The reaction after a loss, particularly a home loss, is never pretty for high-profile college football programs. The Oklahoma Sooners are feeling the effects of that reaction after a loss at home to Kansas State.
In Erick Smith’s latest bowl projection’s for USA TODAY Sports, the Sooners have fallen out of the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six entirely.
Their landing spot? A date with Wake Forest at the Cheez-it Bowl. Clemson has taken Oklahoma’s spot in the playoff in these new projections.
The big loser this week is the Sooners, who drop all the way out of the New Year’s Six with the first defeat of the Brent Venables era. They might still be the best team in the Big 12, but its hard to project winning the league with one home loss already. – Erick Smith, USA TODAY
This is not an unfair assessment from Smith.
While I could voice displeasure after such a sharp fall for the Sooners, these projections are following the same trend that every other ranking has. Such as the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Poll.
There’s hope that the Sooners turn it around against TCU this week and take care of the Longhorns next week. Otherwise, this projection is going to stick.
Here’s the thing about these weekly projections: they’re very volatile. This was what Smith had to say after week three.
A few convincing wins are the best remedy for unflattering places in the polls and bowl projections. The Oklahoma Sooners have an opportunity to right the ship over the next few weeks with with games at TCU, vs. Texas in the Red River Showdown, and at home against the resurgent Kansas Jayhawks.
[listicle id=72416]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.