Lincoln Riley 'Very Confident' Oklahoma Can Continue to Win After Big 12 Title

The Oklahoma Sooners must wait until Sunday to find out if they are among the best four teams in college football, but coach Lincoln Riley believes his squad his more than capable of competing with anyone.

"I get that there are other great teams out there, but I feel very confident this team can go forward and continue to win," Riley said after Oklahoma pulled out a 39-27 victory over archrival Texas in the Big 12 championship game Saturday, per ESPN.com's Jake Trotter. "I think our best ball is ahead of us. We've got some great players behind us I think that a lot of people don't want to play."

The Sooners entered championship weekend No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, behind Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Georgia. Depending on how championship weekend shakes out, Oklahoma could move into the Top Four.

Regardless, Riley believes Saturday's Big 12 title put the finishing touches on a playoff-caliber resume. 

"We'll let the committee do their job," Riley said, per Trotter. "They've got a lot of good things to look at from this team today. I'm sure they were tuned in watching this. And if they did, I think they saw one of the best teams in the country."

With Saturday's victory, Oklahoma (12-1) has beaten every team on its schedule. The Sooners lost to the Longhorns, 48-45, on October 6, but they avenged that loss with heightened stakes.

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Oklahoma's latest win comes on the heels of a 59-56 victory over then-No. 13 West Virginia in Morgantown. 

The Sooners can light up the scoreboard as much as any team, as they've averaged 49.5 points per game. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Kyler Murray, Oklahoma has scored fewer than 37 points just once this season.

However, the biggest argument against the Sooners has been their porous defense. They're are allowing 32.4 points per game, including 47.3 in November. They made some adjustments after coughing up 48 points to the Longhorns two months ago, though, allowing fewer 21 points Saturday. And after the game entered the fourth quarter tied 27-27, the defense came up with a key safety and interception to capture the conference title.

Oklahoma must wait to see what happens with Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State later Saturday. The Sooners have done enough to put themselves in the playoff conversation, but it will be up to the committee to decide if they are deserving of a spot.