Analysis: Making the playoff case for Oklahoma State

The logjam of multi-loss teams vying for the CFP has swelled to double digits in recent weeks. And one of the most compelling resumes for a coveted playoff berth is Oklahoma State’s. Offensively, the Pokes rank in the top-20 in numerous metrics (PPG, S&P+, Passing Yds) and have beaten opponents by an average of two touchdowns during their current seven-game winning streak. Mike Gundy’s defense has even been deceptively decent since early October, and is now the nation’s 22nd-ranked front seven according to Football Outsider’s “Havoc Ratings.”

The numbers and star power in Stillwater help to make the Cowboys’ case, particularly when you blend them with the fact that Gundy’s bunch passes the eye test with flying colors. But the real story of their season boils down to a single play, or, to put a finer point on it, a single play that should never have been.

Central Michigan knocked off Oklahoma State way back on Sept. 10 with a Hail Mary-lateral combination that had to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately for the Pokes, the play should never have happened due to an officiating error, and both the MAC and Big XII conferences have acknowledged and admitted that Oklahoma State was the rightful victor. Yet, somehow, with both parties agreeing that the outcome should have been reversed, Central Michigan has retained the W and consequently Oklahoma State could be on the outside looking in at the CFP due to the loss. The officiating crews were suspended, everyone is in agreement, but the CFP committee has said, unequivocally, that they can’t consider OSU a one-loss team. Why they can’t is lost on me, but many writers, including Fox Sports’ Stewart Mandel, claim that reversing the outcome would be too messy and could create a slippery slope for the committee.

Setting a standard in which the committee is empowered to, in effect, overturn a game-deciding officiating error, based on uniform agreement from both programs and their conferences, isn’t a slippery slope, it’s rational. It’s the right thing to do, and it allows the committee to perform its function as was intended, i.e., to select the four best teams in the nation. Not the four best teams that weren’t burned by a critical officiating gaff.

Oklahoma State has an opportunity to finish the season with a top-ten victory over their in-state rival, and the Bedlam game deserves to play a vital role in this year’s playoff chase. Let’s hope that if Oklahoma State knocks off the Sooners in Norman, the 13 members of the CFP committee come to their senses and give the Pokes full consideration as a one-loss conference champion. It only makes sense.