Heather Dinich believes College Football Playoff committee ignores Oklahoma's win over Texas ahead of first rankings

It’s hard to forget the performance Oklahoma put on against Texas in Dallas. Brent Venables needed to make a statement in the rivalry, earning a dramatic 34-30 win at the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma was undefeated and looks primed to have a huge season, potentially contending for the College Football Playoff.

Things came crashing down on Saturday in Lawrence, where Kansas pulled off an upset over the Sooners. The record now sits at 8-1 heading into the first CFP rankings of the season, where ESPN’s Heather Dinich believes Texas will be ranked ahead of Oklahoma, despite the head-to-head matchup.

“I think it will be interesting to see — does the Selection Committee completely ignore Oklahoma’s head-to-head win against Texas in what is one of college football’s most storied rivalries? I think they do,” Dinich said during Monday’s episode of The Paul Finebaum Show. “Oklahoma lost to Kansas, they did not look good in that win to UCF. I think they drop below.”

Of course, everything can change in the blink of an eye with either Texas or Oklahoma losing moving forward. But Dinich does have Steve Sarkisian‘s squad as a better bet to make the College Football Playoff at the moment. She looked at the nonconference portion of the schedule as to why.

“To me, the Big 12’s best bet for a playoff contender right now is Texas,” Dinich said. “In large part because of that win in Tuscaloosa.”

Sarkisian agrees with Dinich. He made his case for Texas’ win against Alabama being the best in the country heading into Tuesday night’s reveal. He knows just how difficult beating Nick Saban can be, let alone at Bryant Denny-Stadium.

“I’d argue we have the best win in the country right now, the fact that we go into Tuscaloosa, Ala. and beat a team that was 52-1 in the previous 53 games of going in there,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “I hear so much about how tough the SEC is, but I haven’t seen any of those teams go into Alabama and win either.”

Looking at Oklahoma’s nonconference schedule, they have wins over Arkansas State, SMU, and Tulsa on the road. Yes, they were supposed to play Georgia but the SEC canceled the game. There was nothing athletic director Joe Castiglione could do but put an easier opponent on the schedule.

But for now, the nonconference results are the difference between the two Red River rivals in Dinich’s eyes. Maybe the Selection Committee will feel different, especially with Kansas having a 6-2 record and already being bowl-eligible.

All will be revealed in just under 24 hours and the precedent will be set for the rest of the season. And after all, there is a chance this debate is settled in Arlington on Dec. 2.