Bama Was Always No. 2, Oklahoma State Simply Proved It by Losing to ISU

A shaky win against a four-loss Iowa State team could have and should have hurt Oklahoma State with some of the voters and in the final BCS tabulations.

A loss killed all the hopes of the entire Big 12 to make the game.

First of all, it showed the nation that they simply are a team that can be handled, even by a mediocre team.

But on the night, we also saw the Cowboys throw three picks and not be able to put away a team that many thought was clearly inferior; Weeden's chances for a Heisman may have taken the biggest hit.

It was a night where just throwing up big numbers didn't mean as much because many of those drives stalled short of a scoring opportunity.

At the 5:30 mark in the fourth quarter when Iowa State tied the game up, the offense totals were virtually even, but Iowa State was able to do something that the Cowboys hadn't been able to do all night: run the ball.

No matter what happened from that moment on, the Oklahoma State Cowboys had their stock fall.

If they were truly the nation's second-best team, how could they have allowed an unranked, four-loss Iowa State team tie them up?

With the game on the line, when Weeden came back in, how did the Heisman hopeful respond? Two short passes for very little gain and a pass overthrown by 20 yards for a quick three-and-out.

With three minutes and change, ISU had a chance to put the game away, but a tipped ball and a horse collar tackle put the ball in field-goal range for the opportunistic Cowboys.

With 1:21 remaining, the OSU kicker came out to squeak out a win, but that fell short of expectations, too, just like the rest of the Cowboy team and unlike Alabama, who the nation's No. 1 team was lucky to force into overtime, this OSU team was taken to overtime by a four-loss, unranked team.

They swapped touchdowns in the first overtime and then Weeden threw his third and final pick.

The game ended as it should have, with ISU simply running it down the OSU players' throats for an exciting 37-31 win.

No BCS championship for any Big 12 team and the rematch was on.