Oklahoma out of BCS, will play Texas A&M in Cotton Bowl

The Sooners' opponent in the Cotton Bowl will be Big 12 expat Texas A&M — with Heisman Trophy frontrunner Johnny Manziel as its quarterback — the source said.

The Sooners (10-2, 8-1 Big 12) finished tied atop their conference standings with Kansas State, resulting in a shared championship. But the Wildcats earned the Big 12's automatic BCS berth because of their 24-19 win in Norman on Sept. 22.

MAC champion Northern Illinois will finish with a top-16 ranking in the final BCS Standings, thereby ensuring its berth in — and Oklahoma's exclusion from — a major bowl game, according to a Sports Illustrated report Sunday afternoon.

The Sooners' exclusion comes from rules designed to provide worthy mid-major FBS programs with opportunities to compete in the biggest bowl games.

Automatic qualifying conference champions — winners of the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — are ensured spots in one of the BCS bowl games: the Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowls.

If one of the other conference champions is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings — or in the top 16 while also being ranked above an AQ conference champion — that program is ensured an automatic berth.

On Friday, BCS-No. 21 Northern Illinois beat then-No. 17 Kent State in Friday's Mid-American Conference championship game. The same night, Stanford beat No. 16 UCLA.