The Oklahoma Sooners outscored Kansas 35-13 after halftime and improved to 8-0 (5-0 Big 12 Conference) with a 35-23 win in Lawrence, Kan.
OU sleepwalking through the first half against the Jayhawks has its consequences, though. The Sooners fell several spots to No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll as Cincinnati and Alabama jumped them.
National pundits reacting to last weekend’s action aren’t necessarily over the moon for the Sooners right now either. CBS Sports Barrett Sallee gave Oklahoma a grade of D+ for their performance against Kansas.
A win is a win, especially when you’re undefeated. But the Sooners had to rally to beat lowly Kansas to stay unblemished on the season. If style points come into play, this one could resonate in the meeting room when the CFP selection committee meets. – Sallee, CBS Sports
Sallee could be onto something with the style points argument. Oklahoma has five one-possession victories thus far this season and the win over Kansas wasn’t the romp everybody expected.
After Texas Tech this week, just winning against the schedule laid out in front of Oklahoma will greatly enhance the Sooners’ resumé. OU closes with a trip to No. 18 Baylor, home against No. 23 Iowa State and then the trip to Stillwater versus No. 15 Oklahoma State before a potential Big 12 Championship game.
That hasn’t stopped some from selling their stock in Oklahoma. CBS Sports writer Shehan Jeyarajah included the Sooners in his losers from week eight of the college football season and had some pretty scathing remarks.
Oklahoma doesn’t have ‘It’
There’s something to be said for surviving and advancing. Going down to the wire and needing some of the most uncommon rules in the book to cement a win over Kansas – Kansas! — is something else entirely. The Jayhawks have been so dreadful as of late that their win over Texas remains a meme more than five years later.
If the game was a series of unfortunate events spiraling downhill into a once-in-a-lifetime college football memory, that’s one thing. Kansas was better. It finished with more yards, was more efficient on third down and averaged more than eight plays per drive.
Oklahoma emerged victorious, but teams that can win national championships don’t go down by multiple scores against Kansas. They don’t wait nearly 48 minutes to take a lead against the Jayhawks or look so terrible that a downtrodden program decides to open the gates so anyone can see the spectacle for free. Oklahoma might still win the Big 12 and make the playoff, but if this is what the Sooners are, they have zero chance once they get there. – Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Here’s the deal: Oklahoma is still unbeaten and all of their team goals are still in play in front of them. Making final judgments on the Sooners’ ceiling before they get some offensive and defensive personnel back from injury might be a bit too hasty. They need to improve, though, and OU is running out of time to do that.
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