Daily Bullets (Nov 21) – Looking at OSU’s Place in the Pecking Order

Top Teams

When you look at the top 25 teams in the country, should OSU figure into that list?

There are four teams that have already lost four games in the latest AP Top 25, about the number that would usually be found in the final poll of the season.

So why not a team with five losses, like Oklahoma State (6-5)? Or Missouri (7-4), which has surged since losing its first four Southeastern Conference games?

Oklahoma State has victories against three teams that did show up in the rankings this week in No. 11 Texas, No. 12 West Virginia and No. 21 Boise State. The Pokes also came within a 2-point conversion of beating No. 6 Oklahoma. [AssociatedPress]

If for no other reason… they’ve beaten someone on the fringe of that list (Boise State) and hung tight with another (Iowa State). But when you’re considering a top team, are they measured more by the upper limits of their performance (Texas, West Virginia, Boise State) or by plumbing the depths of the lows (Kansas State, Baylor losses)?

Place in the Hierarchy

Looking at OSU’s place in the Big 12 rankings at 6-5 (3-5 in conference play), it’s hard to believe they could wind up in the middle of the pack with those numbers.

5. Oklahoma State (6-5, 3-5): If the Cowboys beat TCU on Saturday, their status soars as the only seven-win team among the Big 12’s vast middle. Seems unlikely they could rise to the Alamo or Russell Athletic, but the Texas Bowl in Houston is a distinct possibility. A Houston rep was at the OSU-West Virginia game Saturday and publicly campaigned for the Cowboys. The Liberty Bowl would seem to be intrigued, too. [NewsOK]

Hard to believe but as the Pokes have struggled, others have consistently struggled more.

OSU and NCAA Notes

J.D. King makes for the third player to transfer from OSU mid-season….What kind of offense will Les Miles run?….Tylan Wallace on the verge of history….The future of football has flags….Ranking CFB rivalry games by playoff game impact

Wallace still holding down the contested catches lead.

Tylan Wallace leads the nation (and the Power-5) with 20 contested catches this year pic.twitter.com/7B5Vl7g82i

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 20, 2018

Loved UCF ahead of Ohio State.

Here’s the full #CFBPlayoff Top 2️⃣5️⃣ rankings for games played through November 17.

Is your team in? ? pic.twitter.com/jNfU4D9KWY

— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 21, 2018

The hypocrisy of “bad football” and the “best game”.

Y’all: “Big 12 football is a joke, who wants to watch all that offense?”

Also y’all: pic.twitter.com/8K08ZCunYz

— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) November 20, 2018

Yesterday on PFB

• OSU scheduled a home-and-home with the Ducks
• The play with it’s variations that destroyed the Mountaineers
• How OSU stacks up against TCU in the talent department
• OSU offered a 2019 defensive tackle late in the process
• Two key players to watch on the Frogs’ offense

Stuff I’m Reading

• Tulsa is paying remote workers to move to town
• Blockbuster’s most expensive late fee: triggering the founding of Netflix
• Interesting idea for the optimal Thanksgiving lunch/dinner time
• What Rams/Chiefs taught us about solid NFL teams