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Big 12, College Football Playoff Picture Should Become More Clear After Bedlam

University of Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell leads a fourth-quarter drive against Oklahoma State University during the 2013 Bedlam matchup in Stillwater,
Brian Hardzinski
/
KGOU
University of Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell leads a fourth-quarter drive against Oklahoma State University during the 2013 Bedlam matchup in Stillwater,

The University of Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State University Saturday night in Stillwater in a highly-anticipated matchup that has conference and national championship implications. But for two of the three teams still in contention for the Big 12 title, it’s a little bit complicated.

OU is easy. Just win your next game.

The Sooners will be crowned Big 12 champions for the eighth time with a victory over the Cowboys. OU moved into third in the latest College Football Playoff rankings unveiled Tuesday night, and head coach Bob Stoops says that puts the Sooners in a good position to contend for a national championship in January.

“You play three ranked teams at the end of the year. Two of them in the Top 10, the other, according to the AP, until we beat TCU was 11th. Two of them on the road, and then on the road at SEC Tennessee, you ought to be recognized for it,” Stoops said.

The other two teams that could win the Big 12 need some help. If OSU beats the Sooners, it would need Baylor University to lose one of its final two remaining games.

If OSU wins, and Baylor beats both Texas Christian University and the University of Texas, the Bears would capture their third straight Big 12 title.

Even though Oklahoma State University is likely out of contention for the College Football Playoff, head football coach Mike Gundy says the annual year-end matchup between the in-state rivals lately has almost always had conference and national implications.

“Over the last, I don't know, six or eight years, maybe, the Bedlam game has changed some because of the significance that's there,” Gundy said. “Because of that, I think it's created a little more in the community, and in the state. So it's always a fun week."       

OSU's undefeated season came to an end last Saturday after a 35-45 loss to Baylor. OSU was ranked 11th in Tuesday's College Football Playoffs rankings.

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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