Next week’s new biggest game in the nation is Oklahoma State and Texas Tech at Lubbock. The Sooners need Tech to win before they beat Tech in Norman to make it three Big 12 teams with a loss, all having beaten each other. And if everything falls into place, they’ll still have to win Bedlam in Stillwater to keep it in place. Also, they’ll somehow have to manage finishing in front of Texas and Tech in the BCS standings.

Momentarily, the Sooners may drop in the polls. Tech will move ahead and Texas will not drop far enough down.

But OU’s ship can still come in.

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Does it deserve to?

OU whipped Nebraska good, but what happens if the Huskers don’t turn the ball over? And when is Chris Brown going to average 10 yards a carry again? And when is Jimmy Stevens going to miss an extra point that isn’t meaningless? Now he’s missed four, but none have mattered.

The Sooners still have Sam Bradford.

There are only two things Jason White ever did that Bradford hasn’t. One, win a Heisman. Two, win a game all by himself the way White did at Texas A&M in 2004. He may match No. 1 a week after the Big 12 title game (only now he has Crabtree and Graham Harrell as competition) and he may never have to match No. 2.

Or he might and will, his uncanny accuracy having returned Saturday night, leading to 19 of 27 completions and five touchdowns, as well as three flings beyond 40 yards.

The defense wasn’t fantastic but it was a whole lot better.

Taking it all in, one wonders how the Sooners might fare against another top 5 or top 10 team?

Well, they’ve got Texas A&M coming up, so we’ll all have to wait, though not very long. Because then it’s Tech and then it’s Bedlam.

Maybe the season’s just getting started.