STILLWATER, Okla. — The No. 13 Oklahoma football team made the big plays in the biggest moments to beat No. 9 Oklahoma State and essentially seal a berth in the final Big 12 Championship game in the foreseeable future.
The Sooners (10-2, 6-2 Big 12) upset the Cowboys (10-2, 6-2 Big 12) 47-41 and turned the Big 12 South into a three-way tie that also includes Texas A&M.
Despite losing to Texas A&M this season, OU will most likely be ranked highest of the three teams in the BCS rankings, stamping the Sooners’ ticket to Arlington, Texas, for a chance at the conference title against Nebraska.
After this season, Nebraska will move to the Big 10 conference, meaning it is unknown when the Sooners will ever face the Cornhuskers again.
Colorado is also leaving the conference for the Pac-10, leaving the ten-team Big 12 conference without a conference title game after this year.
With everything on the line for both teams, the two rivals went score-for-score almost the entire game, including an explosive fourth quarter during which OU scored 23 points and Oklahoma State score 17.
“I’m just surprised the way it happened,” senior defensive end Jeremy Beal said. “I’m not surprised it was a high-scoring game, but it’s just the way it happened, back and forth. It was kind of emotional.”
The two teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 24, and both offenses had struggled with turnovers. The Sooners’ offense had slowed to a crawl in the third quarter, scoring no points. The Cowboys only scored seven in the third.
As the fourth quarter got underway, OU’s offense picked up slightly. However, the first three drives of the quarter ended in three short field goals, allowing OSU to stay in the game. Head coach Bob Stoops said he could feel his team gaining steam, though.
“You wish one of those had been a touchdown, but I did feel we were gaining momentum and that we were in a good place,” Stoops said.
OSU scored a touchdown with a 15-yard pass to sophomore receiver Justin Blackmon on its drive after OU’s three field goals, making the score 33-31 with four minutes to play. After that score, both teams kicked into high gear offensively.
The Sooners got pushed into a 3rd-and-12 on the next drive, before sophomore quarterback Landry Jones launched an 86-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Cameron Kenney that looked like it would seal the game for OU.
But Oklahoma State returned the ensuing kickoff for an 89-yard touchdown to pull back within two points with 2:51 to play.
OU got the ball back again, and after a short run by senior back Mossis Madu and a Cowboys timeout, Jones went deep again, this time to junior tight end James Hanna for a 76-yard touchdown to put the game permanently out of reach.
Oklahoma State scored a field goal on its next drive, but could not recover an onside kick and OU ran the clock out.
Jones had an inconsistent first three quarters of the game, going 30-49 with two touchdowns and three interceptions through three quarters. In the fourth quarter, he reversed his fortune and threw for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns with no picks.
“In the first half, I played about as bad as I’ve ever played,” Jones said. “To come out in the second half and play a lot better you have to give glory to God first of all.”
Jones finished with 468 yards on 37-62 passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
“I talk to Landry a lot about this; you watch Joe Montana and other great quarterbacks, and they’ll have bad days,” Stoops said. “Then they’ll have a fourth quarter that wins the game and that’s all everyone talks about.”
The Sooners can’t dwell on this victory for long, as the Big 12 Championship game is only a week away. Senior linebacker Travis Lewis said Nebraska is a fitting opponent for the game.
“Who better to play in the Big 12 Championship than Nebraska,” Lewis said. “The rivalry goes back to the Big 8, so who better to play than those guys.”
The conference title game will take place in Texas Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday.