Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Adam Choice #26 and Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers celebrate with the trophy after their teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: Roquan Smith #3 of the Georgia Bulldogs attempts the sack on Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

12. Oklahoma Sooners – 2018

Lost to Georgia in Semifinal (Rose Bowl), 54-48

For the third time that we see the Oklahoma Sooners in these rankings, the biggest issue once again for this team was their defense. You can’t expect to concede 54 points in a College Football Playoff game — even in a double-overtime game — and have success. Having said that, Baker Mayfield and the Sooners offense were so special that they were still almost able to make that happen.

The 2018 Sugar Bowl game was essentially a heavyweight fight between Georgia and Oklahoma’s offenses and Mayfield and Rodney Anderson were ready for it. The eventual No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft threw for 287 yards two touchdowns and an interception and also caught a touchdown pass from CeeDee Lamb in the game. Meanwhile, Anderson ran wild with 201 yards on 26 carries as well as two touchdowns.

In fact, the Oklahoma offense was actually quite dominant early on in this game as they build up a 31-14 lead in the first half that was 31-17 at halftime. They were ready for the moment and capable of competing against any team in the country. However, as we’ve already discussed, it was the defense that let them down.

The Sooner defense allowed Nick Chubb and Sony Michel to run all over them in the second half and outscore OU 28-14 in the second half to force overtime. Furthermore, they couldn’t hold Michel in the second overtime as he went 27 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Ultimately, it’s the defense that holds them back yet again.

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