With Oklahoma’s thrilling overtime win on Saturday, the Sooners re-inserted themselves back into a competitive bowl conversation.
Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma since he took over in 2017 have gone to the College Football Playoff three-straight times and have squandered those chances each time. Going to a competitive bowl is not something fans do not want to hear with sky-high expectations year-in and year-out, but it’s better than ending up in the Cheez-It bowl at the end of the year.
No, the Sooners are not out of Big 12 contention to finish off a six-peat Big 12 Championship title, but the chances have started to become slim. Iowa State and Kansas State, who beat Oklahoma, remain undefeated with in-state rival Oklahoma State in the same boat.
The second-place Big 12 team finishes in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, and that’s where USA TODAY Sports has Oklahoma going right now. The matchup is Big 12 against the Pac-12, and USA TODAY Sports projects the Sooners to go against USC.
The two last played in 2005 when the Trojans took it to Oklahoma behind Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. The game was later vacated because Bush broke NCAA rules during his time at USC.
The Sooners are back in action on Oct. 24 when they travel to take on TCU.
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