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4 college football teams on upset alert in Rivalry Week 13

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a fumble recovery against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners celebrate after a fumble recovery against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) hands off to running back Samaje Perine (32) during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) hands off to running back Samaje Perine (32) during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Following back-to-back victories over preseason Big 12 favorites Baylor and TCU, the Oklahoma Sooners are now in the driver’s seat in the conference standings and rose all the way to No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

A win over rival Oklahoma State, who is also 10-1 this season and is currently ranked No. 11 following a 45-35 loss to the Bears last week, should be enough to earn the Sooners a spot in the final four (never mind Oklahoma’s 24-17 loss to Texas and No. 5 Notre Dame’s 38-3 victory over the Longhorns – that’s a conversation for a different day).

The Cowboys, on the other hand, would probably need a miracle to jump into the playoff picture. Despite a ten-game winning streak to open the season, Oklahoma State never cracked the committee’s top four, and the Cowboys are currently ranked behind Stanford and Michigan – both of whom have two losses. Nevertheless, a victory in the Bedlam game would be a nice consolation prize and it would keep open the unlikely possibility of a spot in the playoff.

One reason for optimism that Oklahoma State can beat the Sooners is a two-quarterback system featuring Mason Rudolph (3,591 passing yards, 21 TD, 8 INT) and J.W. Walsh (338 passing yards, 11 TD, 0 INT; 235 rushing yards, 11 TD). Conversely, Oklahoma played two quarterbacks in last week’s 30-29 victory over TCU, but not because they planned to. Starter Baker Mayfield (3,209 passing yards, 33 TD, 5 INT; 343 rushing yards, 6 TD) suffered a concussion against the Horned Frogs and Trevor Knight stepped in and completed five of 16 passes for 76 yards and an interception.

The Sooners expect Mayfield to play in the Bedlam game, and even if he’s limited, Oklahoma has plenty of other offensive weapons in running back Samaje Perine (1,160 rushing yards, 13 tD) and receiver Sterling Shepard (1,114 receiving yards, 10 TD), among others. The Sooners also have the Big 12’s best scoring defense (20.5 points allowed per game) and total defense (341.0 total yards allowed per contest).

Nevertheless, Oklahoma State pulled off the upset last season with a 38-35 victory in overtime in Norman and this year’s Cowboys are much improved both offensively and defensively.

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