‘OR could be in the field with just about anyone right now’

NORMAN, Okla. – The first college football playoff standings just came out, and the Sooners are much higher than most people would have probably predicted just over a month ago, placing 11th overall. They’ve strangled four back-to-back opponents, and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who saw one of those routs up close last weekend, is optimistic about them.

“I think we have to sit down and continue to assess them and be fair,” Herbstreit said of this year’s process. “We have to be open-minded. We can’t just sit here and go into that and say, ‘Well, they’re only going to play six or seven games, and with games that are canceled there, they might not even have that many. At least – and you and I covered this, again, on our podcast – let’s at least give the games a chance to play. Let’s see them. Let’s evaluate them. Let’s see if there’s a team afterwards, by the time we get to December 12th, December 19th, that starts to move in a really good direction that makes us say, “Wow, look at these guys!

“I would use Oklahoma as an example right now. They’re in the Big 12. They’ve lost a few games. Everyone was like, ‘Ah, it’s over. Forget them. And all of a sudden, man, since the game in Texas, they’re gaining momentum like crazy. And right now you’re looking at an OU and you’re like, ‘Dude, the OU could be in the field with just about anyone right now and be OK and compete. “

He went even further, suggesting that this team is superior to any of the previous four that acceded to the CFP in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“I think OU is better right now at this point in the season than they were when they had Baker [Mayfield] or Kyler murray or last year with Jalen hurts because it’s a more complete team. But that’s just watching games. You couldn’t have predicted it four weeks ago. But if you watch and allow these teams to show you what you can do, you can do that assessment. And that’s just using Oklahoma as an example.

“We can do that with Oregon. We can do it with USC, maybe even Washington. Let’s watch them play and sort of see where we are in a few weeks.

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The Sooners have climbed four more spots in the Associated Press Poll and three spots in the Amway Coaches Poll, where they rank at No.14 this week. This follows a 41-13 bombing by rival Bedlam Oklahoma State on Saturday night, extending their winning streak to five games. So they’re certainly going in the right direction, as Herbstreit said.

“I’m once again excited about the momentum of our team and some of the things that I think we are improving,” said the head coach Lincoln riley. “Go back and watch the movie with the crew, and [there’s] a lot of positives obviously to build on after the win against Oklahoma State, but still too many mistakes, still a lot of things that need to improve and move fast because not everyone stays the same here at the end.

“And so we’re going to have to do a lot better. So hopefully we can get there this week, clean up a lot of things that we need to clean up and get ready to play a really good football team.

The next challenge is a 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday competition in West Virginia. It will air on ABC.