Tag: big 12 championship

How Sterling Shepard’s NFL journey got him to Tampa Bay

Sterling Shepard and Baker Mayfield were a dynamic duo for the 2015 Big 12 Champion Oklahoma Sooners. Now the pair has reunited with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[autotag]Sterling Shepard[/autotag]’s [autotag]NFL[/autotag] career was thought to be over.

The former Oklahoma Sooners star had a productive career in the National Football League. But after eight seasons with the New York Giants and multiple injuries, Shepard’s time in the league looked to be wearing thin.

Shepard explains that he was in “straight daddy mode,” taking care of his children and trying to figure out what was next for him with life after the NFL.

That’s when his former OU quarterback picked up the phone.

[autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag], who played with Shepard during the latter’s senior season in 2015, sent a text asking Shepard how his body felt. That set off a conversation and a chain reaction that led to Shepard signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Mayfield is entering his second season.

Shepard spoke to the media in Tampa for the first time on Tuesday, telling the whirlwind story of how he found himself back on an NFL roster. He was very complimentary of his former and current QB, saying how excited he was to be back with Mayfield after nine seasons apart.

The duo went 11-2 at Oklahoma together in 2015, earning a spot in the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] after winning the [autotag]Big 12 Championship[/autotag].

Shepard should compete to be the third wide receiver with the Bucs, along with younger players like Trey Palmer, Jalen McMillian and Rakim Jarrett. Mayfield clearly thinks the former Sooner legend can be another reliable option at wideout, behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

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‘Program Guy’ Bob Stoops spotted enjoying OU baseball’s win over TCU

Oklahoma’s former head coach kicked back in Arlington to watch the Sooners take down the Horned Frogs.

The Oklahoma Sooners baseball team shutout the TCU Horned Frogs in their [autotag]Big 12 Conference Tournament[/autotag] opener on Wednesday, and they had at least one famous fan in attendance.

Former Oklahoma head football coach [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] took in the game, played in Arlington, Texas at Globe Life Field. The broadcast couldn’t help but find Big Game Bob enjoying the action from the stands.

George Stoia of On3 and SoonerScoop caught the moment and shared it for OU fans on social media. Stoops enjoyed a beer and a pretty loaded hot dog, and you know he enjoyed seeing the Sooners take down the Horned Frogs in dominant fashion.

The 2000 national champion, and the all-time winningest coach in OU football history has enjoyed his semi-retirement. He’s been popping up all over the place since he stepped away from coaching in the summer of 2017. The Rock ‘N Roll Tequila spokesperson is always there to support the Sooners at any sporting event. He supported them even more when he served as the interim head coach for the 2021 Alamo Bowl win.

Stoops was able to catch the game in Arlington during a day off from coaching the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League. Though the 2024 season isn’t going how Stoops had hoped, the Renegades won the XFL championship last season. Stoops got a milestone 200th career victory earlier this month.

Sports can be an uncertain world sometimes, but one thing you can count on is that Bob Stoops is a Program Guy and a Sooner For Life.

Oklahoma will match up against the Kansas Jayhawks for their second game of the tournament, with first pitch set for 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Kansas defeated Kansas State on Tuesday to advance to this semifinal round. They’ve got an extra day of rest on the Sooners, following an off day on Wednesday.

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Huge weekend coming for Sooners as Big 12 Baseball Tournament Bracket Revealed

Oklahoma will be the top seed in the Big 12 Championship Tournament, and will play on Tuesday.

The Oklahoma Sooners baseball team won the Big 12 regular season conference title outright last week. Now, they know how the rest of the conference tournament bracket will look.

Oklahoma will be the No. 1 seed in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] Conference Championship Tournament, another achievement in a historic season for OU Baseball. It’s the final Big 12 Tournament for the Sooners before they join the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] next season.

[autotag]Skip Johnson[/autotag]’s club beat the Cincinnati Bearcats two games to one in a three-game series on Thursday and Friday. Oklahoma won the first two games in the Queen City, before dropping a 10-6 decision in Game 3. The Sooners finished the regular season with a record of 34-18.

