No time for Bears to sulk with history, if not playoff, on the line

By foxsports
Published

In a world where one failure can ruin everything you've set out to attain, rebounding can be a tough deal.

That's the situation the Baylor Bears find themselves in this week. Ever since finishing No. 5 in last year's final College Football Playoff rankings -- one spot removed from the coveted top four -- the Bears' only goal has been to get there this season. After last week's home loss to Oklahoma, that dream appears to be dashed.

But Baylor still has plenty to play for -- if not still a potential backdoor entrance into the playoff depending on other results -- than capturing a third consecutive Big 12 title. Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team that can claim the feat.

Baylor can't claim a share of the title this season as it did last year with TCU. Because of the belief in the conference that the shared title hurt the league's chance of getting into the playoff, the Big 12 changed the rule for this season: There will be one champion.

Baylor (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) must win its last three games starting Saturday at undefeated Oklahoma State (10-0, 6-1) and then hope Oklahoma (which plays TCU Saturday and then Oklahoma State) and TCU lose a game. The Bears will face TCU on Nov. 27. 

"We use the word opportunity," Baylor coach Art Briles said of playing Oklahoma State during his weekly press conference. "You don't ever want to be in a bounce-back mode, but I think for us, it's just you just do what you do," Briles said. "You prepare each week, you're playing each week and you have good hope each week, and belief. That's something that's never going to change."

Briles said he believes his team is still "very much alive" in the conference race. However, when it comes to getting back into the CFP top four, Briles was less emphatic.

"Really, I hadn't even thought that far, and really hadn't thought that far prior to last week," Briles said. "We're actually in the situation now where our vision is pretty tunnel. It's Stillwater this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (CT), and whatever happens from there happens, and I think we all know that it's pretty hard to predict what's going to happen."