A quick look at Oklahoma State’s brutal four-game stretch

By Anthony Slater – Aslater@opubco.com – @anthonyVslater 

The Big 12′s unmatched depth, featuring nine teams with legit bowl aspirations, makes for a winding schedule with constant land mines.

Be prepared each week, or you’re bound to leave with a loss.

But even the parity-driven conference has its lighter patches and daunting gauntlets.

Oklahoma State is coming out of the former (with relatively easy wins over Kansas, Iowa State and TCU), ready to begin the latter.

Let’s take a quick look at the Cowboys hardest four-game stretch of the season:

The rankings are as of last week. I’ll update once the new BCS standings come out tonight

The Wildcats are for real. Any lingering doubt (and there was plenty) should have been put to rest during the past few dominant performances. And the Cowboys have to face them at home, in front of what’s expected to be a rowdy night environment. Not the easiest of chores for a true freshman quarterback, but this provides the perfect stage for Oklahoma State to make a national statement. One year after losing out on the title game with a late season loss, OSU can turn the tables, spoiling the BCS championship hopes of the nation’s #2 seed and reentering the college football discussion. Sounds great in theory, until you meet Collin Klein at the line of scrimmage.