Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 10, 2018 ) Oklahoma State 47, Oklahoma 48

Oklahoma already knows it has a spot locked up in the Big 12 Championship game, but there are no shortage of reasons why extending its dominance over Oklahoma State one more year is important to this season. The seventh-ranked Sooners attempt to keep their relatively slim chances of making the College Football Playoff alive Saturday when they visit the 21st-ranked Cowboys in the 114th edition of "Bedlam."

Although a Dec. 7 showdown against No. 9 Baylor for the Big 12 Championship in Arlington, Tex., has been the most likely outcome for some time, the sheer manhandling of conference opponents that has been a regular part of Oklahoma's existence in recent years has been elusive for most of the Big 12 schedule in 2019. The Sooners, who were ranked seventh in the most recent CFP poll, continued to flirt with danger in last weekend's 28-24 victory over TCU - the fourth straight time Lincoln Riley's squad has found itself in a one-score game. Oklahoma hopes to avoid similar drama en route to the school's fifth consecutive regular-season crown against the Cowboys, who have dropped four straight against their archrival. Oklahoma State won its fourth in a row overall following last weekend's 20-13 victory over West Virginia and boasts the nation's leading rusher in sophomore Heisman Trophy candidate Chuba Hubbard, who needs 168 yards rushing to become the 32nd player in FBS history to reach 2,000 in a season.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Oklahoma -12

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (10-1, 7-1 Big 12): Jalen Hurts ran for 173 yards versus the Horned Frogs to boost his season total to 1,156, moving him past Kyler Murray (1,001 yards in 2018) for second place in school history for the most rushing yards by quarterback - 133 yards behind Jack Mildren (1,289; 1971). Sophomore Kennedy Brooks piled up a season-high 149 yards on 25 carries against TCU and enjoyed perhaps his finest game as a collegian in last year's matchup with the Cowboys, running for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts. Biletnikoff Award finalist CeeDee Lamb returned from a one-game absence due to a head injury last weekend and caught his 32nd career TD pass - the second-best mark in program history.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (8-3, 5-3): After entering the game with 11 receptions for 82 yards for the season, Hubbard set career highs with seven catches and 88 receiving yards against the Mountaineers while adding 106 yards on the ground to top 100 yards rushing for the ninth consecutive game. With starting quarterback Spencer Sanders (thumb) out for the remainder of the regular season, Dru Brown, a graduate transfer from Hawaii, finished 22-of-29 for 196 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for the Cowboys. Safety Kolby Harvell-Peel has broken up 10 passes in the last four contests and ranks third in FBS in passes defended (13); he has also recorded four of his five interceptions (fifth best in FBS) over the last three games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Oklahoma owns an 87-19-7 edge in the all-time series and has scored of an average of 51.5 points during its Bedlam winning streak.

2. Hubbard's 1,832 rushing yards through 11 games are more than six of the 12 running backs to win the Heisman Trophy since 1980.

3. The Sooners failed to score 34 points for the first time in 21 games last weekend, falling two games shy of matching Oregon's 23-game run from 2011-12.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 34, Oklahoma State 27