Stewart Mandel doesn’t think OU is a Top 25 team…

Stewart Mandel, The Athletic’s Editor in Chief of College Football, has released something he’s calling the post-transfer portal early Top 25 for the 2022 college football season. Notably, he has left the Sooners outside the 25, lumping them in to the ‘others receiving votes’ section behind Iowa and BYU.

This has of course caught the attention of the Sooner nation on Twitter, who have let their feelings heard. Mandel followed up with his reasoning with the following:

For all the angry OU fans who want me to quit the profession for leaving them out of the early Top 25 today, here's a reminder why I think they might have problems this fall. pic.twitter.com/p7kPYwjywB

Sign up for ESPN+ now to stream live OU Basketball games!

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) February 4, 2022

Other Notable Schools in the Rankings

• Baylor – 11th
• OSU – 15th
• USC – 20th

Jason Kersey, OU Beat Writer for The Athletic, had this comment in response to his boss’ rankings:

What if I told you that one person’s top-25 CFB rankings on February 4 will have absolutely no bearing on how the season — still 7 months away — will go?

— Jason Kersey (@jasonkersey) February 4, 2022

Players Taking Notice?

It has not gone unnoticed by the players, either. While Mandel mentioned some Wide Receivers who were no longer with the team, some of the ones who stayed had this this to say:

? ? https://t.co/gyfFOubfNv

— Marvin Mims Jr. (@marvindmims) February 4, 2022

?? https://t.co/JKXfrW4aP3

— Theo Wease Jr (@_TheoWeaseJr) February 4, 2022

Former players, as well!

https://twitter.com/pdontplay/status/1489677478977323011?s=20&t=sVtLlT01qmo_Rl57t_CYTg

As of posting, Stewart is still defending that hill on Twitter. Kersey is right, of course, none of this matters when the season starts!

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