Oklahoma Climbs Again in CFP Rankings

Saturday's opponent, Oklahoma State, moved up as well, and Baylor gives the Big 12 three teams in the CFP Top 10.

John E. Hoover | Nov 23, 2021

Oklahoma Climbs Again in CFP Rankings /

Oklahoma climbed three spots to No. 10 in Tuesday' night's College Football Playoff rankings, keeping alive their faint CFP hopes going into this week's season finale.

This week's rankings were revealed on ESPN.

Oklahoma State at No. 7 and Baylor at No. 8 also landed in the CFP Top 10, giving the Big 12 Conference three teams in the top 10.

The Sooners moved up from No. 13 last week following a loss at Baylor. This week's move up was powered by Saturday's 28-21 victory over Iowa State in Norman.

OU finishes the regular season this week at Oklahoma State, a 6:30 p.m. kickoff that could decide the Cowboys' opponent in next week's Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, TX. Both Bedlam teams are 10-1.

OSU has already clinched its spot in the Big 12 title game — its first. If OU wins, the Sooners are also in and have a clear path to their seventh straight Big 12 crown.

If Baylor loses earlier in the day to Texas Tech, OU can still get in even if they lose to the Cowboys because Baylor would have three conference losses while OU would have two.

Georgia again came in ranked No. 1, Ohio State climbed two spots to No. 2, Alabama dropped one spot to No. 3, and Cincinnati moved up to No. 4 — the first time a Group of 5 team has landed in a top four. Michigan is No. 5, and Notre Dame is No. 6.

The fourth and final spot in the playoff could eventually come down to a beauty contest between the undefeated Bearcats and a one-loss Big 12 champion.

"That (Cincinnati) win at Notre Dame continues to look better," selection committee chairman Gary Barta said, "and this past week, the win they had against SMU, SMU came in 8-2 ... Cincinnati at 4, the committee liked them. We don't really compare them to the Big 12."

This story will be updated.

Published Nov 23, 2021

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.