After two losses in a row early in the season, some Oklahoma football fans had already accepted there’s a good chance the Sooners wouldn’t be heading down to Jerry’s World for the Big 12 Conference title game in December.
With a loss to Kansas State and Iowa State, the Sooners’ run for the title looks out of mind and out of sight. However, after Oklahoma State’s loss to Texas this weekend, those three teams now have one loss tagged to their name.
What has to happen in the Big 12?
Though there are currently three teams in front of the Sooners who are only sitting on one loss, the Sooners and Kansas State have yet to play Oklahoma State. On Saturday, Kansas State and Oklahoma State will take each other on in Manhattan. This game will automatically attribute another loss to one of the two one-loss teams. In this instance, it is important to note the best possible way for the Sooners to have a spot in the championship is for Oklahoma State to beat Kansas State.
The importance of an Oklahoma State loss this weekend is due to the Sooners having already lost to Kansas State but have yet to play the Cowboys. If all four front runners sit at two losses by the end of the season, they will take the teams like Kansas State, which has beaten another front runner previously in the season.
The only other team posing a problem for the Sooners is Iowa State. This past weekend Iowa State took its second loss of the season to Oklahoma State. However, one of those losses was out of the conference.
The good news is Iowa State and Kansas State haven’t played each other yet. However, this game will only determine the Sooner’s fate if Kansas State loses to Oklahoma State this weekend. The reasoning behind this outcome being positive for Oklahoma football is due to the fact that now Kansas State will have yet another loss bringing it to two conference losses as well.
This outcome doesn’t guarantee the Sooners a spot. With all four teams having the same record and intermingling of who beat who, the only way for Oklahoma to really be sitting comfortably is if one or both of the teams the Sooners lost to were to lose outside of these four teams.
It is also important to note West Virginia has the same record as the Sooners and currently sits in the same position until they play one another or it loses before then.
What the Sooners have to do
As for the Sooners, what they have to do is simple. Don’t lose another game. Of course, it goes without saying that if the Sooners lose one more game, there is a good chance any grasp they had at the conference title has vanished.
Having already played both Kansas State and Iowa State, the Sooners are in a better position than others in the Big 12 because they have already suffered the losses from both teams, leaving mostly lower-ranked teams for the Sooners to play. However, the one team they have yet to play is their little brother Oklahoma State.
The Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State game (better known as Bedlam) has always been a rivalry game. The only difference this year is winning Bedlam has a lot more than just bragging rights attached to it.
A lot of the Sooners’ fate is in the hands of other teams, but a win against Oklahoma State while also winning out is the only thing Oklahoma football can do at this point if it wants to be holding the trophy in Dallas this December.
The Sooners will continue their championship run this weekend as they take on the Kansas Jayhawks at home on Saturday.