Baylor QB Jarrett Stidham will play against Oklahoma State on Saturday

TCU and Baylor, each with one loss, would still be alive to sneak in. The Sooners, on the other hand, are one of the hottest teams in the country, and despite a bad setback against Texas, I think Oklahoma might be one of the best teams in the nation.

A lot of “ifs” are involved in those scenarios, but the point of the matter is: The Big 12 title is still up for grabs. And in a conference with no title game, this OU vs. TCU matchup is mega-huge. Co-offensive coordinators Josh Heupel (who quarterbacked the Sooners to the national championship in 2000, Stoops’ second season) and Jay Norvell were among those who were let go. Boston College’s defense might give Notre Dame’s offense fits early, but with little offense, the Eagles won’t have the stamina to keep quarterback DeShone Kizer or receiver Will Fuller quiet for long. “Hopefully they will be loud and insane and hopefully we can go back and relive the similar situation we had here in 2008 when we had Tech in here”, Stoops said. “You can see in his eyes, he gets nervous, too”. Stanford’s loss to OR last week didn’t seem to have as large an impact as I thought it would in the eyes of the Selection Committee, but I can’t help but believe its playoff hopes are gone. This year, we will be prepared. Stylistically, I want to see what happens when the Big 12 collides with the remainder of the college football universe. [They] only have on loss. They are up against a tough Framingham State team that is also sporting a 9-1 record.

Baylor is averaging 37 points and 474 yards per game with freshman QB Jarrett Stidham (compared to 64 and 719 before Seth Russell was lost for the season). TCU star Trevone Boykin’s status is uncertain because of a sore ankle.

The Sooners won at Tennessee with an epic second-half rally, turning a poor performance – their words: “We played badly”, Darlington says – into a confidence-building victory that proved, as Darlington puts it, “We have what it takes to win”.

When you’re looking at eight teams getting into a playoff, you have about a dozen teams who can extend their season. Kohlhausen replaced Boykin after the injury against KU and he completed 13-of-19 passes for 112 yards and an interception.

Baylor has yielded 402 yards (72nd) and 27.1 points (68th) per game this year.

Nevertheless, Stoops nearly completely retooled the coaching staff during the offseason. Running back Aaron Green has 973 rushing yards on the season and nine touchdowns, while receivers Kolby Listenbee (495 yards, 4 TD) and KaVontae Turpin (483 yards, 6 TD) are major threats through the air.

OSU owns the Bears in Stillwater to the tune of 11 straight. Can Oklahoma State climb into the top four by adding a bear pelt to its resume?

Of course, all of that can be rendered moot if Oklahoma State takes care of business these next two weeks. It has also outgained opponents by an average of 618 yards to 308.

The TCU offense is the pride and joy of the team, while the defensive side of the ball is what attracts criticism from naysayers across the nation.

Still, the Horned Frogs will be shorthanded. The 10th-ranked Bears (8-1, 5-1, No. 10 CFP) lead the nation in points and yards per game, and their defense has plenty of talent.

The Sooners are clearly playing at a high level right now, winning their last five games rather handily, including a big win over previously unbeaten Baylor on the Bears’ home field. Last year, only one – the Big 12 – was left out of the playoff. Baker Mayfield, a walk-on transfer from Texas Tech, won the quarterback battle with Trevor Knight and now has emerged as a Heisman candidate.