Oklahoma’s margin for error vanished fast.
After Saturday’s 17-10 loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Sooners took a steep tumble in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, sliding from No. 11 to No. 24 when the rankings were released Sunday. The result pushed Oklahoma to 1-1 and gave the poll voters little reason to keep them anywhere near the top tier.
The drop fits the moment. Oklahoma lost to an unranked opponent it was expected to handle, and the immediate reaction was a brutal one: the Sooners landed right near the bottom of the poll.
Michigan, which beat Western Michigan 13-12 earlier in the season and had fallen out of the rankings, is back in at No. 19.
At the top, the picture is just as sharp. Texas is No. 1 after edging then-No.
1 Ohio State in Austin, and that creates a tempting future for Oklahoma if the Longhorns keep winning. The Red River Rivalry arrives Oct. 10, giving OU a shot at knocking its rival off the top spot.
The rest of the ranking is packed with teams Oklahoma will have to deal with or track closely. The Week 2 AP Top 25 Poll also includes Georgia at No.
2, Notre Dame at No. 3, Indiana at No.
4, Miami (FL) at No. 5, Ohio State at No.
6, LSU at No. 7, Ole Miss at No.
8, Texas A&M at No. 9 and Alabama at No. 10.
Oklahoma’s own path now looks unforgiving. The Sooners are one of nine SEC teams in the poll, and five ranked league opponents are on the schedule: No.
1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No.
8 Ole Miss, No. 9 Texas A&M and No.
20 Missouri.
Next up is New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Norman.
After that, Oklahoma heads to Athens to face No. 2 Georgia, then gets a bye week before the Red River Rivalry.
That stretch could easily leave the Sooners staring at the No. 2 team one week and the No. 1 team the next.
The season opener already set up a brutal run, with three ranked opponents expected within the first five games. Michigan’s 13-12 win against Western Michigan took the Wolverines out of the rankings for a time, but that didn’t change the damage Oklahoma absorbed on Saturday.
Now sitting at No. 24, the Sooners have almost no room left to stumble if they want to stay ranked. A loss to New Mexico would knock them out of the poll immediately.
Even a road loss to Georgia could be enough to send them tumbling out in a few weeks. Another defeat to Texas would dig the hole even deeper, with seven games left to try to climb back out.
That’s the reality after a loss like this. Oklahoma put itself in a spot where it has to win games it once could have survived losing, just to keep its place in the rankings.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Suddenly Has A Huge Test At Its Most Important Line Spot
Oklahomas offensive line is already under the microscope heading into the Michigan matchup, and the latest injury news only sharpens the focus on the left side. The Sooners are expected to be without starting left tackle Michael Fasusi, while center Jake Maikkula is back and Ryan Fodje is also returning to the mix, giving the staff at least some flexibility as it sorts out the front five.
Fodje is the name to watch because he is projected to slide over to left tackle in Fasusis absence. He has played multiple spots along the offensive line and came to Oklahoma as a highly regarded tackle recruit, but this is still a major assignment in a game where edge protection will matter from the opening series. For a team trying to settle its line before a marquee nonconference test, the timing could hardly be tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Suddenly Has A Season Long Question It Can't Ignore
Oklahomas loss to Michigan landed on a Saturday that felt unkind to a few heavyweights, with Ohio State and Oregon also taking defeats that will linger. But the Sooners setback was the one that pushed a familiar worry back into focus, because the offense never found much rhythm and the night exposed how much pressure can build when a team expected to contend is suddenly asked harder questions than it can answer.
For Oklahoma, the concern is not just the result but the way it happened. The passing game never really threatened to take off, leaving the Sooners looking stuck whenever they needed a spark through the air, and that kind of struggle tends to follow a team until it is corrected. With the loss already on the board, the bigger issue now is whether this is a one-game malfunction or the start of something more difficult to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Win Over Oklahoma Came With One Ugly Flashpoint
Saturdays Week 2 trip to Michigan Stadium had the kind of edge that can linger well beyond the final whistle, with Oklahoma and Michigan getting into a scuffle early in the third quarter. The moment briefly overshadowed a game that had already taken on real meaning for the Sooners, who were trying to measure themselves against a program they had seen get the better of them before.
Rocky Beers was in the middle of that flashpoint, and the tight end still managed to be one of Oklahomas most productive targets on the day. Michigans 17-10 win carried its own weight, too, since it was the Wolverines first victory over Oklahoma after previous losses in the 1976 Orange Bowl and last September in Norman, leaving the Sooners with another painful chapter in a matchup that has suddenly turned chippy. [Read more 🡒]