Several things happened last weekend that point to the possibility that the Oklahoma Sooner football team could play for a record sixth Big 12 Championship in December.

– Oklahoma (4-2, 3-2 in the Big 12) demolished Texas Tech (2-4, 1-4), 62-28, Saturday in Lubbock. That pushed OU from No. 24 to No. 19 in the rankings and put them in a tie for fourth place in the conference.

– West Virginia beat Kansas State (4-2, 4-1) and Texas upset Oklahoma State (4-1, 3-1). The Sooners had lost to both KSU and Iowa State and at least one of those teams needs to lose three conference games for OU to get in one of the top two spots for the championship. OU is tied with Texas and West Virginia in fourth place behind ISU, KSU and OSU.

– ISU and KSU must still play each other and both still must play Texas. K-State hosts OSU on Saturday. If there is a tie at the top, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition.

– OU’s schedule gets easier this week as the Sooners host winless Kansas at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Three of the last four games are in Norman, including the Bedlam game with OSU on November 14. The only road game left is Thanksgiving weekend (November 28) at West Virginia.

– OU quarterback Spencer Rattler is improving every game. He hit 21 of 30 passing for 288 yards and two touchdowns (two of his incompletions were spiked passes at the end of the first half) and he rushed three times for 24 yards. Rattler has passed for at least 200 yards and two touchdowns in every game this season.

– Oklahoma racked up 559 yards of total offense, snapping a streak of five straight games against Texas Tech in which it had over 600 yards of offense. OU is the only program since at least 1996 to have at least 600 yards vs. a single opponent in five straight matchups. The Sooners’ 3,415 yards during the stretch (683.0 average) also stand as the nation’s most against one opponent over a five-game span since at least 1996. OU’s 48 first-half points were its most ever in a half against Texas Tech. OU has scored at least 38 points in each of their last 11 games against the Red Raiders. It tied the longest streak of 38 points or more against a single opponent in school history.

– Two very important players – defensive end Ronnie Perkins and running back Rhamondre Stevenson – returned to action from a six-game suspension against Texas Tech. “They both had a big impact,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley, who got his 40th win as head coach. “We had to kind of scramble a plan up, and didn’t want to overdo it on them. But they’re two mentally locked-in kids. They’ve been preparing hard. … Those guys played some ball, so that certainly helps.”

Stevenson led all OU rushers with 13 carries for 87 yards (6.7 average) and he scored three touchdowns. Perkins had three tackles, including two for a loss.

“I mean, they’re two really really good football players,” said Riley. “And it was great to have them back … (We) didn’t have the ability to plan for it a whole lot. But it was certainly great to have them back… two quality players but then just the emotional lift.

“Our team’s very aware of what those guys, along with Trejan (Bridges) have been through and to get those two back on the field was, like I said, (the) quality of player was great, but just the emotional lift for our team was pretty awesome.”

– After two late game collapses by the OU defense, the Sooner defenders are playing much better, particularly the defensive line. And OU’s defense got three turnovers against Texas Tech – a point of emphasis by OU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

 “Sometimes you feel like when you talk about something so much and you end up not getting it, it’s almost like this fantasyland,” Grinch said. “(There are) teams that do. We’re just one of those that doesn’t.

“That’s obviously not reality. It’s not like someone else has a monopoly on takeaways, like we’re not in on the secret type of deal. That’s something that’s week-by-week, obviously. It has a huge impact. It had an incredible impact of the momentum of this game.

“We’ve been on the other side of that this year from a momentum standpoint. It’s obviously critical plays and the message, again, you don’t get credit for these next week. You have to go create them again.”

OU safety Tre Norwood had two interceptions. The last time an OU player had two in one game was in 2016.

Oklahoma’s 62 points were the most since scoring 70 against South Dakota last season. It was OU’s most points against a Big 12 opponent since a 66-33 win over Baylor in 2018, and its most against Texas Tech since 2016.

The Sooners have scored at least 60 points against Tech five times (2002, 2008, 2015, 2016 and tonight).

Oklahoma gained a season-high 213 rushing yards and averaged a season-best 5.5 yards per carry. The Sooners scored six rushing touchdowns for the first time since 2015, when they rushed for seven TDs vs. Texas Tech. Four different players scored a rushing TD.

“The name of the game all night, we couldn’t get pressure on Rattler, let guys get open in the back end and as the game wore on, we were very poor against the run,” Tech coach Matt Wells said. “We have to, sudden change like that, we’ve got to respond better, and you’ve got to come in and try to force field goals.”

Iowa State beat Kansas, 52-22, Saturday. The Jayhawks’ two starting linebackers, Denzel Feaster and Dru Prox, didn’t play.

“I think Prox is a guy that won’t be back,” said KU coach Les Miles said. “I think he’s an opt-out. I think that’s something that he wants. I don’t really know exactly. I know this. He’s a fine linebacker and a guy that can significantly play.” Earlier this year, Miles tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus but he said he has recovered.