Big 12 Championship Game: No. 7 Texas (11-1, No. 7 CFP) vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State (9-3), Saturday Noon ET, in Arlington, Texas (ABC)
Line: Texas by 14½, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: Texas leads 26-11.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
SEC-bound Texas looks to leave the Big 12 with a fourth conference title. The Longhorns won the championship game in the Big 12’s inaugural season in 1996, and again in 2005 and 2009. They have to win to stay in contention for the four-team College Football Playoff, but they would also need help. Oklahoma State, which lost to Baylor in its only other Big 12 title game two years ago, has won seven of its last eight games.
KEY MATCHUP
Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II against Texas defensive linemen T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II. Gordon is the national rushing leader with 1,580 yards, and he averaged 163.4 yards in his nine conference games. Sweat is a top candidate for Big 12 defensive player of the year and one of finalists for the Outland Trophy that goes to the nation’s best interior lineman on either side of the ball. Sweat, 6-foot-4, 362 pounds, and Murphy, 6-1, 310 pounds, anchor a Texas defensive line that allows only 85 yards per game on the ground.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oklahoma State: Sophomore linebacker Nickolas Martin leads the Big 12 with 120 tackles, ranking ninth among FBS players with 5.8 solo tackles a game and 15th with 10 overall tackles a game. He also has six sacks this season, and 4 1/2 tackles for loss the last two games.
Texas: The turnstile at running back. The Longhorns haven’t missed a beat in the backfield after losing 1,000-yard rusher Jonathon Brooks to a season-ending knee injury three weeks ago. C.J. Baxter ran for 117 yards in a win at Iowa State. Jaydon Blue had 121 yards on 10 carries against Texas Tech last week, when Savion Red averaged 8.0 yards on nine carries.
FACTS & FIGURES
None of Oklahoma State’s 11 conference titles since 1926 have come in a championship game. There wasn’t a title game when the Cowboys won their only Big 12 crown in 2011. … Bert Auburn has booted 19 consecutive field goals, a record at Texas and in the Big 12. … Only two Big 12 kickers have more than 20 made field goals: Auburn with 28 and Oklahoma State’s Alex Hale with 26. … The Cowboys have won 10 of their last 13 games against Top 25 teams. … Texas had a blocked punt, a kick return for a touchdown and a defensive touchdown last week, the first time a Big 12 team had pulled off that trio in 20 years.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
