93 total points. 1,033 total yards. A game-winning field goal from a freshman. The first time these two teams met was nothing short of spectacular.

Yet now, it just means more. Texas is playing for its first conference championship in nine years, while Oklahoma is trying to defend its title as the rivals meet on Saturday for the Big 12 Championship game. Here’s what Texas needs to do to defeat Oklahoma for the second time this season.

Texas vs. Oklahoma details

Date: Dec. 1, 2018

Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

What channel is Texas vs. Oklahoma on?

Texas vs. Oklahoma will be broadcast on ABC. It can also be streamed live on WatchESPN.

How can I buy tickets to Texas vs. Oklahoma?

Click here to buy tickets to the Texas vs. Oklahoma game at AT&T Stadium.

Texas vs. Oklahoma preview

Controlling possession

This offense knows what they need to do to beat Oklahoma; they’ve done it once before. If you put the ball in quarterback Kyler Murray’s hands, he’s going to make plays. It doesn’t matter the defense, Murray will be able to move the ball at will on nearly anybody. The key is keeping the ball in the hands of quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the Longhorn offense.

In the win over the Sooners earlier in the year, Texas had five scoring drives of eight plays or more, three of which lasted longer than four minutes. They possessed the ball for six minutes more than Oklahoma did. These numbers are fine, but they will only need to increase if the Longhorns want to help out their defense. Oklahoma has beat everyone this year with their speed, wearing out defenses in the process. Long drives sustained over four-plus minutes can help to minimize this effect.

Turnover margin

Each of the last five matchups between these two bitter rivals has been decided by seven points or less. It typically comes down to who makes one more big, tide-changing play. In this year’s meeting, it was the two turnovers of Murray that made the difference.

Safety Brandon Jones picked off one of his passes in the first quarter, a play that if nothing else, showed that Texas was here to play. The big one came in the third quarter, when defensive end Breckyn Hager recovered a fumble that turned into a touchdown to put the Longhorns up 14. With Ehlinger playing a turnover-free game, the two takeaways ended up being massive.

Only five teams in the country have less takeaways than the Oklahoma defense. If Ehlinger can again protect the football, the Texas defense will need to take advantage with takeaways of their own. A win of the turnover battle could swing the tide in a game that is likely going to be decided by a few key plays.

Taking risks

Ehlinger was pristine in October’s matchup, completing 24 of 35 passes 314 yards and 2 scores. A large chunk of that yardage came from deep shots down the sideline.

Receiver Collin Johnson has not put up huge numbers in recent weeks, but he was excellent against the Sooners. Ehlinger connected with the 6-foot-6-inch junior on multiple throws into man coverage on the sideline.

According to Pro Football Focus, Ehlinger has a 131.4 passer rating on deep passes, good for second in the country. When he is peppering the secondary with deep passes, not only does he connect on a fair amount, it opens up more for Lil’Jordan Humphrey underneath, where he can get the ball out in space and make plays with his feet. The Longhorns aren’t going to win this game by playing conservative; it’s going to take making plays down the field, something they have showed they are more than capable of consistently doing.