On the Pokes’ Bye Week, Which Big 12 Teams Should OSU Fans be Rooting for?

I’m not going to get wild here like some of our brethren in The Chamber did recently with their mathematical gymnastics that somehow had OSU in the Big 12 title game (this is a lie, I actually am going to do this below). But first, with OSU on a bye week and a full slate of Big 12 games, it is important to know which teams to root for (and against) this weekend.

First, we have to set a goal. I think finishing third in the conference and slithering into the Alamo Bowl would be outstanding. A coup, given how the season started. Any hopes of a back-door entrance into the Big 12 title died in Lubbock, but getting to third isn’t totally out of the question here.

Here are the current standings.

And here’s this weekend’s schedule.

So OSU is primarily rooting for Texas losses and Baylor wins at this point … I think. The path to third and the Alamo looks like this …

• Baylor winning out (except for OU)
• OU winning out (except for Bedlam)
• OSU winning out
• Iowa State winning out (except for OU)
• Kansas State winning out (except for Iowa State)
• Texas losing out

If the above happens, the standings at the top could be …

Baylor: 8-1
OU: 7-2
OSU: 6-3
ISU: 6-3
KSU: 6-3

OSU would technically finish third and likely be the choice for the Alamo Bowl given that Iowa State was just there and Chuba will have 9 million yards by that point.

Ok, fine, I’ll do the mathematical gymnastics. Let’s do it. Let’s get crazy. If you want to get OSU to Arlington, here’s how you do it …

Baylor: Wins out (9-0)
OSU: Wins out (6-3)
OU: Losses to OSU and Baylor -or- TCU (6-3)
ISU: Loss to OU (6-3)
Kansas State: Loss to Iowa State (6-3)
Texas: Losses to Baylor and Kansas State -or- Iowa State (5-4)

OSU, OU, Iowa State and Kansas State would all be tied at 6-3, and OSU would win the tiebreaker having beaten all three teams and would head to the Big 12 title game. There are other scenarios, but this is the most straightforward one.

The big key here is Texas. OSU needs them to get to four losses (you could do it with three but you’d need John Nash for that scenario). That KU victory in Austin would have been not only humorous but also beneficial to OSU trying to find a way into the top three and a clearer path to the back door of the Big 12 title.

As you can see from my convoluted scenarios above, there is a lot of football left to be played, and the bigger story (and more realistic one) is that OSU has a real chance to finish 6-3 in the conference and 9-3 overall. Both would be a revelation after consecutive losses to Tech and Baylor and would likely get them into a bowl not named the Liberty against a team not called Liberty when the dust settles on this entire thing.