Although it always feels better from a pride standpoint to be ranked higher rather than lower, in this case the Sooners are in a better position to advance out of the first playoff round than in all probability would be the case if they had held on to the No. 3 seed and been paired up against No. 2 Alabama in one of the national semifinal games.
As the No. 4 seed, the Sooners are matched up against Clemson, the top-ranked team in the country and the only undefeated team among this season’s Playoff participants. On the surface, that might seem to be a bigger hurdle to get to the national championship game than playing the next team down in this year’s college football pecking order.