With a 24 point lead at halftime, the Sooner dominance didn’t stop there.
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Oklahoma lost five games a year ago after being favored to win the conference then were the face of the campus reaction after a racist video made by an Oklahoma fraternity became public during spring practices. A ranking outside the top four would be a shock, however.
The Big 12, slighted the first time the four-team playoff format came around, will be represented this year, no matter what happens in next week’s conference championship games.
The Sooners (11-1, 8-1 Big 12, No. 3 playoff standings) gained 524 yards, including 344 on the ground, to claim their third win over a ranked opponent in three weeks.
Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine (32) crosses the goal line while being chased by Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. The loss ended Notre Dame’s bid for a berth in the College Football Playoff and kept Stanford’s slim hopes alive. However, in spite of a loss to a 4-7 team, Oklahoma may have the most impressive resume in the nation.
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech, who have all finished their regular seasons, are bowl bound. Joe Hubener threw for 133 yards while running for two touchdowns, Winston Dimel also ran for two scores, and Kansas State (5-6, 2-7) moved within a victory over West Virginia in its home finale next weekend of becoming bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season.
It took an overhaul and a few painful decisions, but less than a year later, Oklahoma is playoff bound. One, Jay Norvell, shared a locker room with him when the two played together at Iowa back in 1982.
Three Big Ten teams followed with Iowa at No. 4, Michigan State No. 5 and Ohio State No. 6. But a loss isn’t a guaranteed elimination.
Play for a Big 12 championship.
More than just the wins themselves, it was the way the Sooners went about their business in a show of strength that clearly separated OU as the best team in the Big 12 this season.
Easier said than done when so much attention is thrust on the College Football Playoff, especially after the Sooners cracked the top four of the latest CFP rankings at No. 3.
Is this team capable of winning the national championship?
Marquise Williams has the North Carolina Tar Heels one win away from the biggest post-season game in more than a quarter century. “We felt comfortable with what he could do for us offensively”. After the upset victory at Ohio State, the Spartans avoided the letdown trap against the Nittany Lions in large part by getting star quarterback Connor Cook back from a shoulder injury suffered November 14. Any potential scenarios for their inclusion start with both Clemson and Alabama losing their respective championship games.
No title game, no problem.
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But they just didn’t have enough help on the other side of the ball as the Sooners won Bedlam to knock off their rivals and win the Big 12 and in all likelihood clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff in the process on their rivals field.
