All Sooners

Plot Thickens on Oklahoma's Bowl Scenario as OU Climbs One Spot in CFP Rankings

The Sooners still have an outside shot at landing a spot in a New Year's Six bowl, but may need some help from this weekend's conference championship games.

John E. Hoover

Plot Thickens on Oklahoma's Bowl Scenario as OU Climbs One Spot in CFP Rankings
Plot Thickens on Oklahoma's Bowl Scenario as OU Climbs One Spot in CFP Rankings /
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Oklahoma climbed one spot in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.

But will it be enough to propel the Sooners into a New Year’s Six bowl game?

OU will learn its postseason fate on Sunday, after Saturday’s conference championship games have been played and Sunday’s CFP assignments have been decided.

The Sooners moved up one spot to No. 12 in this week’s rankings, still behind three 10-2 teams — Missouri, Penn State and Ole Miss — who also don’t play this weekend.

2023-24 Oklahoma Player Tracker

OU needs to be in the top 11 to get an at-large berth, and that number could become 10 “under certain circumstances,” a CFP source told AllSooners.

The CFP’s top four going into Championship Saturday is No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Washington and No. 4 Florida State — all undefeated at 12-0.

Washington plays No. 5 Oregon Saturday in the Pac-12 title game, No. 7 Texas plays Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, and No. 8 Alabama plays Georgia in the SEC title game.

CFP rankings 1-18
CFP rankings 1-18 / CFP

OU could move up if Texas loses to No. 18 OSU (OSU would then get the Big 12’s guaranteed NY6 spot), and Alabama could conceivably fall in event of a lopsided loss to Georgia. But the Sooners shouldn’t expect to climb anyone else ahead of them pending the outcome of other games. If Michigan loses to No. 16 Iowa or FSU loses to No. 14 Louisville, it’s unlikely the Wolverines or Seminoles would fall outside the top 11, and the teams they lose to would probably jump the Sooners.

The CFP selection committee chooses the NY6 field, but is obligated to pick at-large teams ranked in the top 12 after seeding the four-team playoff field.

Only nine teams of the 84 NY6 selections since the CFP format began in 2014 have been ranked outside the top 12. The committee also locks in the highest-rated team from Group of 5 conferences.

This year’s New Year’s Six bowl games are the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange and Peach. This year's CFP semifinals are the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl.

The Orange Bowl is contracted to take an ACC team, so OU’s best chance at a NY6 at-large bid is probably the Cotton, Fiesta or Peach. But realistically, if they’re unable to move up enough in next week’s final rankings, the Sooners’ most likely bowl assignment seems to be the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio (Dec. 28) against a Pac-12 opponent — probably against 9-3 Arizona.

The Alamo is where the 2021 squad finished its season (against Oregon) after Lincoln Riley left and Bob Stoops stepped in as interim coach.

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John E. Hoover
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.

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