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Gameday: Instant analysis
Published: 11/6/2011 1:46 AM
Last Modified: 11/6/2011 1:46 AM

These Saturday nights just keep getting stranger and stranger.

We've had a midnight kickoff, another long weather delay that culminated in a stunning upset and a near earthquake delay.

I didn't feel the first earthquake that hit the area early Saturday morning. But the one that rolled over us Saturday night packed quite a punch. The World building in downtown Tulsa shook for maybe a minute.

I'm a hurricane veteran. Earthquakes, not so much. So here's what we learned Saturday night -- other than largish tremors are bad.

1. When you wake up tomorrow, Oklahoma State will be No. 2 in the country. Embrace it.
Enjoy it Cowboy fans. You're No. 2. And in the BCS rankings, that's a magic number.

Although it was a foregone conclusion, it's now a fact. If the Cowboys win the rest of their games, they'll play for a national title. It wasn't pretty against Kansas State on Saturday, but it was exciting. Championship teams always hit road blocks. Maybe this was it for the Cowboys.

2. If OSU wins a national title, it will be in spite of its defense.
The Oklahoma State defense has done a nice job forcing turnovers. It's been good in the red zone and extremely opportunistic.

But this isn't a good defense. This is a defense, that if it helps the Cowboys win the turnover battle, can help the offense win games. But when OSU loses the turnover battle, as it did Saturday against Kansas State, a shootout will ensue.

That shouldn't be a problem against Texas Tech and Iowa State. It might be a problem against Oklahoma.

3. Oklahoma isn't lucky enough to win a national title this season.
Winning national titles is equal parts good team and good fortune. The Sooners haven't been lucky enough to win a national title this year.

From the Austin Box tragedy in the summer, to a laundry list of minor injuries this fall, to losing both its leading rusher and leading receiver to season-ending injuries on consecutive weekends, this team appears to be star-crossed.

At least Oklahoma has a week off to try and put the loss of senior receiver Ryan Broyles behind it, and just as importantly, find a way to account for his impact on the field.

The Sooners still seem a good bet to play Oklahoma State for the Big 12 title at Bedlam. But this just might be the Cowboys' year. It really doesn't look like it's Oklahoma's.

4. LSU and Alabama are good, but...
In the office, with the Oklahoma State game going on at the same time, it was hard to watch too much of Saturday's "Game of the Century."

Having gone to a school that once used defense as its calling card, I can attest to the excitement and intensity of a defensive struggle, but still...9-6... in overtime. Really? Maybe that will put to rest any talk of a rematch.

There was a lot of good defense on display, for sure. But there was also a lot of conservative to inept offense as well. And Alabama has to feel sick. The Crimson Tide seemed to have the better of it most of the night and got little to nothing on numerous opportunities.

Would Oklahoma or Oklahoma State beat either LSU or Alabama? Maybe not. But I guess they would score more than nine points.

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69242 (last year)

I agree, on most counts! Bama and Lsu were boring and offensively extinct! The espn homers are dying for a rematch though... OU has been horribly unlucky, but maybe Finch and Reynolds can go along way towards filling some huge shoes! OSU is having the best season money can buy! Good luck to them! They may need it come bedlam, but who knows.... It's been nine years, they may be due!

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The Editor's Desk

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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