No. 5 Oklahoma’s path is clear cut: win and they’re in; No. 11 Oklahoma State needs quite a bit of help, but a victory over its in-state rival would put the Cowboys on the right path. The Bears play TCU before going to Oklahoma.
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Four teams dropped out of the rankings after losing, including LSU and Utah, which were both ranked in the top five earlier this season. Texas Tech, 6. Oklahoma and 17.
Not only can Mayfield produce long plays in the passing game (he’s completing 55 percent of throws of 20-plus yards, per Pro Football Focus), he is also remarkably agile in the open field, capable of blistering a defense on the ground. I’ll still take @Baylor, TCU, @Tennessee, West Virginia, @Texas Tech, and…@Oklahoma State (if they win) against anyone else’s slate below them.
No. 24 Toledo is back in to represent the Mid-American Conference.
No. 5 Oklahoma at No. 9 Oklahoma State.
All three programs are now contenders on the national scene. Even if OSU loses Bedlam, the hype going into next season will be silly, and the battle between TCU, Baylor, OU, and OSU could be even more epic than this year.
Among teams with wins vs. opponents with winning records, Oklahoma ranks second with six. Now the Sooners head to Stillwater for Bedlam.
It’s the second time in three weeks GameDay has hit the Big 12. It’s not frustrating, but it makes it more hard to be successful on offense and generate points and yards. Oklahoma has beaten two teams (Baylor and TCU) who were both without their starting quarterback. As for their wins, beating a solid Navy team is looking better and better each week. Of course, the voters for the playoff have proven how they feel about the Big 12 in the past, so it remains to be seen if one of those teams could leapfrog (currently No. 4) Notre Dame. The conference’s slogan, One True Champion, was tested. If Oklahoma wins, the Sooners will claim the league crown outright, their ninth since the Big 12 was formed in 1996. “The attitude of the players is really good, and they practiced well (Sunday) night, so we’re back to work and getting ready for (Oklahoma)”. Plus Baylor has been playing with their backup and now could be down to their third string quarterback.
To avoid a recurrence of the situation, the Big 12 implemented new tiebreaker rules before the 2015 season.
They came into this past weekend undefeated with huge playoff aspirations, but Baylor handed them their first loss of the year with an impressive road victory (thus creating the one-loss trio at the top of the Big 12).
– Kansas coach David Beaty will make his Sunshine State rivalry debut when the Jayhawks (0-11, 0-8) play at Kansas State (4-6, 1-6) on Saturday, their last chance to avoid a winless season. The loss resulted in a 10 spot slide in the AP Poll, and the Cowboys will likely slip away from the sixth spot when the latest CFP rankings are released Tuesday night. The question will be if the committee will value one-loss Big 12 teams over other potential one-loss teams such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, or Iowa. Baylor has now had at least three offensive honorees in three straight years and four of the last five. The days of only Oklahoma and Texas reigning supreme are gone.
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Bedlam has surpassed Red River as the Big 12’s most relevant rivalry, and The Revivalry has turned anything but civil.
