Oklahoma’s Red River win should have been enough to get the Sooners back into the AP Top 25, but the voters passed anyway. After knocking off No. 1 Texas inside the Cotton Bowl, OU still found itself on the outside of the rankings when the latest poll dropped Sunday.
That call doesn’t line up with what the Sooners have actually walked through so far. Oklahoma is 3-2, but the record doesn’t tell the full story. The schedule has already thrown Michigan, Georgia, Texas and four more ranked opponents in front of the Sooners, and OU has already taken the hardest swings any team in the sport has seen through Week 6.
The nonconference slate opened with a blowout over UTEP, then came a 17-10 road loss at Michigan. The Wolverines are 3-2 now, but that’s still a quality road test that would challenge plenty of teams sitting ahead of Oklahoma. After that came a 41-13 loss at Georgia, and the Bulldogs are now the new No. 1 team in the country after beating Alabama and getting the boost from OU’s upset of Texas.
In other words, Oklahoma has already done more than most teams in the rankings have had to do. ESPN’s FPI sees it that way, too, placing the Sooners at No.
- And the chance to settle the debate isn’t gone; it just moves into the next stretch, starting with No.
15 Kentucky in Norman on Saturday.
Still, the poll left room for some head-scratching decisions.
Wake Forest is sitting in the top 25 despite a resume that hasn’t stacked up the same way. The Demon Deacons are 5-1, and their best win came against then-No.
16 Louisville, 30-27. That looked stronger at the time than it does now, since Louisville is 3-3.
No one Wake Forest has beaten has a winning record, and its only loss came to Miami, 33-20.
Boise State also got the benefit of the doubt, but the Broncos have had only one Power 4 opponent and lost to it. Oregon beat them 34-27 on the road in the opener.
The Ducks were No. 2 in the country then, but they’re 3-2 now and playing a third-string quarterback. That makes Boise State’s lone major test look even less convincing as a ranking argument.
Then there’s Northwestern, which climbed in after beating Ball State, a 1-5 MAC team. The Wildcats are 4-1, but their loss was also their most impressive showing: a 29-23 battle with No.
5 Indiana. Nebraska also pushed Indiana hard, and through Week 6, Northwestern’s only win over a team with a winning record is FCS South Dakota State.
Oklahoma’s omission is the one that stands out most. The Sooners took on the kind of schedule most teams avoid, beat the team sitting at No. 1, and still got left out. That’s a harder sell than the three teams the poll kept ahead of them.
In Other News...
Texas Just Handed Oklahoma Fans A New Rivalry Talking Point
The Red River Rivalry rarely needs any extra fuel, but this one came with plenty of it after Oklahomas 27-24 win over Texas. Tate Sandell delivered the finishing touch with a 47-yard field goal as time expired, capping a game that swung late after Arch Manning threw two interceptions, including one that killed a Texas drive that could have changed the outcome.
Colin Simmons added a new layer to the postgame conversation by framing the loss as one Texas handed away through its own mistakes rather than one Oklahoma earned through superior play. For Sooners fans, that kind of take is exactly the sort of thing that lingers after October meetings with the Longhorns, especially when the box score already points to missed chances, late tension and a finish that left Texas searching for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Let Red River Slip Away In The Worst Possible Moment
The Red River Rivalry delivered the kind of finish that can linger all season, and Oklahoma found the final answer when Tate Sandell drilled a 47-yard field goal as time expired to beat No. 1 Texas. The Sooners had already forced the issue with a defense that kept pressing all afternoon, and the games turning point came when Texas quarterback Arch Manning was intercepted in the final seconds, setting up the winning drive.
For Oklahoma, it was a complete showcase of complementary football in one of the sports loudest stages. A punt-return touchdown helped swing momentum early, and a pick-6 off Manning added another jolt to a game that already had enough twists to fill a rivalry decade. In the end, the Sooners walked away with a victory that felt as big as the setting, and Texas was left to sort through how quickly a tight game slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Delivered The Rivalry Jolt Sooners Fans Desperately Needed
A season that had already started to feel heavy for Oklahoma got a surge of life in Dallas, where the Sooners stunned No. 1 Texas 27-24 in the Red River rivalry on a final-play, 47-yard field goal by Tate Sandell. It was the kind of win that can reset the mood around a program in a hurry, and Oklahoma earned it with more than just one late kick, getting touchdowns from special teams and defense to keep pace in a game that swung back and forth all afternoon.
The Sooners also took advantage of Texas quarterback Arch Mannings mistakes, as his three touchdown passes were offset by two costly interceptions. For Oklahoma, the result was about more than bragging rights in one of college footballs biggest rivalries. It was proof that a team can still manufacture a signature win when the margins are thin, the pressure is high, and every phase has to come through at once. [Read more 🡒]