Texas, Oklahoma State to Meet in Battle of Big 12 Rivals, Will Jockey for Conference Position

With so many competitive conferences vying to produce the top team in the NCAA this year, it?s been surprisingly easy to overlook the Big 12. This weekend, two of the division?s best will collide against one another on the college football moneyline.

Think you know whether the No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys or the No. 24 Texas Longhorns will come out on top?

While it?s easy to acknowledge the former and brush off the latter due to the discrepancy in their place in the BCS standings, there?s no denying that this Longhorns squad has demonstrated an ability to do damage in their conference.

Aside from the No. 5 ranked Baylor Bears, Texas is the only team in the grouping that’s still undefeated in Big 12 play. What?s more, they?ve already knocked off a team of Oklahoma State?s caliber if you count the one-time No. 12-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (now No. 18) that the Longhorns disposed of back in early October.

All of that combined, however, isn?t enough to sway the NCAA Football betting community as the Cowboys still boast the 3-point advantage on the football lines prior to the Week 12 clash.

We can?t exactly blame oddsmakers for siding with OK State, given how consistent they?ve been over the course of the year. Whereas the Longhorns started slow and have been playing catch up ever since, the Cowboys would have been undefeated on the season altogether if not for a mere slip-up to unranked West Virginia.

They may only now be heading into the difficult part of their schedule, but at the end of the day, an ability to win week in and week out, even against sub-standard opposition, is a step in the right direction.

The question that remains is whether they can handle Texas this time out, and the two weeks that will follow. After the Cowboys play the Longhorns on Saturday, they?ll brace themselves for run-ins with both Baylor and Oklahoma. The Longhorns, on that note, will face Baylor (who has 11/2 odds of winning the BCS Championship) before the end of the regular season as well.

With so much in the air and left to be decided in the final three weeks of the season, suddenly a Week 12 battle between modest conference contenders has the makings of a must-see event. Now is about as good a time as any to start paying attention to the Big 12 again.

Photo via Twitter/@HornsIllus