Four Downs: Marvin Mims' importance to OU football's chances, bowl prediction and more

NORMAN — On a two-game losing streak, OU enters Saturday’s home Bedlam matchup (6:30 p.m., ABC) with plenty to play for.

The Sooners are still working to secure bowl eligibility, and to avoid being the first OU teams since 2001-02 to drop consecutive games to Oklahoma State.

Here’s a quick look inside the game from the OU perspective in this week’s edition of Four Downs:

More:OU 3-2-1 kickoff: Can the Sooners get revenge for last season's Bedlam loss?

First Down: Sooner in the Crosshairs

Marvin Mims, wide receiver: Mims leads the Sooners with 42 catches for 776 yards and four touchdowns but has been up and down lately.

He struggled to hold onto the ball in OU’s last two road games — at Iowa State and last week at West Virginia, though he had four catches for 98 yards against the Mountaineers.

But at home, Mims has averaged more than 111 receiving yards per game.

If the Sooners are to find a way to win this Bedlam, they’ll need to be able to get the passing game going, and Mims figures to be a key to that.

More:Tramel: Bedlam offers a tonic for Brent Venables' sour season with OU football

Second Down: Number to Know

90: The Sooners have won 90 games over the Cowboys, the most wins by the Sooners over any opponent and the second-most in Football Bowl Subdivision history by one program over another.

Only Nebraska, with 91 wins over Kansas, has more wins over an opponent than OU over Oklahoma State.

But the Sooners’ winning percentage of .806 in the series is better than any other FBS rivalry that has been played at least 110 times.

Nebraska’s .791 winning percentage against the Jayhawks is second. Also in the top five: Tennessee over Kentucky (.742), Utah over Utah State (.723) and Tennessee over Vanderbilt (.700).

More:How Eric Gray's 'Road to Riches' is paying off for OU football with 'monster season'

Third Down: Bold Bowl Prediction

Liberty Bowl: The Sooners still need to win one of their last two games to secure a bowl berth, so it’s still far from a given.

But even with the struggles of this season, it’s hard to fathom OU missing out on a bowl for what would be the first time since 1998.

The Big 12 bowl pecking order after the College Football Playoff selections are clear — Sugar, Alamo, Cheez-It, Texas, Liberty, and Guaranteed Rate. After those, the Armed Forces and First Responder bowls are a “flex pick” for the Big 12.

That order wouldn’t seem to give much hope to the Sooners — who enter Saturday’s game in ninth place in the league — to reach anything other than the Guaranteed Rate or the other flex bowls.

But the Big 12 selection criteria allows the bowls to pick any team who has reached the .500 mark for bowl eligibility without having to stick with the order.

It’s hard to see the Sooners, who have never played in the Memphis bowl, slipping past the Liberty Bowl.

Not only would if give the bowl a chance to have a marquee team, but it would be able to pair OU against an SEC opponent.

Even better?

That SEC opponent could plausibly be South Carolina — with former OU assistant Shane Beamer as coach, and a pair of former Sooners, quarterback Spencer Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner, on the roster.

More:What does Woodi Washington and OU's secondary need to do in Bedlam? 'Play angry'

Fourth Down: This Day in Sooners History

Nov. 19, 1949: There was plenty of hype around the second-ranked Sooners’ matchup with No. 19 Santa Clara, helping lead to a crowd of 59,000 at Owen Field.

The crowd set an OU record by approximately 20,000 fans at the time.

The 28-21 victory was the Sooners’ then-record 19th in a row, with George Thomas setting another school record with three touchdowns.

Leon Heath ran for 128 yards on 13 carries, while Thomas ran for 115 yards on 19 carries.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU vs. OSU football: Marvin Mims' value to Sooners, bowl prediction