After treading water the last couple of weeks, this is the jump the Oklahoma Sooners have needed in the college football playoff rankings.

Not just their own climb up the rankings, but getting some help as well. OU is No. 7 in the newest rankings, released Tuesday evening.

That’s not a surprise. Coming off OU’s win vs. TCU and losses by No. 8 Penn State and No. 6 Oregon, you figured the Sooners would go from No. 9 to No. 7.

The big boost, however, comes in Waco. Baylor, underappreciated all season by the rankings committee, jumped a massive five spots to No. 9 to give the Big 12 two top-10 teams in the rankings for the first time this season.

Even when Baylor was undefeated at 9-0, the Bears could only manage a No. 13 spot. Provided the Bears can take care of Kansas this weekend, Baylor will almost certainly be ranked in the top 10 for the Big 12 championship.

We know the Bears and Sooners will meet next weekend in Arlington, but the Sooners have some business to attend to of their own in Bedlam at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys, now 8-3, are ranked No. 21 and are one of three OU victories in the top 25.

“Oklahoma State. That’s all that counts,” defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles said. “We don’t even look at our scoreboard. We don’t even look at ours. Our scoreboard doesn’t matter if it’s 100-0. If we’re up or down, doesn’t matter.”

In other notable news, Ohio State has officially jumped LSU to the No. 1 spot after the Buckeyes impressive win against Penn State.

Clemson, Georgia and Alabama round out the top five. Utah, OU, Minnesota, Baylor and Penn State finish the top 10.

After it looking like a likely top-10 matchup in the Pac-12 championship for the last couple of weeks, the script is now flipped if the Sooners and Bears can handle their business Saturday.