For Oklahoma football fans, it was a rare Thursday night tussle between the Sooners and the Iowa State Cyclones that had all the makings of a trap game: short week, key players out of action, and a road game against a scrappy Iowa State bunch with a penchant for upsetting better teams.
True to form, the home team put up a spirited fight as a depleted OU squad struggled to put the Cyclones away. The Sooner did manage to come out of Ames with a hard-earned victory, and are now poised to commence a final stretch run similar to the one they embarked a year ago en route to the Big 12 championship.
The next three games – against Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State, all with one conference loss – will determine if Oklahoma has what it takes to compete in a top-tier bowl game and perhaps even have an outside shot at the College Football Playoff.