Oklahoma State football: Kansas State joins the upset club

The similarities are eerie:

Date: Nov. 17, 2012 and Nov. 18, 2011.

Outpost: Waco, Texas, and Ames, Iowa.

Television network: ESPN and ESPN.

Heisman Trophy contender: Collin Klein and Brandon Weeden.

Opponent status: Baylor 4-5, 1-5 in the Big 12, good for ninth place and Iowa State 5-4, 2-4 in the Big 12, good for eighth place.

Las Vegas point spread: 121/2 and 25.

Two straight seasons, the Big 12′s hopes for a berth in the Big Bowl have been ended by in-conference upsets, courtesy of second-division teams. Baylor stunned No. 1-ranked Kansas State 52-24 on Saturday night. A year ago, Iowa State beat No. 2-ranked OSU 37-31 in double overtime.

Now KSU is relegated to what OSU was relegated to last Thanksgiving week — reconfigure and try to win the Big 12 and make the Fiesta Bowl, with only a longshot hope of getting back into Big Bowl contention. The Wildcats lost to a team in ninth place; the Cowboys lost to a team in eighth place.

And it supports the theory that going undefeated is awfully tough in the Big 12. How tough is it? Let’s look.

In the 2000s, only five teams in 13 years have gone unbeaten in conference play: OU in 2000, 2003 and 2005; Texas in 2005 and 2009.

How does that compare to other conferences? The last 13 seasons, which includes all the 2000s, here’s how they rank in number of undefeated teams in conference play:

1. SEC 6: LSU 2011, Auburn 2010, Alabama 2009, Florida 2009, Alabama 2008, Auburn 2004.

2. Big East 5: Cincinnati 2009, West Virginia 2005, Miami 2002, Miami 2001, Miami 2000.

2. Big 12 5: Texas 2009, Texas 2005, OU 2004, OU 2003, OU 2000.

4. Pac-12 3: Oregon 2010, Southern Cal 2005, Southern Cal 2004.

4. Big Ten 3: Ohio State 2006, Ohio State 2002, Iowa 2002.

6. ACC 2: Virginia Tech 2010, Florida State 2000.

The question becomes, does going unbeaten in conference play mean it’s more likely that you have a powerhouse team, or a shallow pool of possible spoilers? The answer is somewhere in the middle.

But going unbeaten in conference play clearly is a special thing. In this century, it’s happened less than half the team in every conference, and less than a quarter of the time in all but the Big 12 and SEC.