For the Crimson & Cream, just win, baby.

On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Committee unveiled its opening rankings of the 2021 season, and the Oklahoma Sooners (9-0, 6-0) checked in at No. 8. Given how the past nine weeks have played out on the field, it’s a frustrating yet somewhat understandable position to be in for a team that has struggled to win convincingly through the majority of its games. However, three quality opponents remain on the schedule, with the possibility of a marquee rematch in the Big 12 Championship Game. Nevertheless, going forward, the mission for OU couldn’t be more simple: win, and you’re in.

Full CFP Top 25 Poll

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. Michigan State Spartans
4. Oregon Ducks
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
6. Cincinnati Bearcats
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. Oklahoma Sooners
9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys
12. Baylor Bears
13. Auburn Tigers
14. Texas A&M Aggies
15. BYU Cougars
16. Ole Miss Rebels
17. Mississippi State Bulldogs
18. Kentucky Wildcats
19. NC State Wolfpack
20. Minnesota Golden Gophers
21. Wisconsin Badgers
22. Iowa Hawkeyes
23. Fresno State Bulldogs
24. San Diego State Aztecs
25. Pitt Panthers

Notes:

• It should be no surprise to see Georgia atop the CFP poll, especially considering how dominant the Bulldogs have looked from a defensive standpoint. Where things can get interesting is if both UGA and Alabama run the table through the regular season, then face off in the SEC Championship Game. A win for Kirby Smart’s Dawgs could knock out Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide, but a win for ‘Bama would likely result in both SEC squads remaining in the final top four, leaving little room for the rest of the national contenders.
• Cincinnati is looking to become the first Group of Five team to crash the CFP party since the playoff was introduced in 2014, but simply winning out may not be enough for the Bearcats to finish among the top four with Georgia, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan all squarely in contention with five weekends to go.
• As long as Baylor can get past the Gary Patterson-less TCU Horned Frogs this Saturday, OU’s trip to Waco on Nov. 13 should be a matchup between top 12 teams. Lincoln Riley and his unbeaten Sooners will have an opportunity to make a major statement on the road against Dave Aranda’s impressive Bears.

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Modeling of the College Football Playoff rankings suggests OU’s body of work so far won’t look too impressive.

Tuesday will bring the 2021 season’s first edition of the weekly College Football Playoff rankings, a brilliant piece of sports entertainment ex nihilo from ESPN.

The weekly iterations of the rankings mean nothing. The people who contribute to them explicitly say they start over each week, so what you saw the week before purportedly has no relationship to how the teams are ordered the next. The only edition that matters won’t be unveiled until the regular season is over and done.

Nevertheless, Tuesday’s release will still prompt endless speculation about what it all means. And because teams will have numbers next to their names, some fans will start playing the “disrespect” card. Fans of the Oklahoma Sooners will probably be doing some of the loudest pissing and moaning.

According to data analysts Dave Bartoo and Adam McClintock, the Sooners will check in at eight in the first edition of the rankings. Bartoo and McClintock collaborate on a proprietary model that has a strong track record of accurately predicting the weekly CFP rankings. Since the advent of the postseason tournament in 2014, their average miss in the top 25 teams is just 0.9 spots through all 49 sets of rankings.

Bartoo and McClintock maintain that common talking points about the rankings among the punditry like the so-called eye test and “strength of record” are bunk. Instead, the members of the CFP selection committee adhere to a consistent set of criteria for evaluating teams. Key factors include metrics such as wins and losses along with a handful of less obvious measures like “quality wins” and “game control.” As such, the results don’t really change, even if the narratives spun by the committee spokespersons do.

Despite OU’s 9-0 record, its body of work to this point in the season doesn’t compare favorably to other highly ranked contenders. A few examples of areas where the Sooners currently fall short:

Strength of schedule

OU has played a pitiful schedule to date, based on the committee’s admittedly bizarre measure of schedule strength. The metric essentially combines the records of teams’ opponents and their opponents’ opponents. OU’s SOS ranks 119th overall. That makes sense considering the Sooners have faced the likes of Tulane (1-7), Kansas (1-7) and a poor FCS team in Western Carolina (2-6).

Game control

It’s difficult to put this metric in context, but it theoretically reflects dominance over opponents. Guess what? OU’s number, 18.7, stinks. That happens when a team habitually lets the teams on the other sideline hang around.

Quality wins and top 25 wins

Again, OU can’t offer much to brag about when it comes to either of these metrics. Quality wins cover victories over teams with overall records better than .500. The Sooners have two: Texas Tech (5-4) and Kansas State (5-3). Meanwhile, if we use last week’s AP Top 25 as a proxy for the committee’s top 25, OU has yet to accrue one win in this category.

Note that Georgia, the model’s clear-cut No. 1 team, boasts five quality wins and two top 25 wins.

