Yes, the Oklahoma Sooners still have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves, but a loss to Ole Miss on Saturday could seal the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fate before Week 9 of the college football season really even gets going.
The No. 13 Sooners host No. 8 Ole Miss at 11 a.m. CT Saturday in Norman for a matchup between two 6-1 teams fighting to keep their postseason dreams afloat. However, even though they enter the game with identical records, a loss could be detrimental for the Sooners, but not the Rebels.
Sooners’ College Football Playoff hopes could vanish with loss to Ole Miss in Norman
Ole Miss was not only gifted a less treacherous schedule than the Sooners, but after their trip to Norman, the Rebels are basically in the clear the rest of the way. OU is the last ranked opponent left on Ole Miss’ schedule, including a weak nonconference game against The Citadel. So even with a loss to the Sooners on Saturday, the Rebels still likely finish the season at 10-2 and get into the CFP.
Meanwhile, starting with Ole Miss, the Sooners conclude the season against five ranked opponents in a row. That’s plenty of opportunity to strengthen a resume, but also many blows to avoid that could knock the Sooners out as playoff contenders.
The Sooners’ biggest advantage in their five-game gauntlet is getting three of those teams at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, including Ole Miss, No. 15 Missouri and No. 20 LSU. After hosting Ole Miss, OU will then travel for back-to-back road games to No. 17 Tennessee and No. 4 Alabama.
OU can still sneak into the CFP at 9-3 while going 3-2 during its remaining stretch, but those three wins will likely need to come in Norman. Obviously it’s not impossible to knock off Tennessee and Alabama at their places, but it’s certainly not the ideal situation with a team’s postseason life on the line.
If the Sooners lose to Ole Miss and drop to 6-2, they’ll then have to beat at least one of Tennessee or Alabama on the road while finishing perfect at home. However, the truth is, if the Sooners lose to the Rebels, that indicates there are slim chances for them to beat Tennessee or Alabama while also getting past Missouri and LSU unscathed.
The SEC just means more, but on Saturday, a win actually means more for the Sooners than the Rebels.