Tag: Iowa State Cyclones

Oklahoma-Iowa State rematch for 2020 Big 12 Championship game is official

It’s happening. After a season full of twists and turns, the Big 12 Championship matchup is officially set: Oklahoma and Iowa State.

It’s happening.

After a season full of twists and turns, the Big 12 Championship matchup is officially set: Oklahoma and Iowa State.

The Sooners have had a tougher road to get back to the Big 12 Championship game for the fourth-straight year. Oklahoma suffered two losses to start Big 12 play to Kansas State and Iowa State. The Sooners held a 21-point lead to Kansas State late in the third-quarter and an 11-point lead to Iowa State in the second-quarter before losing both games.

Then, Oklahoma turned it on. The Sooners won a historic OU-Texas game in Dallas and then rattled off five-straight blowouts, including a dominant 41-13 win over Oklahoma State. Thanks to Oklahoma State losses to Texas and TCU, and Kansas State blowing up after an injury to starting quarterback Skylar Thompson, the Sooners are in this position with a game remaining. Oklahoma’s 27-14 win over Baylor on Saturday night clinched things for the Sooners.

Iowa State did things a little bit easier. The Cyclones dropped a close game to Oklahoma State, squeezed out wins over TCU and Baylor before winning a big one against Texas on the road. Iowa State locked themselves into the Big 12 Championship game after beating West Virginia on Saturday.

Oklahoma has won five-straight Big 12 Championships, including the final two round-robin Big 12 Championships before the Big 12 Championship game was a thing again in 2017. The Sooners beat TCU, Texas and Baylor the last three years in the Big 12 Championship game.

This will be Iowa State’s first appearance.

Oklahoma and the Cyclones will play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 11 a.m. CT on Dec. 19.

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With Iowa State win over West Virginia, Oklahoma is a win away from Big 12 Championship game

It’s happening. After clinching its destiny in the conference last Saturday, OU is now just a win away from making the Big 12 Championship.

It’s happening.

After clinching its destiny in the conference last Saturday, Oklahoma is officially a win away from making the Big 12 Championship game thanks to Iowa State’s 42-6 over West Virginia.

It looked like a long shot at the time whenever the Sooners dropped stunners to Kansas State and Iowa State. Oklahoma bounced back strong, though, by winning five-straight, including a historic game against Texas and a Bedlam domination against Oklahoma State.

With how everything has played out since this two losses, the Sooners find themselves in a similar situation: potentially playing for the Big 12 Championship.

Oklahoma State now has three Big 12 losses and with Kansas State getting completely out of the picture, Oklahoma sits alone at second in the Big 12 standings. With Iowa State beating West Virginia, a win against Baylor on Saturday night for Oklahoma clinches a rematch in the Big 12 Championship between the two teams.

With Iowa State beating West Virginia, the Sooners just need one more win between Baylor and on the road at West Virginia next Saturday to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship. A 6-3 Oklahoma team, losing just one of its next two games, has the tiebreaker in head-to-head against a 6-3 Oklahoma State and 6-3 Texas, too.

Things are shaping up extremely well for the Sooners once again. A win and Oklahoma is in.

The Sooners take on Baylor at 7 p.m. CT.

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What to expect in the second College Football Playoff rankings

The second rankings of the College Football Playoffs will be released tonight and here are a few things that you could see when they’re released.

As always, another wild week of college football occurred prior to the College Football Playoff committee meeting again prior to their release of their second set of rankings for the year. There were some upsets, No. 8 Northwestern losing to Michigan State and blowouts, No. 3 Clemson saw the return of star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and trounced Pittsburgh. Here are a few guesses at what you might see tonight when the committee reranks the top 25 teams.

Notre Dame inches closer to No. 1 Alabama in latest Amway Coaches Poll

The updated Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports doesn’t see much change inside the top 10.

