Andy Staples shares his thoughts on Baylor/OU, the Playoff picture

Key quotes from Andy Staples interview

“(When it comes to Oklahoma) Remember, the national champion last year lost at home to a team with six losses, so it isn't unheard of. If a team loses early and gets better as the season goes on, it is somewhat forgivable by the committee. They are going to need some help. Let’s say Clemson goes undefeated, the BIG 10 champion finishes undefeated, you have a problem because it is getting pretty stacked up, and that loss to Texas looks pretty bad. They aren't jumping a one loss Notre Dame, since ND lost on the road to Clemson. There is enough potential for chaos that as long as they keep winning, there is a good shot.”

“Baylor and Oklahoma still have to play Oklahoma State, the one team with a win over one of the ‘Big Four.’ Both of those teams have to go to Stillwater. That is going to get tricky. I think you have to look at Oklahoma State as the favorite, because they get both of those guys at home. (OSU) has gotten so much better. Mason Rudolph had a TD/INT ration of 12/9 going into the TCU game, then he throws for five touchdowns and zero interceptions. That is fantastic. Then, J.W. Walsh really messes with defenses heads. He has nine touchdowns and hasn't thrown a single interception all year long. You really have to prepare for two offenses every week, then you have Emanuel Ogbah chasing your quarterback. I think in the Big 12 you have to have one great pass rusher. TCU is the one that doesn't have it. Baylor has Oakman, OU has Striker and OSU has Ogbah. If you can force a QB into making mistakes, that is how you slow down those offenses. If there is an undefeated Big 12 team, I cannot see how they get left out.”

“We really don’t know who the best team in the country is. It might be Clemson, it might be Ohio State. We haven't seen them play anybody good yet. They could play up or down, so I want to see them play Michigan and Michigan State because I get the sense they are waiting for a good game to show us what they can do.”

“I have no idea (what my Heisman top three is) I actually predicted Deshaun Watson would win it at the beginning of the year and that is actually looking a little more accurate now. This time last year, I would have said, ‘Well, I got that one wrong.’ But Fournette getting shut down and Boykin having a terrible game in his biggest game so far, I think Watson looked pretty good against a Florida State defense that I don’t think people realize how good they are or are going to be. The problem for Watson is that now, most of the games they play, they should win handily.  The only game left is the ACC championship against probably North Carolina, which could be a shootout. But I don’t think North Carolina has seen anything like Clemson’s defense, so it might not be a shootout at all.”

“If 12 teams think they have a chance (to get in) now, moving to eight teams would make 24 teams feel like they had a chance. It engages twice as many fanbases and gives them stakes, gives them something to play for. People are like, ‘Everybody would get in.’ No, there will be two or three teams that are comfortably in. Everybody else is on the bubble. They only play 12 games a year. It isn't the NBA, NHL or MLB where you play 82 or 162 games, you cannot be that comfortable because one loss can change everything.”

“Well, let’s see if Kyler Murray can figure it out. He certainly has all the talent in the world. It is interesting, I went there before Alabama and they were saying how different they were, how they weren't facing the same issues they were facing last year. At 5-0 they were completely different, but it doesn't look like they were that much different. After Mississippi State, they seemed like a better team. They didn't lose 59-0 to Ole Miss, but that game was every bit as hopeless. You never thought they had a chance.”

“I don’t know if Saban makes one more run in the NFL with the Colts. I’ve heard him say so many times that he really doesn't like the NFL, that he likes coaching college players so much better. I think Alabama would come close to that (10 million) figure. Even if they paid him 10 million, they would still be making a profit off him. The question is, does he feel like he needs a new challenge, but he has been fairly adamant that he would prefer to coach college players, so I don’t see it. I think he is getting on to figuring out what he is going to do with the rest of his life. I don’t see him hanging around to where he isn't as competitive as he is. He wants to be in the mix every year.”

“I’m not going to Waco tonight. This is how things have changed since the Aggies left the Big 12, you cannot get a hotel room in Waco tonight. This game will be interesting, because the last few years, Oklahoma has not been able to solve the Baylor offense. I think Baylor will have more trouble figuring out the OU offense. The last few years it would go Baylor touchdown, three and out, Baylor touchdown, turnover, Baylor touchdown. I think OU will score fairly regularly and this might be the 61-58 game. How could OU lose to Texas and win this game, that is a good question.”