Bob Stoops takes issue with CFP committee on Oklahoma ranking

Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops doesn’t quite understand the reasoning behind the Sooners low spot in the first College Football Playoff ranking. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Stoops called out several perceived flaws in the selection committee’s process.

OU found itself at No. 8 in the initial rankings despite a 9-0 record, causing an uproar among fans in Norman. Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon are all above the Sooners despite already having one loss.

“At this point, I think we’re being penalized for not winning pretty enough,” Stoops said. “I disagree with the committee in this way: I believe losing is far worse than winning poorly. OU hasn’t lost and we have four teams in front of OU that have a loss. I can live a little bit to some degree with a tight Michigan-Michigan State game. Michigan led a good part of the game. But Ohio State hasn’t beat anybody of importance and they lost to Oregon at home. Alabama loses to a two-loss team at the time. To me, winning poorly trumps losing. So I disagree with it, but I didn’t panic about it at all knowing our big games are coming.”

Five of the Sooners’ nine victories have come by a touchdown or less. They also had a scare in Lawrence against a Kansas team that is currently winless in Big 12 play.

Although Oregon has a quality win against Ohio State, it also has by far the worst loss of teams ranked ahead of Oklahoma. The Ducks fell in Week 5 to a Stanford team that is currently 3-5. The Cardinal lost to Kansas State, which Oklahoma has already beaten on the road, in Week 1.

Despite the obvious disrespect from the committee regarding the ranking of Oklahoma, Bob Stoops isn’t worried. He believes that as long as OU wins the remainder of its games, it will be among the top four at the end of the season. It would be incredibly difficult to deny an undefeated Power 5 school a spot in the Playoff.

“First of all, I hope the whole Sooner nation will calm down,” the coach said. “It’ll be fine. We’ve got our biggest games coming with Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State. Both Baylor and Oklahoma State are ranked in the top 15. And we’re gonna have a Big 12 championship if OU can continue to win out. If that all happens, we’ll move up. I strongly believe that.”

Games against the Bears and Cowboys could also be previews of the conference championship. Baylor and OSU are tied for second place in the Big 12 ahead of Week 10, with the Cowboys owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“Again, I think the losses will matter more for those other teams if OU can win out,” Stoops said. “The best part of our league is coming. I believe if those quality wins come, they will make a big difference and the losses from the other teams will become more significant in their eyes.”

Oklahoma has a bye in Week 10 before heading to Waco, Texas on Nov. 13.