The Oklahoma State Cowboys received a gift on Saturday afternoon, even before they took the field to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

In Cincinnati, the Bearcats defeated the No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders, 37-24, handing the defending Big 12 champions their first loss of the season.

It's a loss that helps the Cowboys (4-2, 2-1 in Big 12) when it comes to creating a path to the Big 12 Championship game — and every little bit helps.

How Texas Tech’s Loss Helps Oklahoma State

Entering Saturday, the Big 12 Conference had three undefeated teams and in the Top 10 of the AP Top 25 — No. 2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 10 Utah. BYU was in Orlando to take on UCF while Utah was hosting Houston later Saturday evening in a battle of Top 15 teams.

Tech's loss is important to Oklahoma State for one significant reason. Of the three teams that were undefeated going into Saturday, Texas Tech is the only one that Oklahoma State plays. The Cowboys host the Red Raiders on No. 14 in Stillwater. Assuming both teams continue to win, that stacks up to be an elimination contest for the Big 12 Championship game race.

Even with two games after that matchup, a second loss could take either the Red Raiders or the Cowboys out of the race. Why?

Assuming BYU and Utah keep winning, the Cougars and Utes will be undefeated when they meet in the Holy War on Nov. 7 in Salt Lake City. The winner would remain undefeated, and the loser would have a loss — but might still have a path to the Big 12 title game for a rematch due to the schedule.

OSU and Texas Tech won’t play either BYU or Utah. So there is a scenario where an undefeated BYU/Utah and a one-loss BYU/Utah meet again at AT&T Stadium.

That’s why Texas Tech’s loss was so significant for Oklahoma State. In a scenario where both the Red Raiders and the Cowboys have one league loss, the winner of that game stays alive for a title game berth, depending upon what BYU and Utah do down the stretch.

Texas Tech's loss is a big boost to Oklahoma State’s hopes of getting to Arlington in head coach Eric Morris's first year at the helm. But the Cowboys must keep winning. Even that doesn’t guarantee a berth. But it’s becoming clear that a two-loss team in Big 12 action will have a hard time getting to the title game, unless the race collapses in the final month.

With Texas Tech's loss, the Cowboys control their destiny just a bit more.