Yahoo Finance Oklahoma State vs. Baylor football: Big 12 championship TV, betting line, prediction
A trip to the College Football Playoff is likely on the line for Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship on Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
If the No. 5 Cowboys (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) defeat the No. 9 Baylor Bears (10-2, 7-2 Big 12), they will strengthen their case for inclusion as one of the four best teams in the country. OSU would have three victories against top 15 teams, although nothing is a given when it comes to the selection committee’s thought process.
“Essentially, we’ve been in a playoff run week to week or Big 12 championship run the last four weeks,” OSU coach Mike Gundy told reporters recently. “If you don’t win these last three or four, win enough of them, you don’t get in the game anyway.”
Baylor, meanwhile, is likely playing for only a league championship.
Oklahoma State and Baylor have won Big 12 championships in football before but neither have won a championship game. When the Cowboys won their last conference title in 2011, it was the first year of a six-year run in which the league dropped its championship game.
Baylor won regular-season titles in 2013 and 2014.
With that being said, here’s everything you need to know going into it:
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington
TV: ABC (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath)
Records: Oklahoma State (11-1, 8-1 Big 12); Baylor (10-2, 7-2 Big 12)
The line: Oklahoma State by 5 1/2 points, over/under 46 1/2 points (per VegasInsider.com’s consensus line Thursday)
DID YOU KNOW?
Oklahoma State won the regular-season matchup over Baylor 24-14 on Oct. 2. ... Oklahoma State owns the all-time series 22-18. ... Baylor and Oklahoma State are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in scoring defense in the Big 12. The schools also rank 1-2 in rushing attempts in the Big 12. ... Oklahoma State RB Jaylen Warren has averaged 108.8 yards rushing in 10 starts. Baylor’s Abram Smith is the Big 12’s second-leading rusher and averages 113.8 yards per game. ... OSU has won 11 conference championships in its history: the Missouri Valley title in 1926, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1944, 1945, 1948 and 1953, the Big Eight title in 1976 and the Big 12 title in 2011. ... Baylor has won nine conference championships in its history: the Southwest Conference in 1915, 1916, 1922, 1924, 1974, 1980 and 1994, and the Big 12 title in 2013 and 2014.
PREDICTION
Defense wins championships. That’s a cliche because it’s true as new TCU coach Sonny Dykes said this week. And nobody plays better defense in the Big 12 than Oklahoma State. The Cowboys win a low-scoring, physical affair. Oklahoma State 20, Baylor 16.
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