2. Oklahoma
Everyone has been hard on the Oklahoma Sooners this season, but you could argue they’ve done a nice job since the pivot to quarterback Caleb Williams.
That’s a hard needle to thread for such a high-profile team with immense pressure to win. The Sooners and Head Coach Lincoln Riley have been winning by 20+ points since naming Williams as the new starter.
Not to mention, through all of this, the Sooners remain undefeated. Yes, they’ve had a few close calls, but at the end of the day, a win is a win.
For the body of work we have seen so far, Oklahoma deserves to be in the top four of the CFP rankings.
The game against No. 12 Baylor on Nov. 13 should tell us everything we need to know about this iteration of the Sooners.
3. SMU
Southern Methodist has one of the best offenses in the entire country, averaging 42 points per game. Their quarterback, Tanner Mordecai, has thrown 32 touchdown passes this season, enough to be second-most in the FBS.
The Mustangs have been ranked No. 24 or better since Oct. 3 and got a huge win over TCU in Week 3 of the college football season.
SMU lost their only game of the season last week against Houston on a wild, 100-yard kickoff return at the end of the game. There’s no way the team should be penalized for essentially one play of the season.
Not to mention, SMU is still ranked in both the AP and Coaches Poll. They should be ranked just inside the Top 25 of the playoff rankings.