Tuesday, Oct. 31, wasn't just Halloween. Rather, it was the day of the first official rankings of the season from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Every Tuesday, the committee will unveil their rankings via ESPN based on the results of the past weekend.
Of course, this provides programs with an outlook of how they can either sneak into the four-team Playoff or use their rankings as motivation.
The Oklahoma Sooners sure do have some bulletin board material, as they were given the No. 9 ranking. But, they saw their hated rivals, the Texas Longhorns, ranked ahead of them at No. 7.
Sooners fans were not pleased by this reveal because the team beat the Longhorns 34-30 a couple of weeks ago. So, fans and even media members shared their thoughts on the CFP rankings.
Social media reacts to Oklahoma falling behind Texas in first CFP rankings
Oklahoma beat Texas.
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) October 31, 2023
Texas beat Alabama.
There's no way Oklahoma should be ranked behind both.
The head to head matter for Texas and Bama but not Oklahoma and Texas.
— Brewer Sooner (@BrewerSooner) October 31, 2023
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE
"Head to head is really important. Texas has that win in Tuscaloosa. Oklahoma makes a great drive to win the game in the Red River Shootout. Factor in Kansas was able to beat Oklahoma. But there are so many other factors to play in." - CFP Chair Boo Corrigan on Texas 7 and OU 9.
— SoonerScoop.com (@SoonerScoop) October 31, 2023
How come it’s not OU, Texas, and Alabama? If Texas is ranked ahead of Alabama because of the head-to-head win, shouldn’t OU be ahead of Texas for its head-to-head win? The Sooners lost on the final play of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks. They weren’t blown out by 40 points. https://t.co/4GayEwabb1
— Keenan Betz (@surebetkeenan) October 31, 2023
OU at 9th behind Texas gives us something be mad about in the locker room again. I love it
— SECSooner_Life (@Sooner_kyle7) October 31, 2023
“Head to head is really important but there are other factors”
— Walk-On Redshirts (@walkonredshirts) October 31, 2023
Apparently not important enough since Oklahoma is behind Texas
How is Texas ahead of my Sooners?? https://t.co/DVOP5PkwM0
— Huck in Missouri (@HuckInMissouri) October 31, 2023
Nothing to surprising about the rankings . I would say only team with reason to complain would be Oklahoma as they are ranked lower then Texas despite both having one loss and Sooners beating Texas #CFBPlayoff
— Gabriel Morency (@sportsrage) October 31, 2023
Oklahoma beat Texas and Alabama lost to Texas. Lol https://t.co/Ys0L2FuAiN
— . (@TsharpIV) October 31, 2023
So, it's all about resume and who you beat with @OhioStateFB which I agree with...However, that is not extended to @OU_Football with a win over @TexasFootball...Ummmm what?
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) October 31, 2023
Oklahoma picked up the huge win over Texas in the Red River Showdown, with quarterback Dillon Gabriel driving the team down 75 yards into the endzone in over a minute, culminating in a touchdown pass to Nic Anderson for the 34-30 victory.
Since that game, Oklahoma overcame a comeback by the UCF Knights to pick up the 31-29 win in Week 8. Then, in Week 9, the Sooners lost 38-33 to the Kansas Jayhawks for their first loss of the season.
As for Texas, they picked up a narrow 31-24 win over the Houston Cougars in Week 8, a game in which they lost starting quarterback Quinn Newers to a grade 2 AC joint sprain. Then, in Week 9, the Longhorns, led by Maalik Murphy, defeated the BYU Cougars 35-6.
Texas' big win of the season was in Week 2 against the Alabama Crimson Tide by a 34-24 score. Hence why they were ranked over Alabama, who received the No. 8 slot.
There is always debate as to why the Selection Committee makes the decisions they do. The only thing Oklahoma can do is win out and hope that Texas does lose a game down the stretch. Their game this weekend will be against the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats. As for Oklahoma, they face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the final Bedlam Series.