Oklahoma’s hopes for a spot in the Big 12 Championship took a big step Saturday as the Sooners swamped Oklahoma State 41-13 in front of a virus-reduced crowd in Norman.

If OU (6-2, 5-2 in the Big 12) beats West Virginia and Baylor, the Sooners probably will be one of the teams playing for the title. Oklahoma State (5-2, 4-2) would have been in fantastic shape with a Bedlam win but instead the Cowboys will need some help to make it to the championship. OSU must play Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor.

No. 14 Oklahoma will travel to West Virginia for a 6:30 p.m game on ABC TV. No. 21 OSU will host Texas Tech Saturday at 11 a.m. on Fox Sports. It is the last home game for the Cowboys this year.

The lopsided record of the Bedlam game continued.

“We really defensively controlled the run game, we didn’t let (Tylan) Wallace get loose too much in the throw game which, against them that’s obviously a big key with him being such a great player,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley. “People get into all this of, ‘Well you’re defending something,’ whether it’s, you won a championship in a previous year, or you won a rivalry game in the previous year, whatever, we’re not defending anything. This is this year’s team and this year’s version and, whatever is in our sights, our goals, we’re chasing those.

“We wanted to play tonight like we were the hunter, not the hunted. That’s kind of our mindset all week, both the way we played and coached. You can’t come into big games like this against a great opponent and play conservative, and not that we have, but we really want to emphasize that with our players that we had to play aggressive. We had to go take it if you’re going to beat a good team like this, and we certainly did that.”

OU running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 141 yards on 26 carries (5.4 average).

“He’s a really good player and I think he’s improving,” said Riley. “The fun thing for that kid is he still has so much more to go, he’s still a relatively young player. He’s not really even played a full college football season, and he gets better. And then again, I give our line a lot of credit.

“I thought there were some really nice holes out there, we did some really good things up front against a talented and experienced defense in front that gives you a lot of different looks. So good overall effort by them. And I thought (Rhamondre Stevenson) ran well, hit the holes well, ran tough and then we got him through clean and (he) was able to make some of those second level defenders miss.”

Oklahoma has now won 23 straight November games (last loss was on Nov. 8, 2014, vs. Baylor) and 26 of its last 27. Riley is 14-0 in November as head coach.

 “Meaningful football in November is something that your antennas are up for and it needs to be and it should be because you work a calendar year to put yourself in a situation that again, at the tail end of this thing or four months in or whatever it is, games mean something,” OU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “So that is at the forefront.

“Does the intensity go up in this month? I would say yes. I think the teams that have success are also the ones that are the most consistent intensity that ultimately gives you a shot.”

OU quarterback Spencer Rattler was 17 of 24 passing for 301 yards and four touchdowns, compiling a 231.2 passing efficiency rating. It was his fourth game this season with 300 passing yards. He rushed seven times for 14 yards, and scored his fourth rushing TD of the season on OU’s opening possession of the game. Rattler has passed for at least 200 yards and two TDs in seven of OU’s eight games.

“I told myself I needed a big game, especially in this one,” Rattler said. “I went out there and trusted the process. Guys around me played really well and helped me out. O-line blocked well, receivers caught the ball, defense played well. It’s not just me out there. Everybody played well and that contributed to the stat sheet.”

OU’s offense played well against one of the best defenses in the Big 12 and in the nation.

“Offensively, (we) did a lot of good things, I don’t think we turned the ball over, once again, which was big,” said Riley. “We had a little lull there (in the) late second, early third and then they snapped out of it, played pretty well and closed it out. You beat a team like that, it’s a pretty good thing. Proud of the way we’re improving and excited for this closing stretch. Wish we had 10 more games. This team’s fun and a lot of fun to coach and we’re starting to play some decent football.”

The Cowboys, with a tradition of a high-powered offense, were battling injuries at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and offensive line.

OSU gained just 246 total yards. All-American running back Chuba Hubbard had just 44 yards on eight carries, with most of it coming on a 29-yard run. Tylan Wallace had 68 yards on four catches. “Give credit to them,” Wallace said. “We were struggling kind of the whole game trying to make plays. We’ve just got to be better.”

The Cowboy quarterbacks hit only 15 of 40 pass attempts.

“You don’t see that very often,” said Riley. “… We were competitive all night. And I even thought we had a couple of couple flags that went against us. I thought a couple we committed were pretty aggressive plays that just didn’t go our way. So, we continue to stay aggressive. I thought guys’ eyes were in a great spot, because Oklahoma State does a lot of great things and play action and a lot to try to isolate their guys.

“We really defensively controlled the run game, we didn’t let Wallace get loose too much in the throw game which, against them that’s obviously a big key with him being such a great player … they’re great players, so great job containing them and making them one dimensional.”

The Sooners came out with their guns blazing and scored three touchdowns on their first three possessions to take an early 21-0 lead.

“I wish we could have had the first quarter back,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “You know, we’re not as explosive in certain areas as we have been in past years so it’s a little bit tougher but I will say that the players really competed and fought hard even though we had a tough start to the game,” said Gundy. “We had good plans coming out at halftime. We just didn’t get to get it executed.  We lost to a better team today. They outcoached us, they outplayed us. You have to give them credit.”

Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders had a head injury in the first quarter and was replaced by freshman Shane Illingworth. Illingworth threw a touchdown pass to Logan Carter that made the score 27-13 at the half.

Gundy said the OSU medical staff cleared Sanders to return.

“He started feeling better,” Gundy said. “He got dinged in the head. The medical staff usually makes those decisions when those guys can come back and ready. In the second half, they said they felt he was OK and clear enough to come back in if we wanted him to.”

Oklahoma has won 16 of the last 18 meetings, including six in a row. OU is now 90-18-7 (.813) all-time against the Cowboys and 43-9-2 (.815) in Norman. The Sooners’ 90 wins against OSU are the second most in FBS history by one program against another (Nebraska has 91 wins vs. Kansas).

OSU’s 13 points were its fewest in the series since 2009 (a 27-0 OU victory).

Riley set the record for most wins in the first four seasons of an OU heading coaching career. He is now 42-8 (.840). Barry Switzer held the previous first-four-year record of 41 wins (1973-76).