Cowboys angling for potential playoff spot
Oklahoma State is playing in its first Big 12 title game and need a win to keep the Cowboys in contention for a possible spot in the College Football Playoff.
At No. 5, they are behind Georgia, Michigan, Alabama and Cincinnati but could move up if things fall right in the other conference title games.
Baylor, which lost to Oklahoma State 24-14 on Oct. 2, is playing in its second Big 12 title game in three years. The Bears could go to the Sugar Bowl with a win, or even with a loss like two years ago after they lost in the league title game to an Oklahoma squad that reached the playoff.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
The Oklahoma State defense
The Cowboys have the sixthbest defense agains the run in the country. Can they stop Baylor
running back Abram Smith? Smith, the Big 12’s second-leading rusher, averaged 113.8 yards per game with 12 TDS. Oklahoma State has allowed only 93.6 yards rushing per game, but gave up a season-high 189 against Oklahoma last Saturday. The Cowboys have allowed just nine rushing touchdowns this season.
The return of Terrel Bernard
Baylor senior linebacker Terrel Bernard missed the first game against the Cowboys with a knee injury, but he’s ready for this one. He’s second on the team with 62 tackles and has a team-high five sacks. “You go into a game like this, you want Terrel on your side,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “I’m excited for him. You look at someone that has poured his heart out for this place and has been a stalwart on way different ways of getting stuff done.”
A neutral site
When Baylor lost to the Cowboys,
the game was in Stillwater, Okla. The environment promises to be different in Arlington. “The first thing that pops out, that was our first really road environment,” Aranda
said. “Pressure creates abnormal behavior … there were a lot of unforced errors in that game, things unfortunately that we could control that we didn’t do a very good job with.”
A Bedlam hangover?
The 37-33 win over Oklahoma snapped a six-game skid in Bedlam, and was only the Cowboys’ third victory in the last 19 meetings. “They burned a lot of energy, and they burned a lot of emotion last Saturday night,” coach Mike Gundy said. “That’s over with. It has nothing to do with this next game.”
Patience rewarded
Jalen Pitre stuck with his commitment to Baylor while every other recruit bailed in the wake of the sexual assault scandal in 2016. “I feel like I was a little overlooked, but I was very thankful for Baylor giving me a shot,” Pitre said this week. “With that gratitude, I was sold on coming here and doing what I needed to do to become the man that I could be, and growing on and off the field. … It’s crazy to look back and see how far I’ve come.” Pitre was named the Big 12’s defensive player of the year in voting by league coaches.