Notre Dame headed to Chapel Hill in what many called a trap game against former No. 23 North Carolina. That’s exactly what it wasn’t, as the Irish continued their impressive run of play, staying undefeated in winning 31-17 over the Tar Heels.

That win was enough to catch some attention in the latest Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports as the Irish didn’t move up, but garnered more votes than they did last week.

Around the ACC, No. 4 Clemson saw the return of all-world quarterback Trevor Lawrence and blew out Pittsburgh, 52-17. Miami, FL, the No. 9 team,  the only other conference team ranked inside the Amway Coaches Poll.

Nationally, No. 13 Northwestern was upended in East Lansing, falling the Michigan State 29-20, giving them their first loss of the year. Iowa State, ranked No. 15, continues it’s impressive run as they defeated No. 21Texas in Memorial Stadium, 23-20. Oregon State upended No. 11 Oregon in their unnamed rivalry game, 41-38 on Friday night. No. 1 Alabama blew out their rivals No. 19 Auburn, 42-13, with head coach Nick Saban watching from home as he tested positive for COVID-19 this week.

Former No. 3 Ohio State dropped one spot after having their game against Illinois canceled due to a spread of COVID-19 this week. It was Clemson’s gain here, as they now hold the same ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Here is the updated Coaches Poll, with ACC teams in bold and last weeks ranking in parenthesis.

1 Alabama (1)

2 Notre Dame (2)

3 Clemson (4)

4 Ohio State (3)

5 Florida (5)

6 Texas A&M (6)

7 Cincinnati (7)

8 BYU (8)

9 Miami, FL (9)

10 Georgia (10)

11 Indiana (12)

12 Iowa State (15)

13 Oklahoma (14)

14 Coastal Carolina (17)

15 Marshall (16)

16 USC (18)

17 Northwestern (14)

18 Oklahoma St (22)

19 Wisconsin (20)

20 Oregon (11)

21 Louisiana-Lafayette (24)

22 Tulsa (25)

23 Washington (NR)

24 Iowa (NR)

25 Liberty (NR)

Dropped out: No. 19 Auburn, No. 21 Texas, No. 23 North Carolina

 

How the outcome of Baylor-Kansas State impacts the Big 12 Championship race for Oklahoma

All things have come down to Oklahoma, Kansas State and West Virginia. Kind of. The Big 12 picture is becoming clearer and clearer.

All things have come down to Oklahoma, Kansas State and West Virginia. Kind of.

The Big 12 picture is starting to become clearer and clearer. With Iowa State’s win yesterday, Oklahoma is now winning out and an Iowa State win from returning back to the Big 12 Championship picture.

That is the simple way of figuring out who will make the Big 12 Championship game if the Sooners win out as expected. Or Oklahoma State dropping one to TCU or Baylor.

If West Virginia beats Iowa State next Saturday, things can get a little tricky. There is one scenario that would keep Oklahoma out if the Sooners win out and things happen elsewhere.

There is also a scenario where those things can be wrapped up by Saturday night and Oklahoma controls its destiny thanks to one of the final tiebreakers the Big 12 has in place. And that comes down to the Kansas State-Baylor game that is scheduled to kickoff at 6 p.m. CT.

The Big 12 would get all the way down to No. 3 under the first ‘b’ in this scenario:

Here is how the outcome of Kansas State-Baylor impacts Oklahoma’s race in the Big 12.

IF KANSAS STATE WINS …

  • Kansas State would move to 5-3 in the Big 12, keeping West Virginia (currently 4-3) out of the tiebreaker assuming it loses to Oklahoma. Texas would also have three losses and the winner of that game would be 6-3.
  • Kansas State would be a win against Texas away to becoming the fourth-ranked team in the Big 12.
  • Per the Big 12 tiebreaker rules, if Iowa State were to lose to West Virginia, the fourth-ranked team would help decide the Big 12 Championship teams.
    • Oklahoma State and Iowa State beat Kansas State, Oklahoma did not.
    • Oklahoma would be left out of the Big 12 Championship game.

