No. 7 Oklahoma rediscovers RB Samaje Perine in surge

The Sooners also will move up in the rankings this week and – if not for that infamous October stumble against Texas – Oklahoma would be a definite ingredient in the CFP mix.

The university says that the junior was released from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital on Saturday night, and that he walked out under his own power.

The rest of the Big 12 drops off the cliff after the first four. The Buckeyes won their 30th straight conference game, making it the longest streak in college football. “I feel like the guys did a great job of that today”. “Saturday, after the game, I was feeling pretty bad”, Stidham said. “I can’t comprehend those complaints…” Oklahoma might just be that good. Alabama has destroyed five opponents that were ranked when it played them. The Horned Frogs’ lone loss came two weeks ago when they last crossed the Red River to play Oklahoma State.

Guess what? There’s no such thing as a balanced schedule, even in the Big 12.

BEST MATCHUP: Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah vs. Baylor All-America left tackle Spencer Drango.

In spite of Oklahoma State’s ideal record, you could argue the top spots. Kansas, Iowa State, Kansas State – nothing less than 8-4 will be okay. Luke Falk was the player of the game for the Cougars after he went 38-53 for 331 yards, two touchdowns and an interception after coming off late in the second half with fears of a concussion after being sacked by Jacob Tuioti-Mariner.

This is the second time this season that Mayfield has been honored as the conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Hooray for inter-conference scheduling cannibalism.

Oklahoma State (10-0, 7-0, next game Saturday vs. Baylor) – Mike Gundy’s team is riding high after another narrow escape at Iowa State, their fifth comeback road victory after trailing in the second half.

The road to the Big 12 title goes through Stillwater. It’s almost impossible to go undefeated even if your big games are buffered by easier ones.

Let’s peek up north and look at the situation in the Big Ten.

Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama remained in the top three spots and in that order. FPI projects that there’s an 81 percent chance that one of those teams loses, but Oklahoma is more likely (52 percent chance) to win out than Notre Dame (38 percent). Next week, No. 14 MI State visits Columbus, Ohio.

So the Big 12 must pin its hopes on Oklahoma State, or hope Stanford pulls off an upset of the Irish.

Bob Stoops didn’t win the Big 12 in 2013, and he didn’t beat Art Briles. I obviously don’t see that happening because I think Oklahoma is way too much of a force on both sides of the ball for the Cowboys. Rudolph threw for over 300 yards in each of the last two games and totaled six passing TDs while Walsh ran for two scores and threw for another in last week’s 35-31 win over Iowa State.

But the committee won’t dare leave out a big-boy undefeated for a one-loss team. The politics of any sort of potential championship “split” will be avoided at all costs. There is time for things to break the Bears way, but not many chances for quality wins.

It has been a recurring theme for most of the past five years: A number of college football’s more entrenched and credentialed coaches were running up against the reality that their programs were getting stale, or at the very least, losing the momentum they once possessed.

After Saturday’s games, the Pac-12 looks like the most sure bet to have its champion outside of the playoff. When he suffered a hamstring injury before facing No. 10 Baylor in October, it was supposed to end his season.