Oklahoma lost at TCU, but the Sooners picked a good week to lose.
Lots of losses from lots of top-25 teams.
The Sooners aren't out of the college playoff talk, but they certainly don't have as much wiggle room.
Here's a peek at the teams surrounding the Sooners and the ones most likely to affect Oklahoma at the end of the season:
Oklahoma (4-1)
Best win: At West Virginia.
What's next: Vs. Texas in Dallas, Saturday.
Trending: Down. The loss to TCU isn't devastating, due to the fact there are lots of teams who have lost games, but losing out on an opportunity to beat a Top 25 team on the road hurts OU. The Sooners needed another bonus to their schedule. Instead, OU will now need help.
Chances of making the playoff: Good, but not great.The Sooners need help, no other way to look at it. Now, if OU wins out, the Sooners will be able to make a strong case, but now OU needs TCU to lose to Baylor and probably a few losses combined by one or both of the Mississippi schools.
In or out if the playoff started today: Out.
Alabama (4-1)
Best win: Beat West Virginia in the season opener.
What's next: At Arkansas, Saturday.
Trending: Downward. There's a trend coming into view: When Alabama plays a good team, it loses. Alabama has played and lost to Auburn, Oklahoma and Ole Miss over the past eight games.
Chances of making the playoff over Oklahoma: Good, by a little bit. It's close. Alabama has more shots at redeeming themselves than the Sooners do.
In or out if the playoff started today: Out, but because the Tide play I the SEC, there's always a chance for redemption.
Auburn (5-0)
Best win: At Kansas State last Thursday.
What's next: At Mississippi State, Saturday.
Trending: Way up. Auburn has the best wins in the country this year, beating Arkansas, Kansas State and then stomping LSU, 41-7.
Chances of making the playoff over Oklahoma: Lock. Auburn would have to implode to fall below the Sooners.
In or out if the playoff started today: In. No. 1 seed.
Florida State (5-0)
Best win: Vs. Clemson. It happened with a back-up quarterback and a fourth-quarter rally to win in overtime.
What's next: At Syracuse, Saturday.
Trending: Even. The Noles fooled around against Wake Forest for a half before winning easily, 43-3.
Chances of making the playoff over Oklahoma: Really good. An unbeaten FSU team is in over OU. A one-loss FSU team would have a bit more issue with the Sooners, considering there's no only one ranked team left on FSU's schedule.
In or out if the playoff started today: In. No. 2 seed.
Mississippi State (5-0)
Best win: Vs. Texas A&M last Saturday
What's next: Vs. Auburn, Saturday.
Trending: Way up. It's a good time to be a Bulldog. MSU has back-to-back wins over then No. 8 LSU and then No. 6 Texas A&M.
Chances of making the playoff over Oklahoma: Really good. Even if the Bulldogs lose this week against Auburn -- a real possibility -- MSU would still lhave a great edge over the Sooners. It already has two wins over two top-10 teams with games still left against Alabama and Ole Miss. That's a tough resume to top.
In or out if the playoff started today: In. No. 3 seed.
Ole Miss (5-0)
Best win: Vs. Alabama last Saturday.
What's next: At Texas A&M, Saturday
Trending: Way up. It's a great time to be a Rebel, too. Ole Miss had its most-impressive win in years with the rally over Alabama. It also has a good win over Boise State.
Chances of making the playoff over Oklahoma: Really good, because Ole Miss has an opportunity to really impress. Now, the Rebels could fall apart, too. They still have games left against A&M, Auburn, Arkansas and Mississippi State. A one-loss Ole Miss team is superior to OU. The Sooners need the Rebels to lose twice.
In or out if the playoff started today: In. No. 4 seed.
Others to watch heading into week 6: Arizona (5-0) had a really impressive win on the road against Oregon. The Wildcats needed a last-second Hail Mary to beat Cal, but this team is a sneaky 5-0 with games against UCLA and possibly a Pac 12 championship left TCU (4-0) is coming off a win over a top-five team in Oklahoma and now has the most to gain of any team in the nation with an another game against a top-five team â Baylor â this week. If the Frogs win Saturday, they'll be ranked in the top-three, themselves ...Oregon (4-1) ... lost to Arizona last Saturday. Ouch. The Ducks don't look as powerful as they did in years past, now they'll have to be perfect the rest of the season ...Texas A&M (5-1) was in a tough spot at Mississippi State last Saturday. No shame in the loss, but the Aggies will need to win Saturday against Ole Miss to remain relevant ... Notre Dame (5-0) won again. Does anyone think the Irish are among the top four in the country? Well, Notre Dame has a lot more chances to prove it belongs. The Irish have No. 1 Florida State in two weeks. We'll see ... Baylor (5-0) won again, but struggled against Texas. Tougher test this week against TCU. ... Michigan State (4-1) nearly coughed up a big, fourth-quarter lead against Nebraska. Not the kind of performance that turns heads in a week conference ... Georgia (5-1) is quietly moving along and has a chance to get back in the conversation with a win this week at No. 23 Missouri ... Georgia Tech (5-0) ... Is unbeaten. Did you even notice?
Last week's top-four: 1. FSU, 2. Oregon, 3. Auburn 4. Oklahoma
No longer looking at: LSU, Nebraska, BYU, Stanford, UCLA, Wisconsin
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
