The Sooners aren’t off life support just yet. With two games remaining, they’re still very much in the thick of the chase for the Big 12 title. They don’t control their own destiny though. Oklahoma is locked in a four-way tie with Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Iowa State. It’s the latter of these teams that could end up being the biggest help to Oklahoma’s cause…or the biggest hindrance.
It’s not possible for the four-way tie to hold through the final two weeks of the season, and Iowa State is the reason why. The Cyclones final two games are at home against Texas this Saturday, and on the road at Kansas State on November 25th. A win over the Longhorns greatly increases OU’s chances of making it to Arlington, a Cyclone sweep to close out the season would but the Sooners back in the driver’s seat.
ISU isn’t involved in that tie up, but they sure could create some havoc on it. Oklahoma beat the Cyclones 50-20 on September 30, but since the Iowa State has won four of its last five games. They’re in prime position to pull some late-season upsets and that’s exactly what the Sooners need. OU holds a tiebreaker over Texas, but they didn’t play Kansas State this season. Not playing the Wildcats complicates things a little bit, but all of that all goes away should Matt Campbell do Oklahoma a solid on the final weekend of their season.
Of course, Oklahoma has to handle it’s business as well. The Sooners are on the road, for the first time ever, in Provo, Utah. They’ll close out their final regular season in the Big 12 on Black Friday by hosting TCU. OU is currently a -24.5 favorite over the Cougars and should be heavy favorites over the Horned Frogs. It’s not the remaining opponents on Oklahoma’s schedule that is going to be the hard part, it’s waiting on someone else to help.
There are other ways for the Sooners to punch a ticket to Arlington but it would require a lot more chaos than the Cyclones just finishing out the final two weeks with back-to-back wins. It’s the clearest and easiest path for OU.
ISU is currently a +7.5 point underdog to Texas.
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