Big 12 Championship Game Day: No. 7 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Texas Longhorns (11-1, 8-1) have one final shot at winning a Big 12 Championship on Saturday, something they haven’t accomplished since the 2009 season. In order to do this they will need to beat an Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-3, 7-2) football team that turned their season around after losing to South Alabama 33-7 in game three of the season. This game has additional luster as it will also be the last time the ‘Horns and Pokes face one another for quite some time, if not ever.

A win keeps Texas’ College Football Playoff hopes alive, while a loss will likely see the ‘Horns in a less-than-deserved lower tier bowl. Steve Sarkisian has guided his team to a one-loss season in year three and would like to see his team reap the benefits of their hard work with a playoff berth or a New Year’s Six Bowl should they miss out on a playoff spot.

Texas appears to have most of their team healthy, with DB Ryan Watts’s status being questionable and DB Austin Jordan being ruled out for the game.

The Longhorns will have to contend with an Oklahoma State offense that ranks 30th nationally in total offense and relies on probable Doak Walker-winning running back Ollie Gordon to do damage on the ground. The Cowboys average 432 yards per game and the Texas defense will have their hands full in attempt to limit big yardage plays by Mike Gundy’s group.