered negligible.