Sooners defense holds on to 27-21 win for Big 12 Championship
An anemic second half offense put the Sooners defense in the position of having to hold off an Iowa State comeback lead by scrambling and seasoned QB Brock Purdy.
And they did.
The win was sealed by the OU defense — specifically a last minute interception of a Purdy pass by cornerback Tre Brown.
And so Oklahoma won its sixth straight Big 12 Championship in a tremendous 27-21 win over Iowa State before the Covid-limited 17,827 spectators at AT&T Stadium on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Brown’s interception capped the game, but his important kickoff returns also factored heavily in a field position game that favored the Sooners most of the second half.
Sooner fans were on edge late in the game as Iowa State kept gaining momentum. With 5:15 left in the game it looked like the Sooners defenders might be wearing down, holding onto a narrow 3-point lead, despite a stellar pass rush led by tackle Perrion Winfrey that never gave Purdy much comfort in the pocket most of the game.
Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama, Ohio St are odds on favorites in Saturday’s conference championships
As far as conference championships go, our panel of Soonerguys Pick ’em experts says it’s a no brainer. Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State will take their respective conference trophies and there isn’t much debate about it.
We will see.
But, there is debate over the expected American Conference winner. Our panel is evenly split, 5-5, in that game between Tulsa and Cincinnati.
Also 8 of 10 favor LSU to beat Mississippi, and Texas A&M is a heavy favorite over Tennessee.