Associated Press photos Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (center) celebrates Saturday with fans following the Sooners’ 58-23 shellacking of Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. The victory solidified the Sooners’ status as No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
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Clemson is No. 1 for the fourth straight week and Alabama is No. 2. Alabama had a hard stretch starting in late October, but the Crimson Tide got both Tennessee and LSU at home before winning at Mississippi State.
Iowa will play Michigan State (11-1, 7-1) in the Big Ten Championship on Saturday in Indianapolis.
But wasn’t TCU ranked No. 3 going into the final week, won and then got left out?
The Hawkeyes were ranked 3rd in last week’s polls, but were leapfrogged by the Oklahoma Sooners, who toppled 9th-ranked Oklahoma State, and officially laid claim to the 2015 Big 12 conference title. The Cats have 10 wins in a single season for just the fourth time in program history and could win 11 games for the first time in program history with a victory in the bowl game. Ohio State has a solid case, with its only loss coming on a last-second field goal to a playoff contender.
MI plummeted seven spots, down to No. 19 from No. 12 after getting beat up by Ohio State.
If Clemson wins the ACC championship game and retains the No. 1 seed after next weekend, they would likely be placed at the Orange Bowl, meaning a No. 4-seeded OU team would be South Florida-bound.
“I think we just made a statement”, OU quarterback Baker Mayfield said.
The Big 12 avoided the same drama it went through previous year by actually having One True Champion. Samje “I swear I’m not 40 years old” Perine ran for 131 yards while Joe “I ain’t punched a woman this season” Mixon edged his teammate with 136 yards rushing.
Oklahoma is playing as well as any team in the country right now on both sides of the ball.
Oklahoma can be this year’s Ohio State.
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The win over 11th-ranked Oklahoma State was OU’s fifth win this season over a ranked team without a loss. After a hectic Saturday night, they’ll deservedly have that chance.