On the flip side, starting eighth is far from a death sentence for OU’s CFP hopes. The Sooners still have the most important number on their side: zero. Keep winning and OU will have no trouble finishing in the top four.

Keep in mind:

Some teams in front of OU will lose

Michigan State and Ohio State will probably come in ahead of the Sooners on Tuesday. They play in a couple weeks, meaning the Buckeyes will pick up a second loss or the Spartans will notch their first. Either way, only one of them will get a chance to play for the Big Ten championship, so the other will get knocked out of the mix.

Georgia and Alabama presents a similar situation. Assuming they meet in the SEC title game, the Crimson Tide may pick up a second loss, which would likely eliminate them from consideration. If Bama beats the Bulldogs, Georgia could offer a decent argument for inclusion, but that probably won’t come at the expense of excluding an undefeated OU team.

OU has meat left on the bone.

Between Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State, the Sooners have an opportunity to collect two top 25 wins and three quality wins before the end of the regular season. Additionally, making the Big 12 championship game gives OU a shot at another quality and top 25 win.

Then there’s the bump that typically comes from a conference championship. So don’t trip when OU’s name is called on Tuesday night. If the Sooners win out, they will make the final four comfortably.

The Crimson & Cream put together a complete performance against the Red Raiders to remain unbeaten.

On a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners throttled the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-4, 2-4) en route to a 52-21 victory. With its 17th straight win, OU improves to 9-0 on the season and 6-0 in Big 12 play.

Caleb Williams looked like Superman once again inside the Palace on the Prairie as he masterfully picked apart Tech’s hapless defense. On the day, the freshman phenom amassed 402 passing yards and six touchdowns (OU freshman record) on 23 of 30 completions. Marvin Mims, his favorite target, hauled in a pair of TDs for 135 receiving yards on four receptions.

After both teams traded punts to open the contest, Oklahoma asserted its dominance on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the Sooners stifled Sonny Cumbie’s offense, and offensively, Lincoln Riley’s group had its way with the Red Raiders’ D. Big plays from Mims, Mario Williams and Drake Stoops helped lift OU to a commanding first half lead.

Alex Grinch’s defense had been under fire after an abysmal showing against Kansas (and in several other games this season). The recent lack of pressure up front, along with an inability to consistently get off the field on third/fourth down has put the Sooners in some closer-than-anticipated positions. Fortunately on Saturday, ‘Speed D’ responded in a big way, giving up just seven points to a team that came into this weekend averaging more than 34 points per contest.

Interceptions haven’t been easy to come by for Oklahoma this season, but against Tech, OU recorded a pair of them in plus territory. Both takeaways also led directly to Sooner scores.

The second half was more of the same as the first. OU’s defense continued to shut down Texas Tech, while Williams continued to lead the offense down the field. After Isaiah Thomas forced and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, Spencer Rattler connected with Brian Darby for a 49-yard bomb in the end zone. It was the former Heisman Trophy favorite’s first action since the Red River Showdown on Oct. 9.

Now, Oklahoma finally enters a bye after enduring a grueling stretch of playing through nine consecutive weeks to start the season. Up next on the schedule is a trip to Waco, where the No. 16 Baylor Bears (7-1, 4-1) await what is expected to be a matchup with Big 12 championship game implications. The contest is set for Saturday, Nov. 13. Kick-off time and broadcast details are still to be determined.

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Oklahoma looks to rebound after a flat performance last week.

Head on down to the comments section to give us your thoughts on the game and everything else throughout the day!

The Oklahoma Sooners are sitting at 8-0, but too many tight games haven’t inspired confidence that they are capable of competing for a national championship this year. Last week’s 35-23 win over Kansas, the Big 12’s longtime bottom-feeder, was the most distressing show yet. The Sooners needed fourth-quarter heroics from freshman quarterback Caleb Williams to survive the Jayhawks’ upset bid.

This week’s matchup with Texas Tech will be OU’s ninth consecutive game in nine weeks. (The same goes for the Red Raiders, interestingly.) A win would run OU’s record to 9-0, making the Sooners the first team win nine straight games in the first nine weeks of the season since 2010.

Happy Halloween or something?

Time & TV: Saturday, Oct. 30 at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC

Commentary: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill

Streaming: WatchESPN

Line: Oklahoma -19 (as of Friday at 11:30 p.m. CT)

O/U: 67

Oklahoma-Texas Tech: Game preview, storylines, predictions

A bunch of curious decisions by Lincoln Riley this season

Lincoln Riley presser notes

Podcast: What are the Sooners close to?

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma Football Preview and Prediction

Week 9 Gambling Picks

Texas Tech at Oklahoma (-19)

Fresno State (+1) at San Diego State

Georgia vs. Florida (+14.5)

Iowa at Wisconsin (-3)

Ole Miss at Auburn (-2)

Texas (+3) at Baylor

Not many games left this season. Enjoy it while it lasts.