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No. 13 Oklahoma State's Big 12 title hopes disappear with Kansas State loss

nick bromberg
Senior writer
Kansas State defensive back Duke Shelley (8) intercepts a pass intended for Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington (28) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Kansas State defensive back Duke Shelley (8) intercepts a pass intended for Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington (28) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

So much for thinking there will be a rematch between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. Instead, it’ll likely be between the Sooners and TCU.

The Cowboys’ chances at appearing in the title game vanished with a 45-40 loss to Kansas State. The Wildcats led 42-13 in the game at one point before Oklahoma State stormed back. But the comeback fell short.

OSU had a real shot to win the game after it cut the lead to five. KSU quarterback Skylar Thompson appeared to injure his leg as he fumbled on Kansas State’s previous possession and couldn’t immediately return. Thompson, KSU’s third-string QB at the beginning of the season, was playing because of injuries to Jesse Ertz and Alex Delton.

Thompson’s injury meant fourth-string QB Hunter Hall was suddenly needed. To stand on the field, anyway. KSU went with the wildcat single-wing formation on three plays and didn’t get a first down. That gave the ball back to Oklahoma State with more than 2 minutes left and a chance for a game-winning touchdown.

Oklahoma State’s drive ended quite anti-climactic fashion with four incomplete passes. Kansas State was able to run out the clock.

The KSU win means the Wildcats will go bowling at the end of the season. And the win also comes after a report Thursday that the school had a verbal agreement with now-Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt to take over as the school’s head coach after the 2017 season but the agreement was nixed when Bill Snyder wanted his son Sean to take over.

Thanks to TCU’s win over Texas Tech earlier in the day and West Virginia’s loss to Texas, Oklahoma State could have made the Big 12 title game with wins over Kansas State and Kansas and a TCU loss to Baylor meant Oklahoma State would play Oklahoma in the conference title game.

But now there’s no chance of that happening. Since TCU beat Oklahoma State head-to-head, the Horned Frogs have the tiebreaker if they finish with the same record. The only chance the game isn’t between the two is if TCU loses, Iowa State beats Kansas and tiebreaker scenarios go crazy.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!