Oklahoma will now head to Arlington, Texas for the [autotag]2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship[/autotag] at Globe Life Field.

The tournament begins on Monday, but the Sooners will be getting a bye and won’t play until Tuesday afternoon.

Oklahoma will play the lower-seeded winner of Games 1 and 2 of the tournament. Their opponent will be the lower-ranked winner of the games between No. 7 Kansas and No. 6 Kansas State (Game 1) and No. 9 TCU vs. No. 4 West Virginia (Game 2). This means OU will play either TCU, Kansas or Kansas State first, as a West Virginia win would have the Mountaineers play on Thursday against the winner of Oklahoma’s first game (Game 6). The Oklahoma State Cowboys are the other team with a bye in the tournament, as the No. 2 seed.

Oklahoma’s first game of the week will begin at 12:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday.

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Skip Johnson, Sooners earn first Big 12 championship

OU baseball has won the regular season Big 12 championship, after the Sooners defeated the Baylor Bears, and Oklahoma State’s game against Texas Tech was cancelled.

The Oklahoma Sooners baseball team has captured the regular season title in the Big 12 Conference for the first time in school history.

OU took down the Baylor Bears in seven innings on Saturday night, winning by a score of 19-7. It was the final game of a three game series between the two teams.

The No. 17 Sooners swept the Bears, with the second and third wins coming on Senior Day at L Dale Mitchell Park.

[autotag]Skip Johnson[/autotag]’s team won the first conference title for the program since the Sooners won the Big Eight in 1995. It’s the school’s 23rd baseball conference championship overall.

“The accomplishment belongs to the players,” said Sooners head coach Skip Johnson. “You play one pitch at a time, that’s our mantra. We play one pitch at a time and one game at a time and that’s what we have to continue to do. That’s what we will continue to talk about, continue to work on and continue to practice.”

 

Oklahoma originally clinched a share of the Big 12 title with the sweep of Baylor. Then, Oklahoma State’s third game against Texas Tech was canceled due to weather on Sunday. This gave Sooners the conference crown outright.

OU will face Xavier on the road on Tuesday afternoon before the final series of the regular season against Cincinnati. That series against the Bearcats is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Queen City.

The Big 12 Championship Tournament will take place from May 21-25 in Arlington, Texas.

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Oklahoma fights past Longhorns for Big 12 softball title

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team showed why they are the “gold standard” program in the nation Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team showed why they are the “gold standard” program in the nation Saturday.

Oklahoma’s Kelly Maxwell (18-2) struck out seven Texas batters as the Sooners defeated the Longhorns 5-1 in the Big 12 Championship Saturday in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners got off to a quick start as Tiare Jennings’ RBI double in the first gave Oklahoma the quick lead. Kinzie Hansen added an RBI fielder’s choice as the Sooners led wire-to-wire. Hansen led OU with two RBI.

Texas freshman Kayden Henry hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the second for the Longhorns’ only run. The Longhorns recorded only two hits in the game.

The Sooners added two runs in the third to create separation.

Texas’ Citaly Gutierrez (10-1) took her first loss of the season despite striking out 10 Sooner batters. She gave up five runs (three earned) on seven hits.

Despite the loss, Texas is projected to host NCAA Tournament regional action this week after learning its exact seed Sunday. The selection show is set to be broadcast at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Oklahoma softball seeks bounce-back in Big 12 tournament

Oklahoma Sooners softball will need to channel their dominance early in the season if they want to win the Big 12 Tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooner softball team enters the 2024 Big 12 Tournament this week as a 2 seed behind the Texas Longhorns. It’s the first time OU isn’t at the top in 12 years.

But the Sooners still have a chance to earn the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament if they can win the Big 12 Tournament this week.

It hasn’t been as clear a run to this point for [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag]’s team, which lost a three-game series at Texas and a three-game series at home against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. Everybody in the world of NCAA softball knows the Sooners can flip the switch, however, and run past any and every team they face.

