Our final Crystal Ball Run conference championship preview isn’t technically a conference championship preview at all. Ok, well it is, since the winner of Saturday night’s Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game will earn the Big XII’s automatic berth. Still, it’s not technically a conference championship game either.
Catch my drift?
No? Ok, let’s just move on then.
Either way, here is our staff, breaking down Bedlam, in Stillwater this evening.
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 3 Oklahoma State: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ABC
Allen Kenney’s Take: If Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys don’t win this installment of Bedlam, will they ever?
OU generally responds well to the underdog role when put in that position. The Sooners enter this game banged up and out of sync offensively, though.
Lots of signs point to the Pokes in this game. On the other hand, going against the Sooners would be bucking a big trend…
The Pick: Oklahoma 28, Oklahoma State 27
Tom Perry’s Take: Until Oklahoma State proves it can beat Oklahoma, you have to go with the Sooners.
If the Cowboys win this game they will finally lock up a BCS bowl, but how pissed will they be that they let that game with Iowa State get away from them?
Oklahoma State’s defense is too porous for Landry Jones and Co. to not totally exploit them. That’s not to say that Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon won’t have a big game against an underachieving OU defense.
The Pick: Oklahoma 42, Oklahoma State 34
Kevin McGuire’s Take: This game may not have lived up to some of the mid-season hype as a de facto national semifinal game for the BCS championship, but it still carries a great amount of importance.
Not only is the Big 12 title on the line, but Oklahoma State could make a final push to be sent to the BCS championship with a big win against the Oklahoma Sooners. A possible BCS title game between Les Miles’s LSU Tigers and his old team, Oklahoma State? It would be a nice story, but I am not sure the Cowboys will be able to get by Oklahoma this weekend. Not only is history against the Pokes, but they will face one of the top defenses they have faced all season long, and one that could cause them some problems if the Sooners are on their A-game. We have seen Oklahoma struggle from time to time on defense but in this series it just seems that Oklahoma knows how to find a way to win when the chips are down. Landy Jones will have to have a great day under center, though, because Oklahoma State’s offense will be difficult to slow down for the whole game.
That said, I think Oklahoma is the more complete team of the two if the offense is on the same page, and that results in a win for the Sooners.
The Pick: Oklahoma 37, Oklahoma State 34
Michael Felder’s Take: The Sooners have Texas Tech and Baylor to thank for their blemished record and dashed BCS hopes. The Red Raiders vertically blitzed OU and Baylor did the same with a dash of the unstoppable play of Robert Griffin III to pull out victories where most assumed the Sooners would win. Now Bob Stoops and Co. travel to Stillwater in a game that will be about pride and the BCS bid, not the BCS Championship semifinal we all thought it would be a month ago.
Oklahoma State has the ability to exploit the weaknesses on defense that we know Oklahoma has, but at the same time the Cowpokes defense has so many holes of their own it’d take all day to list their deficiencies. Given the eight game wave that Oklahoma is running in this series I’m going to assume they win untiil the Pokes prove they deserve to be taken serious in Bedlam.
The Pick: Oklahoma 45, Oklahoma State 41
Regie Eller’s Take: Any hope Oklahoma State has at influencing a coup by the voters in hopes of playing for a National Championship, lies in Bedlam.
Obviously the Pokes cannot lose. The Pokes, also, cannot afford to win close. For any shot at making a move to jump over Alabama, Oklahoma State will need a resounding victory over its rival, the Sooners.
It is my belief that emotionally, Oklahoma State was not there against Iowa State. Now I am also not of the belief that they should be rewarded for this. Regardless of the situation, you have to find a way to reach down deep – especially when you are the more talented team, as they were then against the Cyclones.
Oklahoma State goes up against an Oklahoma team that limps into Bedlam. Between Weeden and Blackmon, I have a feeling the Pokes will indeed reach down deep, and find a way to win this game. Will it be enough?
The Pick: Oklahoma State 42, Oklahoma 31
Aaron Torres’ Take: To everyone who is picking Oklahoma, I guess the argument is what, “Well, until Oklahoma State proves they can beat Oklahoma…I can’t go against the Sooners.”
I’ve never understood that argument. I mean after all, this is college football. Coaches change jobs like pairs of pants. Rosters turn over every year. What does one season have to do with another? They’re totally independent of each other. After all, for a few years there, Alabama couldn’t beat Florida…until they did. Auburn couldn’t beat Alabama…until they did. And in Bedlam, it’ll be the same this year.
To anyone who has been watching these two teams all season, Oklahoma State is clearly the better, more talented and healthier team coming into this one. Oklahoma may have been No. 1 in September, but that has little relevance now, as injuries have depleted this team, especially at the skill positions. Quite frankly, they’re lucky to be 9-2 as things stand.
Point being, Oklahoma State is the better team…and it’s not close. This game won’t be close either.
The Pick: Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 24
