Big 12 football title game preview: Can Texas Longhorns beat Oklahoma State, reach CFP?
The Texas football team will close out its 28 years in the Big 12 by trying to win only its fourth title and its first since 2009 in Saturday's conference championship game at AT&T Stadium. Will the Longhorns handle underdog Oklahoma State and stay in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff?.
No. 7 Texas (11-1, 8-1) vs. No. 18 Oklahoma State (9-3, 7-2)
11 a.m. Saturday, AT&T Stadium, Arlington
TV/radio:ABC/1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Line: Texas is favored by 15
Weather: Indoors.
All-time: Texas leads 26-11
Last meeting: Oklahoma State 41, Texas 34 OT (2022)
Most memorable meeting: Texas 47,Oklahoma State 28 (2005). With Texas trailing 28-12 at halftime and the hopes of playing for a national title on the line, quarterback Vince Young lifted the Longhorns to a 35-0 run in the second half and a spot in the Rose Bowl, where they vanquished USC in a championship classic.
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Know the foe: Oklahoma State
Last week: The Cowboys rallied for a thrilling 40-34 overtime win over BYU to edge out Oklahoma for a spot opposite Texas in the Big 12 title game. The Bedlam rivals ended tied for second place behind Texas in the Big 12 standings, but Oklahoma State earned the tiebreaker because of its head-to-head win over the Sooners.
Players to watch: RB Ollie Gordon II, the Big 12’s offensive player of the year, leads all FBS rushers with 1,580 yards and 20 TDs rushing. ... LB Nickolas Martin, another All-Big 12 player, leads the conference with 120 tackles and has also racked up six sacks. … One of the top run-support DBs in the state, Kendal Daniels, ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 90 tackles, is fourth with 14½ tackles for loss and is tied for sixth in sacks.
Central Texas connections: Senior Braden Cassity, a former all-state defensive end for Westlake who starts at H-back for the Cowboys, has turned into a valuable and versatile player who has played on offense, defense and special teams. … Freshman LB Ike Esonwune of Manor is a redshirt candidate.
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When Texas has the ball
The Longhorns topped 300 yards rushing against Texas Tech despite the continued absence of RB Jonathon Brooks — who’s out for the season with a knee injury — and the loss of starter CJ Baxter in the first half. Baxter should return against an Oklahoma State run defense that ranks 10th in the Big 12, and Jaydon Blue is coming off a career-high 121 yards on the ground. … Oklahoma State's LB Collin Oliver has six sacks to go along with 14½ tackles for a loss and joins Martin in arguably the conference’s best LB corps in their 3-3-5 scheme, but the Cowboys have allowed 423 yards and 27.3 points a game, which both rank in the lower half of the country. … Since returning from a two-week absence because of a shoulder injury, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers has thrown for 794 yards on 67% passing with four TDs and two INTs in three games and has not carried the ball for positive yardage. He’ll face a Cowboys’ defense that ranks 111th in the nation.
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When Oklahoma State has the ball
Gordon had a total of 19 carries for 109 yards through the first three games before head coach Mike Gundy turned the offense over to the offensive line and the ground game, but the Big 12’s defensive player of the year, Texas DT T’Vondre Sweat, anchors a run defense that gives up a league-low 85 yards rushing a game. … QB Alan Bowman is in his first season as Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback but this is his third team in six overall seasons, including three at Texas Tech. In his one previous game against Texas, Bowman threw for 331 yards and five TDs but also tossed three INTs in a 52-31 Texas win in 2020. … Bowman has thrown for at least 320 yards in three of his last four games, and the Texas pass defense ranks 94th in the nation with 240 yards passing allowed per game.
The key matchup
Texas CBs Malik Muhammad, Terrance Brooks and Gavin Holmes against Texas Tech’s Brennan Presley: Over the past four games, Presley has 37 catches for 428 yards, and he could face a Texas secondary playing without its best CB, Ryan Watts.
— Thomas Jones
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Big 12 preview: Can Texas football team top Oklahoma State, reach CFP?