IF BAYLOR WINS …

  • Kansas State would move to 4-4 in the Big 12.
  • A West Virginia win over Iowa State and a loss to Oklahoma would make the Mountaineers 5-4 in the Big 12.
  • A Kansas State win over Texas would make both teams 5-4 (assuming Texas beats Kansas).
  • There would then be a three-way tie for first-place in the Big 12 (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State at 7-2) and a three-way tie for fourth-place (West Virginia, Texas and Kansas State at 5-4) in the Big 12.
    • Per the Big 12 tiebreaker rules, ‘ If more than a two-way tie exists amongst the remaining teams in the Conference standings, the record against the collective tied teams as a group will be used’. Oklahoma, Iowa State and Oklahoma State would be 2-1 against the teams tied for fourth.
    • Next in line in the Big 12 tiebreaker rules is scoring differential amongst the teams tied. Oklahoma is +21 against Iowa State and Oklahoma State. Iowa State is +4 and Oklahoma State is -17.
  • Oklahoma and Iowa State would be the Big 12 Championship teams even with an Iowa State loss to West Virginia. Oklahoma State would be eliminated unless Oklahoma was to lose another game.
  • If Texas beats Kansas State, this scenario with an Iowa State loss to West Virginia becomes a moot point. The Longhorns would become the fourth-ranked team and Oklahoma and Iowa State would also be the Big 12 Championship teams.

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Texas Longhorns vs Iowa State Cyclones: Instant analysis of the 23-20 loss

Somehow, someway, Texas found a way to lose to Iowa State. A game that mirrored last season’s loss, UT falls to 5-3 on the season.

Somehow, someway, Texas found a way to lose to Iowa State. A game that mirrored last season’s loss, the Longhorns fall to 5-3 on the season after the 23-20 loss. With the win, the Cyclones are now one step closer to their first conference championship since 1912.

Cameron Dicker had the opportunity to tie the game as the clock expired but barely missed it to the left. While it will be the moment remembered, it is far from the reason Texas lost.

Once again, fourth-quarter management from Tom Herman was a major factor. With 4:04 left, the offense got the ball back with the opportunity to put the game on since. Instead, deep shots on second and third down only took 20 seconds off the clock.

The Longhorns’ defense was solid all day but broke when the game was on the line. Containing Breece Hall for all four quarters is nearly impossible. He squeaked into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.

Sam Ehlinger leaves Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the final time with a loss. The senior quarterback did not look like a third-year starter all day. Overthrows and poor decisions in the pocket cost Texas in the end.

After 10 first-quarter carries, Bijan Robinson only touched the ball six more times. At the time, Robinson was averaging 4.3 yards per carry and working well on the outside. Putting the game in the hands of a struggling quarterback instead of the hot hand makes little to no sense.

Now, the Longhorns will be looking forward to Kansas State and Kansas with nothing else to play for. The Big 12 championship is out of the question, even if Oklahoma or Iowa State drop another game. Herman will likely end his tenure in Austin without a conference championship.

The season began with expectations, hope, and excitement. Once again it will end with disappointment, frustration, and question marks. Athletic director Chris Del Conte will have to answer them once the season ends on Dec. 12.

Oklahoma, Iowa State on a collision course for a rematch in Big 12 Championship

Whenever the game ended in early Oct., it seemed improbable that this could be the matchup. OU and Iowa State are heading for a rematch.

Whenever the game ended in early Oct., it seemed improbable that this would be the likely matchup.

Iowa State had just taken it to Oklahoma on its home field. The Cyclones used two huge scores in the fourth-quarter to elevate them to a 37-30 upset win over the Sooners.

Lincoln Riley’s 2020 team had just suffered the program’s first back-to-back losses since 1999. The five-straight Big 12 Championship streak was officially in jeopardy.

