Oklahoma 39, Texas 27: Penalties strangle Longhorns as they fall in conference championship

Photo by John Hamilton

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It was the first time these two teams have played twice since 1903. A tie game heading into the fourth quarter, the rematch of the rivalry didn’t disappoint. But on the biggest stage of the conference, the Sooners played mistake-free and made more plays when it mattered to pull out the victory over Texas.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Big 12 Championship.

Penalty problem

There were a lot of ways Oklahoma could have beat Texas. It could’ve been with Kyler Murray through the air or with his legs. It could’ve been Trey Sermon out of the backfield. And while Murray and the Sooner offense was excellent, it was the Longhorns that seemed to beat themselves.

Texas had 13 penalties that racked up 138 yards, a huge number for a team that has struggled with that all season. On second down in Oklahoma territory, Collin Johnson was called for a 15-yard pass interference call, one that caused Texas to be unable to score. Multiple pass interference calls on the secondary extended Sooner scoring drives. Then, to add insult to injury, Lil’Jordan Humphrey returned a kickoff for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining, a score that would’ve kept the game alive. Instead, it was called back for holding, all but solidifying Oklahoma’s conference championship.

Special teams disaster

Against opponents of relatively equal stature, special teams can be a great equalizer or can make the difference. Saturday was the latter.

Ryan Bujcevski, who has had a roller coaster first year at punter, shanked a first-quarter punt, giving the potent Oklahoma offense great field position on a drive they would eventually score on. In the third quarter, Texas tied the game after going down 13. Then Cameron Dicker had the extra point blocked, keeping the game tied at 27 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Sooners caught a break early in the fourth, banking in a short field goal off the uprights to take the lead. Then, late in the game, what would’ve been a tide-shifting play by Humphrey in the return game was called back with the penalty.

Fourth quarter domination

In the end, it was Oklahoma that simply made the plays they needed to make in the end of the game. Texas caught a break after Gary Johnson ran down a long passing play and caused a fumble. Then chaos hit. Sam Ehlinger totally missed a rusher who came free off the edge, taking a sack in the end zone for a safety. Then came Kyler Murray’s masterpiece.

Murray engineered an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by an absolute dime on third down to seal the deal. The drive took more than six minutes off the clock, absolute perfection for Murray when the Sooners needed it the most.

On a last-ditch effort for Texas, Ehlinger threw a red zone interception that probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway. But it was the exclamation point on a fourth quarter that was commanded by Oklahoma. This Texas team has struggled finishing games in the past, and it may have come back to haunt them this time against a high-caliber opponent.

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