Daily Bullets (Nov. 11): OSU’s Path to the Big 12 Title Game, Ranked Bedlam Matchup Coming?

Happy Veteran’s Day and a warm thank you to all who served. Loved *loved* that OSU came out with these new unis for the occasion. 

Bullets Rundown

• OSU’s path to the Big 12 title game
• Ranked Bedlam matchup coming?
• Boynton’s defensive backcourt

Scores

• Men’s Tennis: A pair of Pokes won title at Fall Nationals

OSU Bullets

• The weekend in Big 12 football didn’t go as well as you’d like (for OSU’s chance to climb the charts) with OU and Texas both winning. But OSU’s path to the title game is clearer than you’d think.

OSU’s road to the Big 12 title game isn’t crazy long. The Cowboys have lost to Baylor and Texas, teams with a better record. But if OSU wins out, Texas loses twice more (the Longhorns play at Iowa State, at Baylor and host Texas Tech) and OU loses to Baylor or Kansas, the Cowboys would be in. [NewsOK]

You don’t have to pass everybody, you just have to get to second place. Last week, there were options for more teams to drop out of the race. But now it’s up to the bluebloods.

• As the Pokes climbed into the top-25 after a week of inactivity, the season appears headed for a more exciting finish than anticipated.

The Cowboys welcome Kansas and then head to West Virginia for a couple of chances to build upon back-to-back wins and rise in the rankings before a home finale against OU.

This sets up for a ranked-on-ranked Bedlam for the fourth time in five years and eighth time in the last 10. And those, to me, are just more fun. [PFB]

I had a blast watching (overtimes) of the Baylor-TCU game this weekend, that’s become a really fun rivalry. But I can’t get my orange glasses off enough to say it’s a better series than Bedlam with ranked teams.

• It sounds like Isaac Likekele and Avery Anderson are more than pretty offensive games.

Anderson said he has grown from practicing against Likekele, a 6-foot-4 vocal leader who assumed his starting position as a freshman. Although Anderson and Likekele have different builds and strengths, they share a focus on aggressive defense.

“They bring so (many) different dynamics to our defensive schemes because they, first of all, take a lot of pride in it,” Boynton said. “They want to be known as defensive stoppers.” [O’Colly]

It’s so much more fun to watch a team that takes pride in defending – I’ll take a couple of point guards who take that end seriously.

• While this doesn’t have to do with OSU, a really cool moment happened in college football over the weekend as Minnesota went 9-0 for the first time since before the First Great War.

“The field was wild,” Gophers senior defensive end Carter Coughlin said. “I didn’t know if people were going to storm the field. As soon as I looked up, there were thousands of people. I couldn’t even walk through it.”

They’re not used to this here. Minnesota hadn’t beaten a top-5 team at home since Oct. 22, 1977, when it shut out top-ranked Michigan at the old Memorial Stadium, before any of the current players or students were born. Phillip John Fleck, the coach behind Minnesota’s current renaissance, wouldn’t enter the world for three more years. [ESPN]

I’m not a Big Ten fan (or a PJ Fleck fan for that matter) but there’s just something awesome about fan bases that haven’t won big in a long time having their “moment”.  Minnesota plays perhaps the softest schedule in the Power Five but good for them.

• After firing their coach over the weekend before his second year was done, I’m intrigued by what Arkansas does next – here are candidates (please hire Leach!)

• Pokes open at 17.5 over the Jayhawks.

Oklahoma opens as a 10.0 point favorite against Baylor.

Oklahoma State is a 17.5 favorite against Kansas.

— Bryan Keating (@KOCOKeating) November 10, 2019

Non-OSU Bullets

• This chess grandmaster chewing on happiness/joy was good (NYT)
• Really enjoyed this How I Built This episode looking at a lobster business
• Finished this faith-based read late last week looking at how to manage a family with all of today’s tech – a great book on the topic

This run yesterday was incredible.

Lamar Jackson makes me want to play Madden again pic.twitter.com/Z1gMJZZexe

— Pablo S. Torre (@PabloTorre) November 10, 2019