Oklahoma has stayed the course and rattled off five-straight wins and put themselves in position to make the Big 12 Championship game. The Sooners capped off their rise in the conference last week in a statement 41-13 win over Oklahoma State.

Iowa State took a loss on the road against Oklahoma State, but have been blemish free. The Cyclones just knocked off Texas to give themselves a virtual lock to the Big 12 Championship game.

Unless chaos happens and Iowa State loses to West Virginia next Saturday and Kansas State beats Texas, it will be Oklahoma and Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship game if the Sooners win out. Oklahoma holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Oklahoma State, who can also finish 7-2 in the Big 12.

The Sooners have a home game against Baylor and a road game against West Virginia on Dec. 12 left on its schedule. The game with the Mountaineers was postponed from this Saturday due to COVID-19 issues at Oklahoma.

The Big 12 Championship game is scheduled for Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. CT.

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How the outcome of Iowa State-Texas impacts the Big 12 Championship race for Oklahoma

Oklahoma may not be playing this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way for the Big 12 Championship race to play more in its favor

Oklahoma may not be playing this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way for the Big 12 Championship race to play more in its favor.

The Sooners were scheduled to play West Virginia at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday night before a COVID-19 situation at Oklahoma postponed it. The Sooners and Mountaineers are scheduled to play on Dec. 12 now.

With the way the conference has fallen since Oklahoma lost to Iowa State and Kansas State, the Sooners almost control their destiny back to a Big 12 Championship game. There is a pathway to the Sooners winning out and not making it in the Big 12 Championship game, albeit it is pretty slim to happen.

Two of the four teams still in the thick of the Big 12 race play on Saturday. Iowa State and Texas play at 11 a.m. CT with the winner controlling their destiny of making the Big 12 Championship game.

Here is how the outcome of Friday’s game impacts Oklahoma’s Big 12 Championship race:

IF IOWA STATE WINS …

  • Iowa State would be a win against West Virginia away from being the No. 1 team in the Big 12.
  • Oklahoma winning out means it would be the No. 2 team in the Big 12. A tie could happen if Oklahoma State wins out, but the Sooners would have the head-to-head.
  • Oklahoma and Iowa State would play each other. The Cyclones beat the Sooners 38-31 on Oct. 3.
  • If Iowa State then loses to West Virginia in its next game, the opportunity for Kansas State-Texas to determine the Big 12 would still be there.
    • The Wildcats winning out would give them a 6-3 record and would also include beating Texas.
    • Kansas State would be 6-3 and Texas 5-4, making the Wildcats the fourth-ranked team in the Big 12.
    • If Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are tied atop of the Big 12 at 7-2 (or 6-2 for Oklahoma pending the ability of the Baylor game being played), the three would be 1-1 against each other.
    • The next tiebreaker is record against the No. 4 team in the Big 12, and Oklahoma would have a loss with Oklahoma State and Iowa State winning.
  • Iowa State and Oklahoma State would be the Big 12 Championship teams with a Kansas State win over Texas.

IF TEXAS WINS …

  • Iowa State would have two conference losses and the Big 12 would have a four-way tie atop the conference.
  • Oklahoma and Texas would be the leader in the clubhouse atop of the Big 12 as the Sooners (wins against Oklahoma State and Texas) and Longhorns (wins against Oklahoma State and Iowa State) would be 2-1 against the other teams tied atop of the Big 12.
  • If Texas beats Kansas State and Kansas, it would be Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.
  • This creates an opportunity for Kansas State-Texas to determined the Big 12 Championship teams.
    • The Wildcats winning out would give them a 6-3 record and would also include beating Texas.
    • The Longhorns would also be 6-3 with Kansas State having the head-to-head.
    • If Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are tied atop of the Big 12 at 7-2 (or 6-2 for Oklahoma pending the ability of the Baylor game being played), the three would be 1-1 against each other.
    • The next tiebreaker is record against the No. 4 team in the Big 12, and Oklahoma would have a loss with Oklahoma State and Iowa State winning.
  • Iowa State and Oklahoma State would be the Big 12 Championship teams with a Kansas State win.

