Iowa State’s 24-21 victory over Texas on Thanksgiving Friday jumped the Cyclones ahead of OU in the College Football Playoff committee rankings released Tuesday night. Iowa State rose from 13th to ninth, while the Sooners remained No. 11, after their game at West Virginia was postponed by COVID-19 testing protocols.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing for OU. If the Sooners reach the Big 12 Championship Game against the Cyclones, that would provide each of those two-loss teams a quality opponent to make one final statement for playoff inclusion.
In the six years since the playoff’s advent, no two-loss team has been included.