Oklahoma’s season-defining win at Alabama is already paying off in the polls. After the 23-21 upset in Tuscaloosa, the Sooners jumped back into the AP top 10 at No. 8, leapfrogging the Crimson Tide, who slid to 10th.

It’s a sharp reversal from midseason, when OU tumbled out of the top six after losses to Texas and Ole Miss and seemed to be fading from the College Football Playoff conversation.

That momentum just spilled into recruiting. Class of 2027 cornerback Mikyal Davis has committed to Oklahoma, he told Hayes Fawcett of Rivals.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Phoenix product chose the Sooners over Texas, Alabama, and Ohio State, turning his pledge into an instant talking point in the Red River rivalry as Oklahoma snatched a blue-chip defensive back away from multiple national powers, including their archrival.

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For Brent Venables, it is exactly the kind of defensive recruiting win that fits the identity he has been building. Davis projects as the type of twitchy outside corner who thrives in an aggressive system, and picking OU over Texas only sharpened the perception that the Sooners are reasserting themselves on both the field and the trail at the expense of programs they expect to see in the CFP race.

On the field, Oklahoma just proved again it belongs in that conversation. Quarterback John Mateer didn’t post gaudy numbers against Alabama, but he accounted for 161 total yards and a bulldozing 20-yard rushing score in the 23-21 road win.

The Sooners are 8-2 with four victories over ranked opponents, including Michigan, Auburn, Tennessee, and now the Tide, and their defense sacked Ty Simpson four times while surviving persistent offensive stagnation. That resume has OU firmly in the playoff mix if it can finish the regular season strong against Missouri and LSU.

Put together, the climb back into the top 10 and a headline-grabbing flip like Davis’ commitment over Texas sends the same message. Oklahoma is winning high-stakes Saturdays and high-stakes recruitments again, and if the Sooners cash in this late-season surge with a CFP berth, Davis’ decision will look like one more shot across the bow in a rivalry that is only getting hotter.