The top-ranked Sooners (11-0, 8-0 Big 12 South) remain the lone remaining unbeaten team in Division I-A, and a victory at Arrowhead Stadium will put them into the Orange Bowl on January 3 against Florida State.

A loss would put Miami into the Orange Bowl, Kansas State into the Fiesta Bowl and create a ripple effect that will shuffle the alignment of several bowls.

For the time being, Oklahoma is concerned only with the seventh-ranked Wildcats, (10-2, 6-2 North) who have emerged as a dangerous threat to the Sooners' quest for their first national title since 1985.

When Oklahoma defeated the Wildcats, 31-14, on October 14, the Sooners were in the early stages of their rise to the top of the college football polls. Several weeks later, they are no longer the hunters but the hunted.

"We get everybody's best shot, from Texas to Kansas State to Texas A&M," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. "All of those are big, big games that teams circle (on their schedule). That's how it goes."

Adding fuel to the fire is that there is no love lost between the coaches. Saturday is the second meeting since former Kansas State assistant Stoops became coach at Oklahoma and hired three assistants away from Bill Snyder, his former mentor. While both sides downplay the issue, there is bad blood between Snyder and former assistants Mike Stoops, Brent Venables and Mark Mangino.

In a Sports Illustrated article over the summer, Stoops claimed "I don't know if anybody ever leaves coach Snyder on good terms."

There is reason to be concerned that the Sooners have cooled a bit from their red-hot October when they defeated three top-10 teams: Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska.

Oklahoma needed cornerback Derrick Straits to deflect away a pass in the final minutes to edge Oklahoma State, 12-7, last week.

Quarterback Josh Heupel may have lost valuable ground in the Heisman Trophy race to Florida State's Chris Weinke, throwing for just 154 yards with two interceptions. Saturday is his last chance to make an impression on the voters before the winner is declared on December 9.

Heupel played far better in the October win over the Wildcats, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and running for another as the Sooners built a big early lead and held on for a 41-31 victory.

Defeating the same team twice in a season can pose problems, but Stoops will hear nothing of it.

"I don't believe it is (more difficult). I don't know why it has to be," Stoops said. "This game has nothing to do with the last one, I know this. We'll be extremely confident. We went into their place and handled the situation."

This is the third time in the five-year history of the Big 12 title game that a berth in the national title game is at stake, and both times previously those hopes were dashed.

In 1996, Texas beat then third-ranked Nebraska, keeping the Cornhuskers out of the Sugar Bowl. Two years ago, undefeated Kansas State fell to Texas A&M and fell all the way to the Alamo Bowl.

The drop won't be as far this time as a Cotton Bowl bid awaits should they lose. Oklahoma, meanwhile, would likely land in the Sugar Bowl should they lose to K-State.

Kansas State essentially earned its trip to Kansas City by edging Nebraska, 29-28, on November 11 behind huge efforts from Jonathan Beasley and Quincy Morgan, who combined on a pair of TD passes.

The elusive Beasley needs to have another big game on Saturday against a battle-tested Sooners defense, led by linebacker Rocky Calmus, that made the big plays last week and all year.

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats must do a better job against Antwone Savage, who caught seven passes for 116 yards in the first meeting.

This is the second game at Arrowhead Stadium this season for the Wildcats, who defeated Iowa there on August 26. It was brutally hot that day, but it will likely be much colder on Saturday night when the Big 12 title game is played outdoors for the first time.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 64-16-4.