Another week has passed, and the Big 12 is still incredibly crowded behind the first-place TCU Horned Frogs. With four games remaining, the Frogs do not have a ranked opponent on their schedule. An undefeated regular season is very much in play in Fort Worth.
TCU has already beaten both Kansas State and Oklahoma State this season, so they will have a tiebreaker over both of them. With Kansas State beating the Cowboys last week, Oklahoma State is essentially playing for second place.
Kansas State is firmly in the driver’s seat for the second spot in the Big 12 Championship. These Wildcats just will not go away. With backup quarterback Will Howard getting the start in place of Adrian Martinez, K-State handed the Pokes their worst loss of the Mike Gundy era, 48-0.
K-State doesn’t have an easy schedule in front of it. It has dates with the Texas Longhorns and Baylor Bears. Both of those teams are one game behind the Wildcats, and that Baylor-Kansas State game is in Waco.
While getting to Arlington will be difficult, the Wildcats are in control of their own path. If they keep winning, they’ll make it.
Beyond that, the scenarios get messy. More than half of the conference is either 3-2 or 2-3 in Big 12 play. If the Wildcats lose a few games down the stretch, it opens up a realm of possibilities for the teams behind them.
While it would be great to say the Sooners are one of those teams, it’s very unlikely they can jump Kansas State in the standings. The Wildcats would need to lose three of their last four games and the Sooners would need to win out.
The Texas Longhorns are still very much alive. They’ll need a little help to get there, but they could still make it to Arlington. They play Kansas State this week. Beating the Wildcats in Manhattan would be a good start. Their problem is the loss they suffered to Oklahoma State two weeks ago.
While the race in the Big 12 are looking messy and complicated at the moment, the final stretch of the season has a way of cleaning things up. Championship November is nearly upon us.