Oklahoma runs away from Oklahoma State in second half to win Big 12 title

Baker Mayfield threw for 288 yards in Oklahoma’s win. (Getty)

Just seconds after No. 10 Oklahoma State had a chance to trail No. 9 Oklahoma by eight with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were suddenly down 18. And as that deficit grew, Oklahoma State’s Big 12 championship hopes disappeared.

The Sooners outscored the Cowboys 21-3 in the second half Saturday on the way to a 38-20 win and a second-consecutive Big 12 championship. As the conference’s champion, Oklahoma will be heading to the Sugar Bowl barring any committee craziness that somehow gets the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.

Trailing 31-20 with less than 10 minutes left, Oklahoma State (9-3) passed on going for it on 4th and 2 in favor of a 38-yard field goal on a rainy afternoon. But Ben Grogan’s kick sailed wide left.

A play later, Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon ran 79 yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 18 and clinch the game.

The decision to go for the field goal is easily defensible. Grogan was 15-16 entering the game on kicks inside 40 yards. And an eight-point deficit is a tie game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

But OSU had gone for it on 4th and 1 inside its own territory earlier in the drive. And got it with ease on a big run by Chris Carson. While two yards is obviously twice the distance OSU needed earlier, the Cowboys’ run game was exceptional all day. Oklahoma State ran for 217 yards at nearly six yards a carry. The odds of converting the fourth down seemed pretty good.

And a touchdown on the drive could mean a three-point deficit. And from there, who knows what happens. Instead, we know that Oklahoma (10-2) pulled away in a second half where it didn’t have star wide receiver Dede Westbrook. Westbrook appeared to be briefly knocked out when he was hit on an incomplete pass over the middle of the field in the first half.

Oklahoma entered Saturday’s game with the nation’s No. 3 offense at 550 yards per game. The Sooners topped that mark easily, rolling up 629 yards thanks to a potent rushing attack of its own.

Running back Samaje Perine carried the ball 37 times for 239 yards and a touchdown while Mixon had 99 yards. Carson had 91 yards and a score for the Cowboys while running back Justice Hill led the team with 99 yards.

Oklahoma State is likely heading to the Alamo Bowl with the loss. And if the committee decides USC is a more viable Rose Bowl team than Colorado, the Cowboys could be facing the former Big 12 foe for the first time since 2009. A matchup with Colorado would also be the second time in four years OSU has faced an ex-Big 12 team in a bowl game. The Cowboys played Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl after the 2013 season.