It wasn't a completely unforeseen result, but the Houston Cougars did shock many by pulling off the 33-23 upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. It was the first of several matchups between ranked teams on college football's opening weekend, and with the lower-ranked Cougars winning, it told us a lot about what to expect for the remainder of the season. Here are three things we learned from Houston's upset victory:
Houston is going to give the College Football Playoff selection committee a headache
The Cougars showed how good they were last year by beating Florida State in the Peach Bowl, and with almost all of their key players returning - and a stellar incoming recruiting glass - this game was supposed to be the measuring stick as to if Houston was one of the best teams in the country again. Well, now that they've passed their test with flying colors, what will the playoff committee do with them?
They are favored to go undefeated in the conference, and an undefeated Houston team with a win over the No. 3 team in the country is going to be something the playoff committee can't ignore. Obviously, there's still a lot of football to be played (and Oklahoma can't have the wheels fall off for this win to still hold weight), but it's the playoff committee's worst nightmare.
The only competitive game Houston has left on the schedule is Louisville, and they get the Cardinals at home. If they're sitting with a 13-0 record at the end of the season, with wins over two quality teams in Oklahoma and Louisville, they may get in the final four over some one-loss Power 5 conference champions who have less quality wins.
Oklahoma is the same Oklahoma
Bob Stoops has always struggled with high preseason expectations since he's been in Norman, and as talented and as different as we though this team was, they couldn't avoid falling victim to that bug as well. The Sooners finished 8-5 after being ranked No. 4 in the preseason in 2014, then 10-3 after being No. 4 preseason in 2012, and 10-3 after being No. 1 preseason in 2011 - just to name the last three instances.
It seems like Oklahoma is set to follow the same old script. However...
That said, the Sooners aren't done
The good news for Oklahoma is that they have an excellent chance to redeem themselves right away, as they'll face what should be a top five Ohio State team in two weeks in Norman. Win that game, and suddenly all of the ill-effects from this game will fade away, putting Oklahoma right back into the playoff conversation. However, if they lose...that dream is over.
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