CBS analyst predicts potential Red River Showdown in College Football Playoff
Bud Elliott, who hosts a show for CBS Sports and 247Sports, released his College Football Playoff predictions on Wednesday. In it, he has the Sooners as the No. 11 seed facing No. 6 Clemson in the first round. Were the Sooners to win that game and Elliott's projection hold, OU would face No. 3 Texas in the national semifinals.
To make it to the playoff, Oklahoma would have to outperform its preseason rankings. The Sooners enter the season ranked outside the Top 25 in the first USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. They're barely out of the Top 25, though, picking up the most poll points of any unranked team, checking in at a de facto No. 26. Texas is atop the poll, ranked No. 1 in FBS in the preseason.
Last year, Texas rolled over Oklahoma, 34-3, in a season that didn't go the Sooners' way. OU finished 6-7 for the second time in coach Brent Venables' three years. The Longhorns, on the other hand, went 13-3, making the College Football Playoff for the second straight season, ultimately falling in the national semifinals to eventual national champion Ohio State. Those two schools open their regular season against each other this year on August 30 as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.
If the Red River rivals were to meet in the College Football Playoff, it would be a showdown of the two most talked about quarterbacks in the country in 2025, John Mateer and Arch Manning. There will be a ton of buzz surrounding the two signal callers throughout the season, and how they fare against SEC defenses will determine a lot about how the SEC season will go.
Texas was picked to win the Southeastern Conference during SEC Media Days. OU was picked 10th in the 16-team league. Oklahoma opens its season August 30 against FCS Illinois State before an opportunity to make a statement comes week two against the Michigan Wolverines.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.
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