Roman Harper explains how Oklahoma could impact CFP hopes of several SEC teams

The path to the College Football Playoff for SEC teams might run through Oklahoma. The Sooners face six teams ranked in the top 15 of the preseason AP poll on their 2024 schedule, including four straight to close conference play.

SEC Network analyst Roman Harper argued that winning that game against OU will be important for many of those teams, especially late in the season. It could even be the difference between getting into the 12-team CFP or not.

“If Oklahoma does better than the experts say, they would have something to do with the SEC not getting as many teams in,” Harper said. “That’s because of the schedule. Look at everybody that thinks they have a chance to be in the playoffs. Tennessee, you’re gonna have that first one with Heupel coming back to Oklahoma. That’s gonna be a barn burner. Auburn, Jackson Arnold‘s first road game in the SEC and we know things get weird at Auburn.

“Then you’ve got the Red River Rivalry with Texas, at Ole Miss, at Missouri, Alabama at home and at LSU to finish it up. All these teams have championship and playoff aspirations and if Oklahoma wins, you ain’t gonna be there. If you beat Oklahoma, that means you’ve got a chance to be dancing late in the season.”

The Sooners rank seventh among the 16 SEC teams in strength of schedule to start the year according to ESPN. They also have College Football Playoff aspirations with a 36.6% chance of making the 12-team field in ESPN’s FPI.

If Oklahoma were to overperform and win four of those six games, it would likely secure its spot in the playoff. That will be easier said than done, but the Sooners enter the SEC ready for battle with perhaps the best defense they’ve had in years.

It makes sense the defense would see improvement in the third season under Brent Venables, a former defensive coordinator both at OU and Clemson. Linebacker Danny Stutsman (104 tackles) and safety Billy Bowman (six INTs) will lead the unit but are just two of many capable players.

How former five-star prospect Jackson Arnold performs in his first season at starting quarterback will really tell the story of how the Sooners perform in 2024. If he can play to his potential with what should be a deep group of receivers, OU could stand a shot at making so noise in 2024.

Even if the Sooners don’t make the playoff themselves, they look to have opportunity to play spoiler to a few teams.