Gundy: 1-loss Big 12 champ deserves strong playoff look

Nov 24, 2015 - 12:02 AM Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy figures there is no reason to be lobbying for a playoff spot if his No. 9 Cowboys rebound from their lone loss to beat Oklahoma for a possible Big 12 title.

''Somebody else is going to make that decision. People ask me, and I don't know that it even matters what I say, just from a standpoint of the people in that room on that committee know how I feel about my team,'' Gundy said Monday. ''I think coaches who are politicking for leverage are just wasting time.''

Gundy was then asked during the weekly Big 12 coaches teleconference if an 11-1 team with an outright Big 12 title should get strong consideration for a playoff spot.

''There's teams definitely that are good enough to get in there and compete and win, so I would agree with what you're saying,'' Gundy responded.

The Cowboys (10-1, 7-1) play at No. 5 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday, a night after No. 7 Baylor (9-1, 6-1) - the only other team still in Big 12 contention - plays at No. 15 TCU (9-2, 6-2).

With the Big 12 no longer declaring co-champions and instead using a tiebreaker, Oklahoma State can claim the title with a win in Bedlam and a loss by Baylor in one of its last two games. After TCU, the Bears end their regular season Dec. 5 at home against Texas.

Chris Johnson is likely to become Baylor's third starting quarterback of the season Friday against TCU, which played without star quarterback Trevone Boykin (right ankle) and center Joey Hunt in Saturday's 30-29 loss at Oklahoma.

TCU coach Gary Patterson said Hunt was having surgery and wouldn't play, though the coach wouldn't disclose what the injury was. Boykin practiced Sunday with the Frogs.

''He's not 100 percent yet, but every day obviously was far better than he was when we made the decision Friday or Saturday for him not to play,'' Patterson said on the teleconference. ''Hopefully, he'll just keep getting better every day. He's doing his best to try to get back.''

Some other notes from the Big 12 call:

- West Virginia (6-4), which opened Big 12 play with four consecutive losses to the league's four ranked teams, got bowl eligible with its third win in a row since, 49-0 Saturday at Kansas. Coach Dana Holgorsen gives the credit to the Mountaineers seniors, the group that helped transition the team into the league.

''This is their fourth season in the Big 12, and they understand that it's all about,'' Holgorsen said. ''Really, we wanted to do a good job of finishing this year strong, which we've done up until this point.''

- Kansas coach David Beaty will make his Sunshine State rivalry debut when the Jayhawks (0-11, 0-8) play at Kansas State (4-6, 1-6) on Saturday, their last chance to avoid a winless season. Beaty is hoping to end his first season with a win that would give the program a momentum boost heading into spring practice. ''We never said it was going to be easy. We said it was going to be worth it,'' he said.

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AP Sports Writer Luke Meredith contributed to this report.

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AP college football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org