Big 12 de facto title game this week, year before real thing
Here are some things to watch when the Big 12 Conference wraps its regular season in Week 14, when the other Power Five conferences play their championship games:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Oklahoma State (9-2, 7-1 Big 12, No. 10 CFP) at No. 7 Oklahoma (9-2, 8-0 Big 12, No. 9 CFP). A year before the league reinstates its title game, the Bedlam rivalry serves as a de facto Big 12 championship game for the second year in a row. Neither team has lost since September. The winner will be the Big 12 champion and head to the Sugar Bowl to face an SEC team. The Sooners are going for their 10th Big 12 title while trying to become the first team to go undefeated in league play since going to a round-robin schedule in 2011. Oklahoma has an eight-game winning streak; the Cowboys have won seven in a row.
BEST MATCHUP
TCU coach and Kansas State alum Gary Patterson vs. the Wildcats. While Patterson sets a TCU record when he coaches his 202nd game, K-State coach Bill Snyder goes for his 201st victory. In Big 12 games this season, Kansas State is averaging 30.6 points a game, and TCU 30.5. On defense, Patterson's squad allows 27.9 points per game, and the Wildcats give up 27.2 a game. TCU (6-5, 4-4 Big 12) got bowl eligible with its win last week over Texas. The Wildcats (7-4, 5-3) will finish no lower than fourth in the Big 12 after being a preseason pick for eighth.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Snyder (200 wins), Oklahoma's Bob Stoops (188) and Patterson (149) are 1-2-3 among active FBS coaches for wins at their current schools. ... Baylor (6-5, 3-5) got bowl eligible with its 6-0 start, but goes to West Virginia with a five-game losing streak, the Bears' longest since dropping nine in a row - the last eight games of the 2007 season and then the 2008 opener. ... Texas junior running back D'Onta Foreman will finish his college career with a school-record 13 consecutive 100-yard games. Foreman said he's skipping his senior season after rushing for 2,028 yards and 15 TDs this year.
LONG SHOT
The Big 12 getting into the four-team College Football Playoff since Oklahoma is ninth and Oklahoma State 10th in the latest CFP rankings. Defending national champion Alabama and Ohio State, which won first CFP title two seasons ago, are 1-2 and seem almost certain locks for the field. Also ranked ahead of the Big 12 teams are potential ACC champion Clemson, and the four teams that will play in the Big Ten and Pac-12 championship games.
IMPACT PERFORMER
Martell Pettaway was going to redshirt at West Virginia (9-2, 6-2) - until the 11th game this season. With injuries to other running backs, the freshman made his Mountaineers debut with 181 yards on 30 carries last week at Iowa State.
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Compiled by AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Fort Worth, Texas.
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