CBS Sports thinks the Oklahoma Sooners will fall short of the CFP

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The Oklahoma Sooners are looking to make a return trip to the College Football Playoff in 2026, after an exit in the first round in 2025. However, there are some who don't believe that OU will be making it back to the CFP this year.

CBS Sports writer Bud Crawford released his preseason bowl projections on Thursday, and he has the Sooners falling short of the playoff. In fact, he only has three teams from the SEC making the bracket, meaning there are a number of projected playoff-contending teams from the league that will have to settle for non-CFP bowls instead in Crawford's predictions.

CBS has Oklahoma making it to the Gator Bowl, where they'd play the Clemson Tigers in this projection. Of course, there's plenty of history between the two coaching staffs, as Brent Venables spent 10 years as the defensive coordinator in Clemson, working under Dabo Swinney. When Venables left to take the OU job, he took a few staff members on the defensive side of the ball with him to Norman.

Together, Swinney and Venables built a juggernaut at Clemson, as Venables commanded a defense that was regularly one of the best in the country. The Tigers won the national title in 2016 and 2018, played in the championship game in 2015 and 2019, and also made the CFP in 2017 and 2020.

While Venables was at Clemson, the Sooners and the Tigers saw each other in the postseason in both 2014 and 2015. Clemson dominated in the Russell Athletic Bowl in '14, winning 40-6. In '15 the Tigers made it two straight, knocking off the Sooners in the CFP Orange Bowl semifinal with a 37-17 win.

After the success of last season, missing the playoff would be a tough pill to swallow for Sooner Nation, as would missing the Citrus Bowl, which is the top bowl landing spot for the non-CFP SEC teams. Lucky for Oklahoma, there's a full season of games to decide exactly who ends up where when it comes time for the postseason.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: CBS Sports thinks the Oklahoma Sooners will fall short of the CFP

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