CHAMPS: Texas takes home the Big 12 title in 49-21 win over Oklahoma State
In their final season as members of the league and for the first time since 2009, the Texas Longhorns are Big 12 Conference champions. The Longhorns dominated Oklahoma State Cowboys, winning 49-21 on the back of a complete performance in all three phases of the game.
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Quinn Ewers was 35-for-46 for 452 yards and four touchdowns over one interception, putting on one of the best passing outings ever by a Longhorn and setting multiple Big 12 Championship game records in the process. He began the game 12-of-12 for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and distributed the ball to nine different receivers in the first half.
He led a first-half offensive effort that saw Texas post 422 total yards, including 354 through the air.
Six different Longhorns scored touchdowns on Saturday, including defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year hauled in a two-yard reception in a goal-line set. Ja’Tavion Sanders and Adonai Mitchell both hauled in scoring passes and went over 100 yards receiving.
Star Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon managed only 34 yards on 13 carries, part of a meager 281 total yard day for OSU.
The title is the 29th conference championship for the Longhorns and the first since 2009. It is the fourth Big 12 Championship for Texas joining titles won in 1996, 2005, and 2009. The win is a fitting bookend for Texas, as they won the league in their first season as members in 1996 and now have done the same in their final season in 2023.
For Steve Sarkisian, it’s his first conference championship as a head coach. After numerous conference titles as an assistant for Nick Saban and Pete Carroll, the third-year Texas head coach now has one to call his own after missing out on league titles at Washington, USC, and in his first two years at Texas.
The win boosts the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff resume. Texas entered the game as the No. 7 team, but Ohio State was left out of the Big 10 Championship and now has one fewer win than the Big 12 champion Longhorns. No. 5 Oregon lost to No. 3 Washington on Friday in the Pac-12 Championship and are now eliminated from contention with a second loss.
Texas likely needs assistance, notably in the ACC and SEC Championship games, but the Longhorns wouldn’t be on the doorstep of the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance if it didn’t emerge victorious on Saturday.
A statement win for Texas ensured their conference crown and the need to pay attention to the selection show on Sunday, and in the process the Longhorns snapped their conference title drought as they make their way out of the Big 12 for the SEC.
