Latest on Bowl Destination for Pokes

STILLWATER – A quick update before we get to Sunday and the final rankings from the College Football Playoff Committee rankings. Oklahoma State did not work out on Saturday, but the Cowboys were able to watch all the games going on around them and how they impact where the team will play their bowl and final game. Obviously, the most impactful was the Big 12 Championship Game where Oklahoma beat Iowa State 27-21. The question now is was it close enough for both teams to be considered New Year’s Six worthy by the CFP committee. Nobody knows and Notre Dame being drubbed by Clemson opens up a playoff pot for someone else and Notre Dame dropping into the NY6. 

Besides those two teams, Oklahoma and Iowa State, the Cowboys also fall behind Texas in the bowl pecking order, maybe. A bowl could pick Oklahoma State over the Longhorns. That bowl won’t be the Alamo. One Alamo official told  an OSU official that if Texas were available they would be selected for San Anotnio.

“If both teams stayed in the New Year’s Six mix, Texas is very much in consideration to return to the Alamo,” one bowl official told The Austin American Statesman newspaper.

The same extends for the next bowl in the Big 12 selection order. The Cheez-It Bowl, formerly the Camping World Bowl, in Orlando insinuated that Texas would be their pick if they were avaialble. That would happen if Iowa State were not included in the New Year’s Six. 

“We danced around Texas for sure last year,” Cheez-It Bowl CEO Steve Hogan told the American-Statesman on Thursday. “We have a lot of respect for them, for the fan base, for the program, the brand. They only lost by a touchdown to the (current) No. 6 team in the country, and the TCU game was a two-point game. They’ve played some pretty good football to finish up the season, and they beat Oklahoma State head to head. They’re a nice team with some great players.”

Texas is a blueblood brand name even if they haven’t really played like it. Give the Longhorns credit as they have performed well recently in bowl games including last season in San Antonio against Utah. 

Rod Aydelotte

Cowboys come into the bowl season with some momentum and a recruiting class that is better than many give them crdeit for.

Oklahoma State has been an excellent bowl team winning three of their last four with verdicts over Colorado, Virginia Tech, Missouri, and a three-point loss to Texas A&M last season in the Texas Bowl. 

Speaking of the Texas Bowl, they seem to be stuck on wanting Texas or TCU. They likely can’t get Texas but could get TCU and that might knock Oklahoma State to Memphis and the Liberty Bowl to play an SEC team, likely Tennessee.

Here is out play the precentages on the Oklahoma State bowl game.

Alamo Bowl - 5%

Cheez-It Bowl - 60% vs. Miami, Fla. or North Carolina State

Texas Bowl - 5% 

Liberty Bowl - 30% vs. Tennessee or Kentucky

One other recruiting note …

Marshall Levenson

Caption

Keep an eye on former Auburn commitment and Galena Park North Shore offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts as the 6-5 335-pound standout had Oklahoma State as his next best school when he pledged to Auburn. Oklahoma State adds the four-star in February and the class moves up.