Sooner defenders tackle the Texas A&M kickoff return man Cyrus Gray in OU's 66-28 thrashing of the Aggies. Amy Frost/The Daily.

When you think of Las Vegas, there are probably only a few things that come to mind.

Gambling. Elvis. Boxing. Gambling. Lights. Buffets.

People go there to celebrate their 21st birthday, host bachelor parties or just tour the sights of the so-called entertainment capital of the world.

Aside from the millions of people across America who place bets on the Vegas sports books, it’s not often that any rare insight into the world of sports comes out of “Sin City.”

But recently, some intriguing, and at the very least conversation-starting, information was released from inside The Strip — information that sheds a light on the hottest question in Oklahoma.

If OU wins its final two games, will that be enough to catapult the Sooners past Texas and Texas Tech in the BCS rankings and into the Big 12 championship game?

Everybody wants to know, but since nobody really does, it gives the pundits, analysts, writers and bloggers the opportunity to do the one thing they love the most: speculate.

Some say simply winning the two games will punch the Sooners’ ticket to Kansas City.

Others, like my colleague Steven Jones, who discussed this in his column yesterday, believe OU needs style points.

And still, there are those who say they wouldn’t put OU ahead of Texas or Tech no matter what it did in its remaining games.

But back to Vegas.

In an article on ESPN.com, it was recently reported that the “experts” who make the spreads for college football games decided to create the lines for all potential BCS championship matchups.

Alabama would be the underdog against any Big 12 team. Texas and Texas Tech would be favored by a touchdown and OU would be an 8 ½-point favorite.

USC would be favored over all potential BCS opponents. The Trojans would be favored by 1 ½ against Florida, 2 ½ against OU, four against Tech and 5 ½ against Texas.

Florida would be favored against all teams except USC, with OU-Florida being a virtual coin-flip.

The reason this is relatively significant is because Vegas uses its own computer-ranking systems to come up with its spread.

That means Vegas, and its computers, has OU ranked ahead of both Texas and Tech, which is good news for the people trying to convince themselves OU would make the jump.

The Sooners still have to play against the No. 2 and No. 12 teams in the country, and a win against either is not guaranteed.

But if you feel like your world is a little darker because of the uncertainty, then take solace in the fact that Vegas is on your side.

And you can’t say that very often.