Tag: CFP championship game

Oklahoma Sooners No. 25 in CBS Sports way-too-early 2023 top 25

Oklahoma receives a very light vote of confidence as they make Barett Sallee’s way-too-early top 25 rankings for 2023.

Another college football season has ended, and the Georgia Bulldogs are national champions for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs decimated the TCU Horned Frogs, 65-7, in the national championship on Monday night. From the outset, it was clear who the better team was, but nobody foresaw it being that lopsided.

College football writers never opt to slow play their projections for next year. Barrett Sallee, one of CBS Sports’ best, already published his way-too-early top 25 for the 2023 season.

Oklahoma’s 6-7 season was its worst mark since 1998. It was an uncharacteristically bad season for a program that’s not accustomed to that level of performance. Brent Venables and his defensive staff took the defense’s struggles personally. Their transfer portal additions have been overwhelmingly defensive. Six of their nine portal signees play on the defensive side of the ball.

Barrett Sallee gave the Sooners his 25th spot in his early rankings.

OK, call it a charity ranking. The Sooners have a lot of work to do after their first losing season since 1998. Dillion Gabriel was just OK AT QB. His best receiver (Marvin Mims) and rusher (Eric Gray) have departed. There’s going to be some pressure on Brent Venables in his second season after his D gave up 30 points per game. A top 10 recruiting class should help. – Sallee, CBS Sports

Oklahoma’s defensive transfer portal additions and its composite No. 5 ranked recruiting class featuring two five-star defensive signees make a jump on defense extremely plausible. We will not know how everyone will mesh until we see on-field results, but there’s reason for optimism on Oklahoma improving from its uncharacteristic 6-7 performance in 2022.

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Can the TCU Horned Frogs complete their improbable national title run?

TCU’s run to the national title is the stuff movie scripts are made of. Can they topple the defending national champions, Georgia Bulldogs?

I am a sucker for a good story. I’m also a big sports fan. The season that the TCU Horned Frogs are having has been nothing short of a fantastic tale that has one more chapter to write.

As a fan of the Oklahoma Sooners, seeing another Big 12 team win a College Football Playoff game in their first try stings, but the Horned Frogs earned their spot. They deserve their shot at the national title.

We are more than a year removed from TCU and Gary Patterson parting ways and finishing with a 5-7 record. Their head coach is in his first year on the job. Their starting quarterback started the season at No. 2 on the depth chart. Teams like that simply don’t play for national championships in football.

The Frogs will be. It defies logic.

The Michigan Wolverines had the better players at nearly every position and arguably a superior coaching staff. They had already beaten Ohio State in Columbus during the regular season. The stars were aligned for Jim Harbaugh to win his first national championship in Ann Arbor.

The Frogs said no.

Games are won on grass (or turf), not stat sheets. TCU is the underdog story that college football hasn’t had in a very long time. Someone will make a movie about their season if they can pull off another upset.

On Monday, it’s Apollo vs. Rocky. The heavyweight champion of the world vs. an improbable contender. When the two sides meet up on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game, everyone not wearing Red and Black or flying an SEC flag will be pulling for the Horned Frogs to complete their magical run.

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.