What if K-State could have won its first Big 12 Championship by knocking off Oklahoma in 2000?

It's no different for Kansas State football fans. There are so many moments than could have gone differently - good and bad - and possibly altered the course of Wildcat football.

We continue our off-season series of K-State "What Ifs," at KSO by looking back at one of two disappointing losses to Oklahoma in the 2000 season.

What happened: No. 8 (AP, No. 7 coaches) ranked K-State fell to No. 1 Oklahoma for the second time of the 2000 season, 27-24, in front of nearly 80,000 fans at Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City in the Big 12 Championship Game.

It was back-and-forth throughout, with the Wildcats holding a 10-3 lead late in the first half before an OU touchdown with 2:56 to play in the second quarter tied the game going into halftime. The Sooners would take a 17-10 lead midway through the third quarter, only for an Aaron Lockett punt return for a touchdown to tie the game again at 17 going into the fourth.

A controversial pass interference call (the ball appearing to be tipped at the line of scrimmage, which would have erased the ability to call interference) kept an OU drive alive on third down. It was a series that eventually produced a touchdown from Josh Heupel to Andre Wolfork, making it 24-17 OU.

A 46-yard field goal from OU kicker Tim Duncan - his longest of the year - made it a 10-point Sooner edge before Jonathan Beasley hooked up with Quincy Morgan in the closing minute to make it 27-24. K-State could not recover the onside kick, and Oklahoma would claim the Big 12 title.

What it caused: Oklahoma went on to handle Florida State in the BCS Championship game and claim the National Championship in just Bob Stoops' second season in Norman. The Wildcats - who were ranked as high as No. 2 early in the season before falling to Oklahoma in Manhattan - headed to the Cotton Bowl, where they cruised by Tennessee, 35-21.

But what if... K-State had earned revenge against OU and knocked off the Sooners in Kansas City?

OU won a highly entertaining (but disappointing, for K-State fans) Top 10 battle 41-31 mid-season in Manhattan. The Wildcats believed they were every bit as good as the top-ranked an undefeated Sooners, and came ever so close to proving as much in K.C.

It's not hard to flip the final outcome of this one - like most any close game, to be fair.

If what was likely an incorrect pass interference call wasn't flagged against K-State, OU is forced to punt on what was essentially its game-winning drive. If K-State's offense is able to put together a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession - easier said than done - the Wildcats would have had the lead and control of the game with less than 10 minutes left.

So what if K-State goes on to win that night in Arrowhead? The Wildcats not only claim the Big 12 title, they prevent OU from winning the national title. Oklahoma went on to be the premier program in the Big 12 Conference the next two decades, but maybe that doesn't happen without that early conference crown and national title?

The Wildcats probably jump into the top five of the national rankings heading into bowl season - most likely a Fiesta Bowl matchup against either Oregon State or Notre Dame. A win against either of those programs would have given K-State its 12th win (something the Wildcats still have never accomplished) and allowed them to finish the 2000 season ranked in the top three.

Twelve wins, a top-three ranking, a conference title and a BCS Bowl win... easily the best season in school history. And, at the expense of costing Oklahoma what would be easily the best season of the Bob Stoops era.

It wasn't meant to be, however, on this night for the Wildcats.

The wait for revenge would last until another trip to K.C. in 2003.

***Subscribe to K-StateOnline by clicking here***

Talk K-State football and basketball in the largest, most active K-State message board community anywhere, The Foundation.