The Oklahoma State Cowboys might be the most disrespected team in the country after the most recent College Football Playoff rankings.

They are 11-1 on the season and have just beat a very tough Oklahoma Sooners team 37-33, one week before they take on the number nine team in the country, the Baylor Bears, for the Big 12 title.

Let's take a look at three reasons why Oklahoma State deserves to be in the college football playoffs over some other teams.

Three Reasons Why Oklahoma State Deserves To Be In The CFP

3. They are better than Cincinnati

The only argument that could be made that Cincinnati is better than Oklahoma State is that they beat Notre Dame. At the end of the day, one win is not better than the 10 that Oklahoma state has this season against tough opponents. The Big 12 is arguably the toughest conference in college football, all offenses in the Big 12 perform at a higher level than most other conferences.

It would be insane to say that a team in the American Athletic Conference is better than a team that plays in the Big 12. Cincinnati is definitely better than some of the lower-end teams in the conference, but not Oklahoma State or Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State only has one loss on the year and it's against a very tough Iowa State team. Iowa State isn't the greatest team ever, but they still are better than the other teams that Cincinnati has played outside of Notre Dame. If Cincinnati matched up against any one of Oklahoma State's last nine opponents, there's a very good chance that they would walk away with a loss.

2. If they win the BIG 12, they have to be in

There would be no debate that a team with one loss who wins the Big 12 should be in the final four. This season they have impressive wins over the number 9 team in the country Baylor, who they will also take on in the Big 12 title game on Saturday. They also have wins over Oklahoma, TCU, West Virginia, Texas, and Texas Tech. Regardless if most of these teams didn't perform to the standard that many expected them to this year, they are still worthy opponents and tough to beat. Playing teams on the road in the Big 12 is arguably one of the hardest things to do in all of college football. Oklahoma state has shown time and time again that they can go into somebody's house and put up 40 plus points while also getting stops on defense.

The most impressive part about Oklahoma State this year is that they have also been able to play defense at a much higher level than almost anybody in the Big 12 has played in the last few years. The issues with Oklahoma in the past couple of years, and them making the College Football Playoffs, was them not being able to defend at a high level. Oklahoma State on the other hand has shown week in and week out that they can hold worthy opponents to under 30 points. Their offense is good enough to score more than that.

If the winner of the Big 12 doesn't get in because of one loss, it would be unfair to have any other one-loss team in there as well. Whether that be Michigan, Alabama, or even a team like Notre Dame.

1. Alabama had a loss to an unranked team

When looking at the number 3 team in the country we have to look at Alabama because they are the ones currently taking up a spot for Oklahoma State. Alabama has had multiple weeks that they haven't looked great. They only have a two-point win against a Florida team who underperformed more than arguably any other team in the country. They also have a loss against Texas A&M who hasn't been all that special this season.

Oklahoma State also has a loss to an unranked team, but in other weeks, they won in much better fashion than what Alabama has done. Alabama also struggled against some questionable teams this year including LSU, Arkansas, and an unranked Auburn team who they only beat by two points and were losing against for most of the game, up until the final whistle.

If the College Football Playoff committee wants to put the four best teams in the country, then Oklahoma State needs to be in the final four if they win the Big 12. Some of their wins this year have been commanding including a 10-point victory against Baylor, a 52-point win against Kansas, a 40-plus point win against TCU, and a 21-point win against West Virginia in Morgantown.