The Oklahoma Sooners certainly saw their season taking a much different turn at the beginning of the year. At one point the team was ranked as high as three, ahead of Oregon but behind Florida State and Alabama. There were thoughts they could easily represent the Big 12 in the College Football Playoffs, but costly losses have the team sitting at No. 18 and looking to finish out their year with a win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The biggest concern for Oklahoma is the quarterback position. Trevor Knight will miss his third straight game after he suffered a spine injury. Cody Thomas will take over again under center. The quarter has 222 yards and two touchdowns in place of the starter. He does not need to do too much throwing if running back Samaje Perine can keep up the record-setting pace. Perine is coming off a game where he set an FBS record after rushing for 427 yards against Kansas. In his last two games, he has 640 yards and eight touchdowns total.
Oklahoma State is not favored in this game not because of their record, but because the Sooners are ranked. The Cowboys have five losses to ranked teams while averaging just 23.6 points. They have also dropped seven straight to teams ranked in the Top 25. The Cowboys have lost five straight games and dropping six would be their worst season since 2000. There are a lot of things Oklahoma State is doing wrong this season. Their defense might be the worst. The team is giving up 510.8 yards and 40.2 points during their losing streak. They also have a competition at quarterback between Daxx Garman and Mason Rudolph who has both had their ups and downs.Rudolph might get the nod because of his recent success going 13 of 25 for 281 yards and two touchdowns against Baylor. He cold struggle though as Oklahoma's defense is only allowing 86.6 yards per game.