Bedlam football: OSU, OU take turns hurting each other

Here’s what happened over the weekend.

Oklahoma State didn’t hurt just itself by losing to Iowa State on Friday night. The Cowboys hurt the Sooners.

Then on Saturday night, Oklahoma didn’t just hurt itself by losing to Baylor. The Sooners hurt the Cowboys.

Follow along. When OSU went down Friday night, that eliminated a prime component of OU’s Big Bowl argument. A road victory at an undefeated, No. 2-ranked team would have been a big bonus for the Sooners’ bid to get into the BCS top two and make it to New Orleans.

After OSU lost, it became a tougher road for the Sooners. They still would have a nationally-televised road game against a fellow BCS contender, but the Cowboys’ fall from the unbeaten ranks hurt OU’s chances at additional computer points and ability to impress voters to the max. All of that might not amount to much in terms of BCS points, but if the Sooners were chasing Alabama, and voters were looking for a reason to avoid an LSU-Bama rematch, every little bit helps.

But then came Saturday night. OU’s defeat hurt OSU. The way Saturday turned out, the Cowboys crawled back into the BCS discussion, at least in the longshot range. Clemson’s loss to North Carolina State and Oregon’s loss to Southern Cal allowed the Cowboys to start climbing back up. If OU had beaten Baylor, Bedlam likely was going to be a matchup of 3-4. The winner would have a bunch of momentum to jump Alabama.

Now, OSU will play an OU team with two losses and a BCS ranking somewhere in the 8-9 range. It’s not the same punch.

OSU is still in the national title hunt, even if Alabama beats Auburn. But it’s a longshot. The Cowboys would have had a much better chance had the Sooners not stumbled in Waco. Just like the Sooners would have had a much better chance had OSU not stumbled in Ames.