Oklahoma football fans were shocked by an upset at home against Iowa State. In turn, the Sooners College Football Playoff chances have gone up in smoke.
The biggest upset of the 2017 college football season thus far just happened. Unranked Iowa State just walked into Norman, Oklahoma and defeated the Sooners 38-31.
It’s just the sixth time ever the Cyclones have defeated OU, and the first time in 27 years Iowa State has knocked off the Sooners, ending an 18-game losing streak. Furthermore, this was also only the fourth time that ISU has ever won in Norman.
The loss has produced a series of firsts, but also a series of lasts. Because this is likely the last time you will hear the words Oklahoma and “College Football Playoff” in the same sentence this season.
The Sooners, ranked 3rd in the country, picked up one of the biggest wins of the season in Week 2. Baker Mayfield and his crew marched to Columbus and defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Top 10 showdown. That win figured to be one of the signature victories for any team in the country. But now, with the Sooners falling short to lowa State, it effectively means nothing.
OU’s playoff hopes have now gone up in smoke in mid-October. Here are three reasons why the Sooners will be looking at other postseason destinations bedsides the playoff.
The loss won’t go away, and will be used against them all season
The Sooners now have this blemish stuck on them going forward. With all due respect to Iowa State, Oklahoma had no business losing this game. It is, six weeks in, the worst loss that any top-tier team in the country has taken. Going forward, it has the potential to be one of the worst losses that any top-tier team in the country takes.
The loss won’t go away even in the best-case scenario. The Sooners can go unbeaten the rest of the way and win the Big 12 Championship Game, yes. But, even then, the loss will still be there. When parsing through the other garden variety of one-loss teams, this will stick out like a sore thumb. It is going to be the difference in the Sooners even sniffing the playoff discussion.
Teams have bounced back from losses in the past to go on to win national championships. We’ve even seen this in the CFB Playoff era, with Ohio State and Clemson charging in, despite some regular season hiccups. But OSU and the Tigers fell to Virginia Tech and Pitt. Both the Hokies and Panthers were solid at best. ISU is not so much on that level.