Oklahoma State football vs. Texas: 5 takeaways from Cowboys' loss in Big 12 championship

ARLINGTON, Texas — Oklahoma State linebacker Nick Martin intercepted a pass from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers midway through the second quarter.

That concludes your list of OSU defensive highlights from the first half of the Big 12 Championship Game.

With Martin’s pick as the outlier, seventh-ranked Texas scored on five of its first six first-half possessions, igniting a 49-21 rout of the 18th-ranked Cowboys to claim the conference crown Saturday at AT&T Stadium.

In need of a fast start, the Cowboys instead looked at a loss for answers on both sides of the ball.

Texas surpassed the 400-yard mark before halftime. OSU had just one sustained drive, resulting in a touchdown after it had already fallen behind 21-0.

Martin’s interception set up another short touchdown drive for OSU in the second quarter, but the Pokes could do little else.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers had a career-high and Big 12 championship record 452 passing yards when he left the game in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys are now 0-5 in games at AT&T Stadium, with two Big 12 title game losses, two Cotton Bowl losses and a regular-season loss to Florida State in 2014.

Here are four more takeaways from the loss for the Cowboys, who will now wait to see on Sunday which bowl they get invited to:

More: Quinn Ewers sets Big 12 passing record & more key stats from Oklahoma State loss to Texas

Texas corrals Ollie Gordon II

It wasn’t his least productive game of the season, but the nation’s leading rusher was held in check by Texas’ stout defense.

OSU sophomore Ollie Gordon II, who came into the game with 1,580 yards on the season, added just 34 yards on 13 carries.

Gordon also had four receptions for 54 yards but was held out of the end zone for the fourth time this season — all Cowboy losses.

More: Mussatto: Does Texas belong in College Football Playoff? Longhorns looked the part vs. OSU

Third downs kill Cowboys early

OSU did little to slow the Texas offense early.

But when the Cowboys had some defensive momentum, they couldn’t capitalize.

OSU forced only one third down for Texas in the first quarter, and the Longhorns went to a trick play, a reverse flea-flicker that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Texas’ next third-down play came in the second quarter. Facing third-and-10 Ewers hit receiver Adonai Mitchell for a 62-yard gain that set up another score.

And Texas’ final touchdown of the first half came on a third-and-4 from the 8-yard line when Ewers hit Jaydon Blue for the TD.

In all, Texas ended the game 10-of-16 on third downs.

More: Oklahoma State football grades vs. Texas: Cowboys fail to slow down Quinn Ewers, Longhorns

OSU bowl outlook

With Saturday's loss, 18th-ranked Oklahoma State can only sit and wait to see which bowl game invitation will come its way Sunday.

The first point of focus will be the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six bowl game selections.

If No. 7 Texas jumps into the top four and goes to the playoff, it could help OU could land a New Year’s Six spot in one of the bowls with an at-large opening — the Cotton, Fiesta or Peach. But OU must move up one spot in the CFP rankings to No. 11 to be eligible for an at-large spot, regardless of where Texas finishes in the poll.

No matter how it happens, if the Big 12 ends up with two teams in the playoff or New Year’s Six games, OSU would be a candidate for the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

If OU doesn’t get into the New Year’s Six pool, it could be the favorite for the Alamo, dropping the Cowboys and Kansas State into the running for the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Some national projections have speculated that Kansas State could end up in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, because the Wildcats have never been to the Orlando game, while OSU has been there twice since 2017.

If OSU doesn’t land in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Texas Bowl in Houston has the next selection, with the Liberty Bowl in Memphis after that.

More: Should Big 12 officials have overturned OSU's INT vs. Texas? 'You have to stop it there'

Cowboys without Jaden Nixon

For the fourth straight week, OSU was thin at running back, but this time it was second-stringer Jaden Nixon who was unavailable for unspecified reasons.

Super-senior Elijah Collins, who had missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, was suited up, though true freshman Sesi Vailahi was the first option off the bench behind starter Ollie Gordon II.

Gordon had to be helped off the field after big hits a couple of times, with Vailahi entering each time. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Vailahi had appeared in just one game all season prior to Saturday.

Early in the game, OSU cornerback Korie Black exited with an unknown injury and was replaced by D.J. McKinney.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football falls to Texas in Big 12 Championship Game