Oklahoma State Needs to Embrace Role of Spoiler to Finish Season
Oklahoma State might not have much to play for in the final two weeks, but its opponents do.
The Cowboys enter their Week 13 matchup against Texas Tech with a 3-7 record. After entering the season with hopes of winning the Big 12 and making the College Football Playoff, OSU was eliminated from bowl contention before its second bye week.
Still, Saturday’s matchup against the Red Raiders is Senior Day and is sure to be filled with emotions. While OSU has struggled to find any success in Big 12 play this season, it has one more chance to give its seniors a proper sendoff in their final home game.
Beyond that, OSU needs to embrace playing an unfamiliar role. Although the Cowboys’ final two games hold no weight for them, their final two opponents still have big goals.
The Red Raiders already have three losses and are a long shot to make any run to the Big 12 Championship, but their hopes are still intact. They need to win out, get some help from other teams and get some complicated tiebreakers to go their way, but their dream is still alive.
Texas Tech’s chances of winning the Big 12 are roughly zero, regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game. However, OSU’s final opponent will have much more on the line.
The Cowboys will close the regular season with a trip to Colorado on Black Friday. The early kickoff in Boulder will be significant for Deion Sander’s club.
Pending their game against Kansas this weekend, the Buffaloes will enter the matchup with either one or two conference losses. If Colorado wins out, it will get into the conference championship, but any slip-up could spell disaster.
Four teams enter Week 13 with two or fewer losses in conference play. If Colorado can’t finish the year 8-1 in conference play, it might need some help to get in.
Although the Cowboys can’t change anything about their season in the final two weeks, they could land crushing blows to a couple of conference rivals.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.