Oklahoma Sooners right where they need to be in CFP Rankings

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The Oklahoma Sooners are in a good spot following the initial College Football Playoff rankings release on Tuesday night. The mission is simple. Win, and Oklahoma is in. That starts with Alabama in a week and a half, but Oklahoma will have to close the season with tough home games against Missouri and LSU. But if the Sooners were to win out, it would be tough to keep them out of the CFP.

Oklahoma has three wins over teams that were ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll at the time of the game. Those wins were over Michigan, Auburn, and most recently, Tennessee.

The Sooners are in a good spot. They control their own destiny. Though there’s still a lot of football to be played, if Oklahoma can get a big win over Alabama, it could springboard them for a strong run to finish the season. USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza likes where the Sooners are in the initial CFP rankings, giving OU an “A-” in his grading of every team included in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.

Michigan maintaining good standing helps Oklahoma stay in playoff consideration, and the road win over Tennessee put the Sooners in position to have strong finish. – Mendoza, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan has held up their end of the bargain wth just one other loss on the season and could put themselves back in the playoff picture if they can continue their success against Ohio State in the season finale. Tennessee is likely to remain a top 25 team through the final month of the season. It’s Auburn that’s a problem. They haven’t been good since Oklahoma beat the Tigers 24-17 in Norman and fired Hugh Freeze this week. Oklahoma’s best win of the season came against Tennessee, just a few days before the first rankings came out but it’s the Sooners body of work that has them positioned to make the playoff field.

But that discussion only continues if they continue to win. It’ll take another strong road effort coming out of the bye when they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide. A second-straight win over Alabama in conference play would likely shoot Oklahoma into a position where they could host a first round playoff game. But the Sooners don’t have any margin for error in their final three games. Any loss and they’re on the outside looking in at the playoff with so many one and two-loss teams in the field.

That makes the mission simple. In the words of former Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, “Just win, baby.”

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners are in a good spot in first CFP Rankings

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