Oklahoma won Game 3 at home against Oklahoma State last week by a score of 8-2 to secure the 2 seed in Oklahoma City. The top of the Big 12 standings features three of the top four teams in the country: the Sooners, Cowgirls and Longhorns.

Oklahoma is sandwiched between their two rivals at No. 2. Texas is No.1 and Oklahoma State is No. 3.

The Big 12 Tournament will run May 8-11, but Oklahoma’s first game will not be until Thursday. The Sooners face No. 7 Kansas, which won the first-round game against No. 10 Houston. First pitch for Oklahoma’s quarterfinal game is 1:30 p.m.

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Two years ago today, Quinn Ewers committed to the Texas Longhorns

Quinn Ewers has a chance to cement himself as a Texas legend if the Longhorns can win two more games.

On Dec. 12 of 2021, five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers committed to the University of Texas. Ewers had initially pledged to play for Texas in August 2020 under Tom Herman, but changed his mind and switched to Ohio State University just two months later. He later enrolled at Ohio State, but only played two snaps for the Buckeyes and did not complete a pass.

Ewers became the first Texas quarterback since Vince Young to earn a perfect 1.000 composite rating. In 2022, Ewers led the team to an 8-5 season and an appearance in the Alamo Bowl against the Washington Huskies. This was a steady improvement from the previous season, which was objectively not good.

In 2023, the Longhorns are now ranked No. 3 in the country and will play in the Sugar Bowl. If they can beat Washington, they have a chance to go to the National Championship game.

In two years with Texas, Ewers has thrown for 5,338 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He has set the record for the most passing yards in Texas history within his two years in Austin.

Ewers’ commitment to Texas has turned the program around and they now have a shot at their fifth national championship.

Steve Sarkisian has earned $300,000 in bonuses so far this year

Sark has earned every penny coming his way.

In 2021, Steve Sarkisian signed a six-year, $34.2 million contract to be the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. Just three years into the contract, he has earned every penny. Continue reading “Steve Sarkisian has earned $300,000 in bonuses so far this year”

By the numbers: Texas outgains Oklahoma State in every category to clinch CFP berth

In dominant fashion, the Texas Longhorns won the Big 12 Championship and clinched a spot for the CFP.

In head coach Steve Sarkisian’s third season, he won a Big 12 Championship and clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff for the Texas Longhorns.

Many fans initially doubted Sark’s leadership abilities at Texas. However, he has silenced his critics and now stands only two wins away from bringing the Longhorns their fifth National Championship, their first since 2005.

On Saturday, Texas dominated Oklahoma State 49-21 to win the Big 12 Championship and outgained the Cowboys in every category.

Quinn Ewers was dialed in, breaking the record for the most passing yards in the Big 12 Championship game previously held by Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford. The Texas defense held the Big 12 offensive player of the year, Ollie Gordon, to just 34 rushing yards and 2.6 yards per carry.

It was complete domination by the Longhorns in every phase, and now have nearly a month to get healthy for the Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl.

Here are the final numbers in Texas’ Big 12 Championship game victory.

BREAKING: Texas makes the College Football Playoff

Texas is going to the College Football Playoff.

For the first time in school history, the Texas Longhorns (12-1) are going to the College Football Playoff. A dominant Big 12 championship effort put the Longhorns into the tournament.

Texas defeated Oklahoma State to win a Big 12 championship, 49-21. The win put the team in position to reach the playoff, but the Longhorns needed help to get in. Texas got help in the form of an Alabama upset over Georgia after Friday’s elimination of Oregon.

The dramatic move from No. 7 to the playoff should not have been necessary. The Longhorns should have ranked ahead of Oregon and Ohio State in the last poll, but the final rankings brought the desired result for Texas.

What seems evident is that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian should get a raise and a contract extension. Sarkisian has lifted the program to heights it hasn’t seen in the 14 seasons since the Longhorns last won the Big 12.

Texas has lived up to expectations and more in 2023. Now the team will spend New Years Day competing for a spot in the national championship.