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The Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-3 7-2 Big 12) and the Texas Longhorns (11-1 8-1 Big 12) travel to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX to meet in the final Big 12 Championship Game for Texas. The Longhorns and Oklahoma will join the SEC starting next football season.
Texas -15 O/U 55
BROADCAST INFORMATION
- Saturday, December 2, 2023, 12:00 PM Eastern Time Kickoff on ABC
- Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy will be on the call for ABC and Molly McGrath will be on the sideline.
- On the Oklahoma State side the radio broadcast will be on FM 93.7. On the Texas side, the radio broadcast will be on FM 98.1 and AM 1300.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Texas is ranked No. 7 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Winning the Big 12 Championship would move the Longhorns closer to one of the final four playoff spots. However, they need some help to get in. But first things first, they have to win the Big 12 Championship. For Oklahoma State, they are Obi-Wan Kenobi for the Big 12, their only hope. The Big 12 does not want Texas to win the conference championship in their last season as a member. Oklahoma State already beat Oklahoma this season, the other Big 12 team leaving for the SEC. But nothing would make Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark happier than if the Cowboys upset the Longhorns.
KEY PLAYERS
Oklahoma State
RB Ollie Gordon, II – Grab a snack, this will take a bit because Ollie Gordon, II has had a helluva season! He leads the country in the following categories:
Rushing yards (1,580)
rushing yards per game (131.7)
100-yard rushing games (8)
150-yard rushing games (5)
200-yard rushing games (2)
250-yard rushing games (2)
carries of 30+ yards (14)
carries of 40+ yards (7)
carries of 70+ yards (2).
Gordon is also 2nd in the nation in five other categories, including rushing touchdowns with 20!
LB Nickolas Martin – 120 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks, one interception, nine quarterback hurries, 1 forced fumble.
Texas
QB Quinn Ewers – 69.8% passes completed, 2,709 yards, 17 TD, 5 INT; also has 5 rushing touchdowns. Ewer's numbers are lower because he missed two games with an injury to his throwing shoulder.
WR Xavier Worthy – 67 catches for 883 yards, 5 TD
KEY MATCHUPS
Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon, II against the Texas run defense. The Longhorns only give up 85.0 rushing yards per game, fourth in the nation. While the Texas defense is good at stopping the run I’m not sure how skewed those numbers are. The Texas pass defense is atrocious, giving up 240.1 yards per game, 94th in the nation. However, everyone knows that Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy will feed Gordon the ball. Can Texas stop the nation’s best running back?
Texas’s passing game against an awful Oklahoma State defense. No matter how Texas decides to attack Oklahoma State, run or pass, the Cowboy's Defense is not good. They are ranked 74th in the country giving up 27.33 points per game, No. 102 with 172.0 rushing yards per game, No. 111 with 251.2 passing yards per game, and No. 112 with 423.2 total yards per game. Texas has used a running back 'by committee' since the season-ending ACL injury to Jonathon Brooks. So look for Ewers and Worthy to get going early and often against that Oklahoma State secondary.
PREDICTION - BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
If you are wondering how bitter Oklahoma State, and the Big 12, are with Texas and Oklahoma leaving the conference, look no further than the incident today on Oklahoma State’s campus. A longhorn steer was found dead on the lawn of a frat house in Stillwater, OK. Not sure I have ever heard of something like that before. As for the game, Texas knows they need this win, and they need style points to go along with the win. The Longhorns need to convince the College Football Playoff committee that they are one of the four playoff teams. The Cowboys are going to be one-dimensional and feed Ollie Gordon, II the ball early and often. But I think Texas will prove they are the best in the Big 12 and that they are CFP-worthy. Texas wins 31-10, covering the 15 points and taking under 55.
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