So, Bob Stoops is passing up opportunities to convince voters his team deserves a chance to play for all the crawdads in the Bayou this January?

"I don't think we have to," Stoops said. "We'll see. I wasn't much on lobbying much the last time we were in that situation, and it worked pretty good."

The last time was back in 2008, when the Sooners got the Big 12 title nod over Texas and Texas Tech, eventually landing in the national title game.

But Stoops has especially good reason to save his breath for now. His team will have ample opportunities to prove itself before the year is over, its best chance to impress coming in its final outing.

The season finale against No. 2 Oklahoma State sticks out as the biggest megaphone for Oklahoma to make its case, but first, a trip to face a ranked Baylor team.

A blowout like the Sooners enjoyed in 2010 would be exactly what's needed.

"You get to this point and everybody wants to project the end, and you can’t. We talk about it every year," Stoops said. "Stay in the moment and really handle what we’re able to handle, and that’s being prepared as we can to go down to Baylor."

That's how you produce desired results, but if Stoops isn't willing to state his case yet off the field, he's already proven himself as a man willing to do whatever it takes to state it on the field. He infamously elected to punt from his own 7-yard line while trailing by nine with just more than two minutes remaining in a loss to Missouri last season.

"It's a long year. Who knows how poll people look at scores?" Stoops told reporters after the game. "Had we had a reasonable amount, some kind of field position, had we shown any signs the previous three plays of making a play, we would have (gone for it). But I didn't see that."

Alabama sits ahead of Oklahoma in the BCS standings, but likely won't play in its own conference title game after losing to No. 1 LSU earlier this month. Oregon lost to the Tigers on the season's opening weekend, but is still a spot behind Oklahoma in the BCS, despite winning at Stanford last week.

The task ahead is simple, and whether Stoops says it or not, he knows what could happen. Wins by big points could put Oklahoma in the title game.

"In some instances, there’s a certain point it doesn’t matter, depending on where the game’s at or how it’s played, but I guess as a voter, it’s considered to a point," Stoops said.

The Sooners must outrun a quizzical loss to Texas Tech that's now the Red Raiders' only win in their past six games. Stoops can elect to politick if he wants, but the truth is this: His best argument is having his team ready to win its final three games by big numbers.