Kellis Robinett's Weekly Big 12 Report: Oklahoma State makes its case

Oklahoma State was unranked when the season began. The nicest things national experts said about the Cowboys contained words such as “darkhorse” and “spoiler.”

Could Mike Gundy’s team contend for a Big 12 championship? Maybe, they said, but unlike preseason favorites Baylor, Oklahoma and TCU, they would have to overachieve to do it.

Eleven weeks later, that narrative has changed. Oklahoma State is the new Big 12 team to beat, by virtue of its 49-29 victory over TCU on Saturday. A string of narrow victories against unranked competition gave it the look of a fraud, but no more.

The No. 5 Cowboys (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) remain behind No. 4 Baylor (8-0, 5-0) in the AP top 25, but they might leapfrog the Bears in the new playoff rankings, which will be released Tuesday. That’s how convincing they were against the No. 13 Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-1). No team in the conference has a more impressive victory.

“Last Saturday’s win over TCU was certainly a big one,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “But we have had a number of good, close wins this season. We have a challenge every week and Iowa State will be another one.”

Gundy is right to focus on the Cyclones. The last time Oklahoma State entered the national championship conversation it suffered an unexpected loss in Ames and had to settle for the Fiesta Bowl.

Iowa State, which blanked Texas 24-0 two weeks ago, could once again spoiler. But if Oklahoma State takes care of business its final two games will decide who wins the Big 12, and, possibly, who represents the conference in college football’s four-team playoff.

TCU appears out of the mix, but it still has time to makeup for a loss with Baylor and Oklahoma left on the schedule. Speaking of the Bears and Sooners, they play each in other in a rather significant game Saturday in Waco.

Oklahoma State gets the benefit of hosting Baylor and Oklahoma in its final two games.

The road to a Big 12 championship goes through Stillwater.

Power rankings

1. Oklahoma State (9-0, 6-0): The new team to beat in the Big 12.

2. Baylor (8-0, 5-0): Freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham is just as good as Seth Russell.

3. Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1): Sooners can re-enter the national conversation with a win at Baylor.

4. TCU (8-1, 5-1): Luck finally ran out for the Horned Frogs against Oklahoma State.

5. West Virginia (4-4, 1-4): Mountaineers might have saved their season by beating Texas Tech.

6. Texas Tech (5-5, 2-5): Had Oklahoma State and TCU on the ropes. Now hoping for bowl eligibility.

7. Iowa State (3-6, 2-4): Cyclones couldn’t build on Texas win at Oklahoma.

8. Texas (4-5, 3-3): Longhorns crushed Kansas, but they didn’t look great doing it.

9. Kansas State (3-5, 0-5): Can the Wildcats bounce back after five straight losses?

10. Kansas (0-9, 0-6): Jayhawks played Texas tougher than the 59-20 score indicates.

Future game times (announced Monday)

Nov. 21

▪ West Virginia at Kansas, 11 a.m. (FSN)

▪ Iowa State at Kansas State 11 a.m. (FS1)

▪ Baylor at Oklahoma State and TCU at Oklahoma will be assigned times on Sunday, after Saturday’s games.

Dec. 5

▪ Texas at Baylor, 11 a.m. (ABC or ESPN)

▪ West Virginia at Kansas State, 3:30 p.m. (FS1)

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Kellis Robinett's Weekly Big 12 Report: Oklahoma State makes its case."