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How the outcome of Iowa State-Texas impacts the Big 12 Championship race for Oklahoma

Oklahoma may not be playing this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way for the Big 12 Championship race to play more in its favor

Oklahoma may not be playing this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way for the Big 12 Championship race to play more in its favor.

The Sooners were scheduled to play West Virginia at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday night before a COVID-19 situation at Oklahoma postponed it. The Sooners and Mountaineers are scheduled to play on Dec. 12 now.

With the way the conference has fallen since Oklahoma lost to Iowa State and Kansas State, the Sooners almost control their destiny back to a Big 12 Championship game. There is a pathway to the Sooners winning out and not making it in the Big 12 Championship game, albeit it is pretty slim to happen.

Two of the four teams still in the thick of the Big 12 race play on Saturday. Iowa State and Texas play at 11 a.m. CT with the winner controlling their destiny of making the Big 12 Championship game.

Here is how the outcome of Friday’s game impacts Oklahoma’s Big 12 Championship race:

IF IOWA STATE WINS …

  • Iowa State would be a win against West Virginia away from being the No. 1 team in the Big 12.
  • Oklahoma winning out means it would be the No. 2 team in the Big 12. A tie could happen if Oklahoma State wins out, but the Sooners would have the head-to-head.
  • Oklahoma and Iowa State would play each other. The Cyclones beat the Sooners 38-31 on Oct. 3.
  • If Iowa State then loses to West Virginia in its next game, the opportunity for Kansas State-Texas to determine the Big 12 would still be there.
    • The Wildcats winning out would give them a 6-3 record and would also include beating Texas.
    • Kansas State would be 6-3 and Texas 5-4, making the Wildcats the fourth-ranked team in the Big 12.
    • If Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are tied atop of the Big 12 at 7-2 (or 6-2 for Oklahoma pending the ability of the Baylor game being played), the three would be 1-1 against each other.
    • The next tiebreaker is record against the No. 4 team in the Big 12, and Oklahoma would have a loss with Oklahoma State and Iowa State winning.
  • Iowa State and Oklahoma State would be the Big 12 Championship teams with a Kansas State win over Texas.

IF TEXAS WINS …

  • Iowa State would have two conference losses and the Big 12 would have a four-way tie atop the conference.
  • Oklahoma and Texas would be the leader in the clubhouse atop of the Big 12 as the Sooners (wins against Oklahoma State and Texas) and Longhorns (wins against Oklahoma State and Iowa State) would be 2-1 against the other teams tied atop of the Big 12.
  • If Texas beats Kansas State and Kansas, it would be Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.
  • This creates an opportunity for Kansas State-Texas to determined the Big 12 Championship teams.
    • The Wildcats winning out would give them a 6-3 record and would also include beating Texas.
    • The Longhorns would also be 6-3 with Kansas State having the head-to-head.
    • If Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are tied atop of the Big 12 at 7-2 (or 6-2 for Oklahoma pending the ability of the Baylor game being played), the three would be 1-1 against each other.
    • The next tiebreaker is record against the No. 4 team in the Big 12, and Oklahoma would have a loss with Oklahoma State and Iowa State winning.
  • Iowa State and Oklahoma State would be the Big 12 Championship teams with a Kansas State win.

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Big 12 Championship scenarios, Texas still controls its destiny

With three weeks left in the 2020 Big 12 football season, Longhorns Wire breaks down the updated scenarios for a title game berth.

This past Saturday made the path to Arlington, Texas, a little bit clearer. Not a whole lot, but some. The victories by Iowa State and Oklahoma guaranteed a wild finish to the 2020 Big 12 football season. Continue reading “Big 12 Championship scenarios, Texas still controls its destiny”