Were it not for an interception by cornerback Parnell Motley on a two-point conversion attempt that would have given Iowa State an improbable and shocking comeback win, Oklahoma could have forgotten any and all hope of the College Football Playoff and perhaps even a shot at its fifth consecutive Big 12 title.
Paraphrasing the immortal words of the legendary English writer Charles Dickens, it was the best and worst of games for the schizophrenic Sooners. For most of the first half and a good part of the third quarter, OU played some of its best football of the season, but the disastrous final quarter came within an arms length of undoing all the good that had come before.