Oklahoma Has a Playoff Problem

Reaching the College Football Playoff in four out of its six years is truly a magnificent accomplishment. Oklahoma should be extremely happy about the state of the program and the seemingly endless amount of Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterbacks who have passed through Norman in recent years. And yet, year after year, we get a reminder of just how far the Sooners are from reaching the pinnacle of the sport.

With LSU's 63-28 dusting still hot off the stove, Oklahoma is now 0-4 in the elimination round. They lost by 20 to Clemson, by six in overtime to Georgia in Pasadena, by 11 after a furious comeback against Alabama last year, and now by 35 to Joe Burrow and his unstoppable force.

The past two years, they've faced 28- and 35-point deficits at halftime. And remember, they're digging these holes while possessing elite offensive talent. This season was supposed to be different, but has ended in the most humiliating fashion yet.

Alex Grinch brought improvement in the regular season yet couldn't yield desired results when it mattered most. Once again, the question remains: how does Oklahoma, the pride of the Big 12, hope to stack up against the best of the best when it can't hang on one side of the ball?

Look, today's result was no surprise and it's not entirely fair to bury a team for taking lumps against the literal best teams available. It's still four failures -- three in floundering fashion -- without ever getting over the hill.

It's a problem with a clear solution. It's just not an easy one to fix. Enlisting a defense capable of slowing down the most explosive amateur playmakers isn't something that can be done overnight.