ILLINOIS ENDS 20-GAME BIG TEN LOSING STREAK
Undefeated Baylor’s BCS championship hopes dashed in trouncing by Cowboys
There will be No. 1 votes given to Baylor next preseason. Maybe a lot of them. But the Bears are almost irrelevant in 2013. They’re yesterday’s news. One defeat — 49-17 at Oklahoma State — is all it takes to stuff a BCS championship push into a suitcase. Next year, maybe. This year? Thanks for playing. No. 3 Baylor (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) was destroyed by the 11th-ranked Cowboys (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday night in Stillwater. The final score will be remembered for ages in Big 12 country. Around the rest of the country? It’s already all but forgotten.
The implications are huge. Alabama and Florida State — the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the BCS rankings — are still in line to meet for the national title. FSU freshman quarterback Jameis Winston is embroiled in a legal scandal, though, and the Seminoles might not be able to keep rolling if he’s pulled out of action.
Unbeaten Ohio State now sits in position to jump into the title game if either Alabama or Florida State loses. And a defeat certainly is possible in the case of the Crimson Tide, who play at 10-1 Auburn next weekend.
Speaking of Auburn: If the Tigers win the Iron Bowl, they’ll rocket up the BCS rankings and be no worse than No. 3. That would put extraordinary pressure on Ohio State to beat Michigan State in the Big Ten title game — assuming the Buckeyes have taken care of business on the last Saturday of November at Michigan, which is no sure bet.
Both Alabama and FSU have potential conference championship games to deal with, too.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State fans rejoice. The Cowboys — whose program was accused in an early season Sports Illustrated report of myriad improprieties — merely have to beat Oklahoma next weekend in Stillwater to claim the Big 12 crown. SI’s report hasn’t led to any trouble for coach Mike Gundy and his team. The Sooners might be a different story, though Bedlam — the name by which this classic rivalry is known — is what Oklahoma State lives for.
It’s important to remember that the national championship isn’t the only title worth playing for. In the final season under the current BCS system before a fourteam playoff kicks in next year, Oklahoma State still can equal its greatest season ever with that Big 12 crown and a victory in one of the four banner bowls. If the Cowboys fall to the Sooners before that, Baylor can revel in its own best season ever.
Ohio State — or Michigan State — will reach the Rose Bowl, at least. And that would be a very big deal all by itself.
Arizona State won at UCLA on Saturday night to clinch the Pac-12 South title, setting up a conference championship game against Stanford. Thank you, Arizona, for knocking off Oregon. The Rose Bowl still matters a whole bunch.
Next year, things will change. Getting into the playoff will feel like everything for all of these teams. But it won’t be everything. There will always be games like Baylor at Oklahoma State, when conference matters are straightened out regardless of larger implications.
Sometimes, a league title has to be enough.