Oklahoma football: What the experts project postseason for OU through Week 8

The first College Football Playoff rankings for 2023 will be released next Tuesday night, and if the Oklahoma football program can remain unbeaten after a stop off at Kansas this weekend, the initial CFP reveal should be a fun one for the Sooners.

A win over Kansas, which is far from a sure thing, would improve Oklahoma’s record to 8-0, just the second time in the last 18 years that OU has started the season with eight consecutive wins, but most assuredly would secure for the Sooners a top-10 ranking in the initial CFP standings for the 2023 season.

If things stay as they are through the weekend and OU is able to avoid an upset at Kansas, chances are good that the Sooners would settle into the No. 5 or 6 spot in the first reveal of the 2023 playoff rankings.

The ESPN College Football Power Index has Oklahoma at No. 4 this week, but the Sooners have the best chance of any team of making the College Football Playoff at 63.8 percent, according to the FPI.

The Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Sooners odds of making the playoff at +1300, trailing Florida State (+700), Ohio State (+700) and Georgia and Michigan (both +250).

If Oklahoma is fortunate enough to run the table and remain undefeated in its five remaining regular-season games and prevail in the Big 12 Championship game, the Sooners would be virtually guaranteed of making the playoff as the representative of the Big 12. That would be OU’s fifth appearance in the 10 years of the CFP format.

Regardless of what transpires in the final playoff rankings, the wide consensus at this stage of the season is that Oklahoma is headed for one of the New Year’s Six bowls.

Through games of Week 8, here is what the various media outlets project for the Oklahoma postseason bowl destination:

USA Today: Cotton Bowl vs. Penn State

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Cotton Bowl vs. Alabama

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Cotton Bowl vs. Alabama

CBS: Cotton Bowl vs. Oregon

247Sports: Peach Bowl vs. Alabama

Athlon Sports: Cotton Bowl vs. Oregon

Bleacher Report: Cotton Bowl vs. Washington

On3.com: Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia in College Football Playoff semifinal