Three Thoughts on Texas’ 49-21 Big 12 Championship Win Over Oklahoma State
The Big 12 Championship Game kicked off from AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Saturday between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Longhorns entered the game in the mix for a College Football Playoff appearance, while Oklahoma State was trying to win its first Big 12 Conference title since 2011.
The game set a record for attendance with 84,523 fans in Jerry World for the showdown. But unfortunately for those looking for a close game, they got anything but that. However, Longhorns fans were celebrating a Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2009 after their 49-21 win over Oklahoma State.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
Steve Sarkisian’s Beautiful Game Plan
There’s no denying Steve Sarkisian’s ability to call a game, and it was on full display on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns scored touchdowns on their first four drives, with drives of 39, 84, 77 and 95 yards. There were flea flickers and trick plays, including the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year T’Vondre Sweat catching a touchdown pass.
Oklahoma State had no answers on defense. Quinn Ewers started off 16/17 on the afternoon and became the first player to pass for four touchdowns in the first half of a Big 12 Championship Game. He finished the half 23/29 for 354 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. For the game, Ewers set a Big 12 record with 452 passing yards, breaking Sam Bradford’s record of 384 yards in 2008, while going 35/46 with four touchdowns to one interception.
Oklahoma State’s Up-And-Down Season
The Cowboys lost an awful game in Week 3 to South Alabama 33-7. A week later, the Pokes fell to Iowa State and were sitting at 2-2, including an 0-1 start in league play. The question was whether or not the Cowboys could avoid the basement in the Big 12. But Mike Gundy and the Pokes turned their season around to win seven of their final eight games and punch a ticket to the Big 12 Championship Game.
They were able to do it with a blend of overachieving players, combined with a stud running back in Ollie Gordon. The talent level was always questionable, given how this team looked in some of its losses (South Alabama and UCF stand out), along with struggles such as the first halves vs. Houston and BYU. But nonetheless, this team won impressive games against K-State, Kansas and Oklahoma to earn their spot in the Championship game for the second time in three seasons.
But the talent level gap between these two programs was on full display on Saturday, at essentially every level. Even at running back, Ollie Gordon was the best back in the game, but he was only able to muster 34 yards on 13 carries. Alan Bowman missed some key passes early in the game that he would’ve had to have made to keep this team in the game against a far more talented opponent.
Oklahoma State will reload and remain a year-in, year-out contender in the new Big 12, but the gap between these two programs was evident on Saturday.
College Football Playoff Implications
And now the question: Can Texas make the College Football Playoff? The answer is obviously “yes”. And they are one of the best four teams in the country. But that doesn’t mean they will make the Playoff.
They will undoubtedly jump Ohio State and Oregon. The Buckeyes are a one-loss non-conference champion, while Oregon lost the Pac-12 Title to Washington on Friday night. So the easiest way for Texas to make the Playoff is for Louisville to beat Florida State in the ACC Championship.
But what if the Seminoles hang on behind a likely third-string quarterback? What then? Or what if Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC Championship Game? That’s when the committee will have a real issue on its hands.
But this should not be difficult, since Texas had a road win on its resume against Alabama from September. If Florida State and Alabama were to win, and the Crimson Tide get the nod over the Longhorns, just burn the whole thing down. It would prove we’ve been watching an absolutely inept group of individuals pretending they know college football and care about things like “head-to-head”, which this would prove they actually don’t.
But we will be crossing that bridge when we get there on Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, we will let the rest of the conference championship games play out and see what unfolds.
