NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma made it look ridiculously easy, walloping Texas Tech, 65-21, on Saturday night.

Now comes the hard part, separating three Big 12 teams with similar credentials. Nothing less than the programs' postseason fate is at stake.

The outcome left the Big 12 South powers — Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas — knotted with records of 6-1 in the conference and 10-1 overall.

League rules call for several layers of tie-breakers for three-team collisions, like head-to-head and records against common opponents. None would apply if the teams finish 7-1.

The final tie-breaker is the Bowl Championship Series standings. Sunday's voting in the Harris Poll and USA Today coaches poll, along with the average placement in the six computer polls that comprise the standings, now takes on greater meaning.

And the Big 12 could be looking at a situation where its conference champion and representative in the BCS National Championship Game are different teams.

First, the voting considerations:

Oklahoma looked unstoppable.

So did Texas last month when it beat the Sooners on a neutral field.

And Tech beat Texas.

Saturday's margin eliminates Tech from consideration this week. National championship contenders can lose this late in the season. Last year's BCS title game opponents, LSU and Ohio State, each lost after mid-November, but neither as badly as the Red Raiders on Saturday.

Which for the moment leaves the Red River Rivals.

A simple head-to-head decision, right? The Longhorns won in the Cotton Bowl, 45-35, overcoming an 11-point deficit.

The Longhorns took down the nation's top-ranked team and stayed ahead of the Sooners in the polls after losing in Lubbock.

But recent results also are part of the equation, as Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford — his usual sensational self on Saturday with 304 yards and four touchdown throws — told the ESPN panel.

"Who's hotter at the end of the season?" Bradford responded when asked about the Texas loss.

On a day when Texas did not play, Oklahoma scored its most resounding victory of the season, and in the three games of the Oklahoma/Tech/Texas round-robin, the Sooners' triumph on Saturday was easily the most impressive.

That could lift Oklahoma over Texas in today's BCS standings.

Entering the weekend, the BCS standings had Alabama first, then Tech, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma.

The Crimson Tide didn't play and will stay on top. After that it's guesswork. The Sooners could climb to No. 2, but Florida probably takes that spot. Texas could stay at No. 3.

The BCS tie-breaker will be used a week from Sunday if the South remains tied at the end of the regular-season games. The contenders are in action, and the Sooners have the toughest task when they visit Oklahoma State.

Already, Texas and Texas Tech have failed in their most hostile environments, and Oklahoma's comes next weekend.

As devastating as Saturday's loss was for Tech, the Red Raiders would win the division if they beat Baylor at home, Texas defeats Texas A&M in Austin and Oklahoma loses.

The Raiders and Longhorns would be tied, which would give Tech the division because of its victory over Texas.

That opens the possibility of Tech playing Missouri for the Big 12 championship but ranked behind the Longhorns in the BCS standings. The Red Raiders could be league champion and watch Texas play for the national championship.

Sounds preposterous ... and familiar. The same thing happened in 2001 when Nebraska lost to Colorado, the Buffaloes won the Big 12 championship and the Cornhuskers played in the national championship game.

The outcry was loud then. It would be again.