No. 3 Oklahoma vs. Nebraska matchup and 2021 CFB playoff implications for Sooners win

The No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners came out victorious 23-16 at home in Saturday’s matchup with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Entering the game as a heavy 22.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, Spencer Rattler and the Sooners didn’t necessarily have the dominant performance people expected they would have against their old Big 8/12 rival. Nevertheless, they still got the job done and the question now is how that will affect the College Football Playoff picture come December.

It all depends on where exactly the Sooners are positioned at the end of the season. If head coach Lincoln Riley and his guys manage to run the table through the Big XII, then they’ll be a lock for one of those top four spots. If they drop a game, then things start to get dicey. OU hung on for dear life to stave off an upset bid from Tulane in Week 1 and beating a mediocre Nebraska team by just one touchdown at home doesn’t exactly bolster their resume and may in fact ding them should they be compared to other teams with a quality loss like Ohio State.

The best course of action is for Oklahoma to string together more dominant victories, beginning next week with West Virginia.