The AP Top 25 might look a lot different on Sunday, and Oklahoma’s place in it is far from safe after another ugly performance.
The Sooners stayed in the win column Saturday night, but the 14-6 result over New Mexico did little to quiet the doubts after last week’s loss to Michigan. Oklahoma entered the weekend at No. 24, and after looking even worse than its ranking suggested, it now has to hope enough other teams around the country also left voters unimpressed.
At the top, Texas still looks positioned to hold No. 1 despite a sluggish 30-6 win over UTSA, especially after knocking off then-No. 1 Ohio State a week earlier.
Georgia also made its case with a 45-17 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville to open SEC play, while Ole Miss surged after beating No. 7 LSU 32-24 in one of the weekend’s biggest results.
The Rebels’ win, paired with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss being viewed by some as the best player in the country, should push them well up the board from No. 8.
Notre Dame kept rolling with a 27-10 win over Michigan State, and Indiana followed a slow start to the day with a 38-0 shutout of Western Kentucky. Both teams keep stacking wins, even if the schedules have not offered much resistance. Miami, meanwhile, keeps showing off what looks like the most talented offense in college football, but the Hurricanes may keep getting passed by teams with bigger wins while they continue to dominate lesser opponents.
Ohio State bounced back from the Texas loss with a 59-3 rout of Kent State. Texas Tech also made a real move after edging No.
22 Houston 28-26, a result that could be enough to push the Red Raiders into the top 10 and gives them a ranked win BYU does not have. Alabama, after a shaky 50-36 win over a dreadful Florida State team, does not have much of a case to rise.
LSU could slide, though not because of poor play so much as the fact that undefeated teams are waiting to move ahead.
USC survived Rutgers 42-35, but the Trojans looked ordinary again even in victory. Penn State still has not beaten a Power 4 team, Tennessee beat Kennesaw State 42-9 without really changing anyone’s mind, and Utah’s 33-0 win over Utah State was too one-sided against a weak opponent to earn much of a bump.
Elsewhere, Louisville made a strong push with a 41-31 win over No. 16 SMU, and the Cardinals should also benefit from Ole Miss’ win after hanging with the Rebels in their season opener.
Iowa keeps doing enough to stay where voters usually place the Hawkeyes, while Michigan’s win over Oklahoma suddenly looks less impressive after the Sooners’ latest outing. The Wolverines also had some trouble with UTEP before pulling away 52-17.
Missouri did not inspire much confidence in a 27-17 win over Troy, but the Tigers at least won while several teams around them either lost or looked worse in victory. Oregon answered its loss to Oklahoma State by crushing Portland State 84-0.
One of the more intriguing rises could belong to Florida. In Jon Sumrall’s first season, the Gators may be only three weeks away from cracking the rankings after a 44-39 road win over Auburn in his SEC debut.
West Virginia also has momentum behind former OU quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who accounted for five total touchdowns in a 38-27 win over No. 25 Virginia and should help the Mountaineers into the top 25.
Another team making noise is Bulldogs, who picked up support after a 41-34 road win at South Carolina. Their offense is led by former Oklahoma OC Jeffy Lebby.
There is also still one opening in the projected top 25, and Tulsa could be the surprise team to fill it. The Golden Hurricane are 3-0 and own a win over Oklahoma State, which hammered Oregon last week. If that happens, Tulsa would become the highest-ranked college football team in the state, just like we all projected.
In Other News...
Brent Venables Just Turned Oklahoma's Offense Into A Bigger Problem
Oklahomas win over New Mexico did little to quiet the noise around the Sooners offense, and Brent Venables made sure of that afterward. The head coach was blunt in his assessment of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, saying the unit has to improve significantly after a sluggish showing that left plenty of frustration behind even in victory.
The tension has been building beyond the sideline, too, with fans chanting for Arbuckles firing during the game as the offense struggled to find a rhythm. Venables stopped short of offering any real backing for his coordinators current work, which only sharpened the focus on what Oklahoma expects to change next and how quickly it has to happen. [Read more 🡒]
John Mateer Didn't Hide Oklahoma's Biggest Offensive Concern
John Mateer didnt try to dodge the rough edges after Oklahomas win over New Mexico. The quarterback owned both interceptions, said his mistakes affected the teams performance and pointed back to the previous trip to Michigan as part of the emotional reset he had to make before moving forward. His faith, he said, helped him clear his head and get back to work, which fit the tone of a player who knows the standard in Norman leaves little room for self-protection.
Mateer also put his finger on a broader issue the Sooners still need to clean up: the running game. He said Oklahoma has to be better there and admitted he missed some run checks, a detail that matters because the offense cannot afford wasted chances if it wants to keep growing. For a team trying to stack cleaner performances, the candid part is easy enough to appreciate - the harder part is turning that self-scouting into a more consistent Saturday product. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma's Win Over New Mexico Raised A Bigger Concern Before Georgia
Oklahoma got the result it needed against New Mexico, but the performance did little to calm nerves around the Sooners. A 14-6 win sounds tidy enough on paper, yet the way it unfolded told a different story, with John Mateer throwing two touchdown passes and two interceptions while the offense struggled to sustain drives.
David Stones late stop helped keep New Mexico from turning the afternoon into something worse, but the bigger issue is what the Sooners showed on offense heading into Georgia. Even a missed field goal attempt late in the game drew boos from the crowd, a clear sign that the margin for error is shrinking fast as Oklahoma tries to sort out its rhythm. [Read more 🡒]