Big 12 Championship 2023: Oklahoma State vs. Texas Prediction, Preview and Odds
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 Big 12 Championship Game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
GAME INFO
Saturday, December 2; 11:00 a.m. CT; AT&T Stadium; Arlington, TX
TV: ABC
Radio: Longhorn Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews); Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb, and Robert Allen)
Records: Texas 11-1 (8-1); Oklahoma State 9-3 (7-2)
Last Week: Texas 57, Texas Tech 7; Oklahoma State 40, BYU 34
Rankings: Texas No. 7 (AP); Oklahoma State No. 19 (AP)
Series History: Texas leads, 26-11
Last Meeting: Oklahoma State 41, Texas 34 (2022)
Line: Texas (-11.5)
Fun Fact:Â Mike Gundy is 9-9 in his career against Texas, including a 6-3 mark on the road in Austin.
KEY PLAYERS
TEXAS LONGHORNS
QB Quinn Ewers
The Texas starting quarterback has thrown for over 2,700 yards with 17 touchdowns to five interceptions this season. He has missed a couple of games midseason due to injury, and since his return, he’s been solid, but not as good as he was to start the season. Ewers began the 2023 campaign with nine touchdowns to zero interceptions his first four games. Since then, he’s thrown eight touchdowns to five picks. He threw one against Texas Tech last week, and frankly, the Red Raiders should have had one or two more. Quinn Ewers had two of his worst QB ratings of the season in the last three games (Tech and TCU). Saturday would be a great day to turn the corner and revert back to his September play.
DT T’Vondre Sweat
Sweat is the engine that makes this great defensive line work. His stats don’t jump off the page, but those generally don’t tell the entire story for defensive linemen. Sweat is the cog to that interior unit that has developed into the best defensive line in the Big 12. And it’s not close. If the 6’3”, 360-pound senior can continue to make his presence felt on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, it could end up being a long day for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
RB Ollie Gordon
I mean, obviously, right? Ollie Gordon leads the Big 12 in rushing yards, rushing yards per game and yards per carry. In the comeback win against BYU, Gordon had 34 carries for 166 yards and five rushing touchdowns, including both OSU scores in overtime. In fact, as Gordon goes, so go the Cowboys. In Big 12 play, he is averaging 28 carries for an average of 189 yards per game. In their two Big 12 losses, Gordon averaged 15 carries and 73 yards per game.
LB Nickolas Martin
Martin has had one of the most underappreciated seasons of any Big 12 defender. He leads the Big 12 Conference with 121 total tackles, is tied for second in the Big 12 in tackles for loss and also ranks in the Top 10 in sacks. It’s been an incredible season for the sophomore, who will be playing back in his home state of Texas this Saturday.
KEY STORYLINES
TEXAS LONGHORNS
The Longhorns need to do what they’ve done all season long: Stop to running game. But then again, they haven’t played a running back like Ollie Gordon this season. Texas is only allowing 85 rushing yards per game, which is 30 yards less per game than anyone else in the conference. Their 2.9 yards per carry allowed is also tops in the league. In Big 12 play, UT has only allowed six rushing touchdowns. Ollie Gordon had five last week and as a team, the Cowboys have 23 rushing scores this season, the second-most in the Big 12, trailing only West Virginia and Kansas State (24 each).
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
The Cowboys need to make Quinn Ewers uncomfortable in the pocket in this game. Texas’ offensive line has not done a great job protecting the quarterback this season, allowing 25 sacks in 12 games, which is the third-most in the Big 12. As a team, the Cowboys have racked up 24 sacks in 12 games, which is in the middle of the pack in the Big 12. But the Cowboys have some quality rushers, led by the aforementioned Nickolas Martin, along with Collin Oliver. Ewers has been turnover prone, throwing five interceptions in his last six games and is not a mobile quarterback. So if the Cowboys can get to him in the backfield, it could force him into a big mistake or two that could turn this game in Oklahoma State’s favor.
PREDICTION: TEXAS 31, OKLAHOMA STATE 27
Texas has proven it’s one of the best teams in college football this season, but the Cowboys are not going to go down lightly. Mike Gundy teams notoriously play up or down to competition and I expect that again this weekend as they play in their second Big 12 Championship Game in the last three seasons.
