With no chance at CFP, a look at every bowl projection for Oklahoma after Week 7

Whether it's the current 12-team College Football Playoff or even if the bracket had already been expanded to 24 teams, a bowl game would still likely be the Oklahoma Sooners' only hope of playing in the postseason this year. And even those chances are starting to feel questionable.

The Sooners are 3-3 halfway through their season, as three losses have all but trashed their dreams of returning to the CFP. ESPN's FPI still gives OU a 2% chance of making the CFP, but the reality is even closer to zero.

With six games left on its regular-season schedule, OU needs to go at least .500 the rest of the way and notch three more wins to become bowl-eligible. The slate includes games at Mississippi State, vs. South Carolina, at Florida, vs. Ole Miss, vs. Texas A&M, and at Missouri.

An even harder pill to swallow than not making the CFP is that some national experts projecting bowl matchups don't even predict the Sooners to win three of those games to make a bowl. That hasn't happened for OU since 1998, when head coach Brent Venables was just a linebackers coach at Kansas State.

For those who do trust the Sooners to play in a bowl game, these are the projected matchups from major experts.

Sooners bowl projections include some familiar faces

Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State (Saturday, Jan. 2)
Projected by Sports Illustrated's Bryan Fischer

Sports Illustrated's Bryan Fischer has the Sooners headed to Memphis, Tennessee, for the Liberty Bowl. That's not a trip much of Sooner Nation will want to make or a place they'll want to start 2027 in.

The intriguing part of this matchup is that OU head coach Brent Venables would go up against his alma mater, Kansas State, where he was a linebacker for Bill Snyder in 1991-92 after transferring from Garden City Community College.

Liberty Bowl vs. TCU (Saturday, Jan. 2)
Projected by Tyler Markley

Another trip to the Liberty Bowl, but there's no real intrigue to even force with this matchup. TCU is a mediocre Big 12 team with a 3-3 record. The Sooners were supposed to leave matchups like this in the past when they left for the SEC.

Liberty Bowl vs. West Virginia (Saturday, Jan. 2)
Projected by Athlon Sports' Steven Lassan

This Liberty Bowl matchup could be either must-watch TV or unwatchable for the same reason. As many OU fans want quarterback John Mateer benched, his old backup, Michael Hawkins Jr., has become a star for West Virginia.

That's a fun connection for college football fans, but Hawkins going off against the Sooners, who will likely be decimated for the game from players opting out, would rub salt in the wound for OU fans after what has already been a miserable season.

Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC (Thursday, Dec. 31)
Projected by ESPN's Kyle Bonagura

As sour as this season has been, the ending would be sweet if the Sooners got to beat Lincoln Riley. However, it would reach an unimaginable low if USC beat the Sooners instead.

The truth is, though, if this matchup actually happens, Riley probably won't even still be leading the Trojans after failing to meet expectations again. Obviously, Venables would be in the spot as his predecessor, except Venables just signed a two-year contract extension that bumped his buyout to $51.67 million, so he'll still have his job whether the Sooners make a bowl or not.

Las Vegas Bowl vs. Arizona (Thursday, Dec. 31)
Projected by CBS Sports' Brad Crawford, College Football News' Pete Fiutak, and USA Today's Erick Smith

This is by far the most popular projection for OU.

Venables also led the Sooners in a bowl matchup against Arizona at the end of his second season in 2023, but that was in the Alamo Bowl after going 10-2. OU lost that game 38-24 in what was an omen, as Jackson Arnold threw three interceptions with Seth Littrell calling plays.

This bowl matchup would be a reality check that, three years later, the Sooners are in a worse position if they play the same team but in a lesser bowl under Venables.

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