Week 12 is all about Oklahoma. Oh well. These runners can be incorporated in the passing attack as well so the front seven for Oklahoma State will have to keep itself honest in recognizing pass and run.
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The Cowboys’ case is tricky, as they have beaten only one ranked team to this point (TCU) and have escaped with a number of close calls.
At the beginning of the month, he was nowhere in the national discussion for college football’s highest individual award. Plus, several division titles could be handed out.
Last week, this space was used to discuss the prospect of whether or not the Big 12 would get shut out of the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. This time it was Baylor falling to Oklahoma.
With a back injury that left Stidham almost immobile against Oklahoma, there should be caution as to how long he can handle playing against the Big 12’s best pass rushing defense. Now just one spot out of the “last two out”, the Sooners can make a major statement by establishing TCU as a huge disappointment after going eight weeks undefeated.
Fresh off a loss to Oklahoma, No. 10 Baylor looks to rebound against No. 4 Oklahoma State in Stillwater- a place the Bears haven’t won since 1939. On a day many fates will be decided, there are three games in the country matching teams in the top 20 of the College Football Playoff rankings – all six teams involved have a chance to be in the four-team playoff but must win to keep those chances alive – and two of those pseudo playoff games are happening in prime time on Oklahoma soil.
The road teams both have quarterback issues.
Trevone Boykin surely lost his Heisman hopes with his bad game against the Cowboys and with top receiver Josh Doctson on the mend, the Horned Frogs have little chance to defeat a hot Sooners squad without the pair. Stidham’s status has been called into question this week, and while that may be exciting to a certain degree for the Cowboy faithful, I fully expect Stidham to trot out there for the Bears.
Over in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane host No. 17 Navy and record-breaking quarterback Keenan Reynolds.
However, no one has figured out a way to stop Oklahoma State so far this season. Those games and a few others to watch this weekend. At least Bill Snyder doesn’t coach Baylor right?!
The Tigers haven’t won an SEC title since 2011. Both teams will score a lot of points and the Cowboys will probably fall behind and roar back into contention – it seems to be their season blueprint, after all – but fall short on this occasion. Iowa would have fallen out of the picture (likely by losing to the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game) in order for Ohio State to remain where they are. Cook left MSU’s 24-7 win over Maryland in the first half with a shoulder injury, though vows that he could have played last week and feels ready to go on Saturday afternoon. Ohio State’s defense will be looking to shut Cook down.
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Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer will coach his final game at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg against No. 12 North Carolina. Both of these teams need to win out for a shot at the playoff, but it’s fair to say that Oklahoma, which is No. 7 and has a Heisman candidate in quarterback Baker Mayfield, has a lot more to lose.
