Cowboys vs. Ducks in Holiday Bowl?

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State Cowboys may be disappointed following Saturday night’s 61-41 Bedlam loss to the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners but Larry Baber has some good news. The Cowboys became the favorites of the Holiday Bowl and are likely headed to the San Diego postseason game to face Oregon on Dec. 30, the Holiday Bowl president said following Saturday night’s game.

The Cowboys, 9-3, and the Ducks, also 9-3 following Saturday’s 65-38 victory over Oregon State, appear to be the two teams that Baber wants spending the last week of December in San Diego.

“When we get ready to pick I think (Oklahoma State) will be the best team in the Big 12, unless something happens next week (in the Big 12 Championship game),” Baber said minutes after speaking with OSU head coach Mike Gundy.

“As it sets now I assume the three 11-1 teams (Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech) will go two BCS and one Cotton (Bowl), and then we would have the Oklahoma State team. We could consider Missouri too but with that loss today (to Kansas) that didn’t really get us excited, especially if they lose again next week (in the Big 12 title game),” Baber continued.

“We have a choice in the Pac-10 in the conference runner-up, which at this point is Oregon and Oregon State, so we’ll get to pick between those two. With the way that Oregon won today it would be kind of difficult, I’m not saying it would be impossible, to pass over them and take over a team that they beat,” the Holiday Bowl president said.

“It was 20 years ago that this team was out there with Barry Sanders and we would kind of love to have them back. I’d just love to see them there again,” Baber said.

Baber said the Cowboys made quite an impression on him Saturday night despite losing by 20 points.

“(I like) the way they play ball. I did not see any quit out there at all. You look at this (stat sheet) and it shows with 10 minutes left in the game they were three points behind,” he said. “That Oklahoma is a good team. They may be one of the best or the best in the country. We’ll find that out in a few weeks. They played them right up to the end.”