Tag: Big 12 Championship Game

WATCH: Texas releases incredible mini-movie from Big 12 Championship game

The 8min mini-movie is sure to give you chills. This Texas team is special!

There’s no other way to put it: This Texas team is special. Continue reading “WATCH: Texas releases incredible mini-movie from Big 12 Championship game”

Oklahoma Sooners at No. 12 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners remained at No. 12 while Oklahoma State dropped a couple of spots after championship weekend.

As championship weekend played out on Saturday, Oklahoma’s hopes of landing in a New Year’s Six bowl were dashed. They weren’t able to move up any higher in the College Football Playoff rankings.

They also remained at No. 12 in the latest US LBM Coaches poll after the conference title games played out.

The group of teams ranked nine through 13 remained in the same spots. Missouri was No. 9, followed by Penn State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and LSU.

After their Big 12 title blowout of Oklahoma State, the Texas Longhorns moved up three spots into a tie for No. 4 with the Alabama Crimson Tide, who jumped up four spots after their win over Georgia. The Bulldogs fell to No. 6 after their SEC title loss.

Michigan, Washington, and Florida State each moved up one spot, with the Wolverines taking over the No. 1 spot in the nation.

Oklahoma State, after losing by 28, fell out of the top 20 to No. 21 behind SMU and Liberty, who won their conference title games. The Liberty Flames completed an undefeated season and earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl against the Oregon Ducks.

For the Sooners, the No. 12 finish marks a strong rebound season for Brent Venables and his program after their 6-7 season a year ago. Still, it could have been better had Oklahoma taken better care of the ball in losses to Kansas and the Cowboys.

The Sooners’ bowl opponent, the Arizona Wildcats, moved up one spot to No. 14 in the latest poll. The Wildcats provide an intriguing opponent with an offense and defense that rank in the top 25 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

If Oklahoma can complete the season with a win in the Alamo Bowl, the Sooners will likely go into the 2024 season inside the top 25.

Here is the full US LBM Coaches Poll.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Michigan 13-0 1535 (51) +1
2 Washington 13-0 1,482 (8) +1
3 Florida State 13-0 1358 +1
4 (tie) Texas 12-1 1351 +3
4 (tie) Alabama 12-1 1351 +4
6 Georgia 12-1 1275 -5
7 Ohio State 11-1 1187 –1
8 Oregon 11-2 1092 -3
9 Missouri 10-2 1023 –
10 Penn State 10-2 952 –
11 Ole Miss 10-2 932 –
12 Oklahoma 10-2 898 –
13 LSU 9-3 796 –
14 Arizona 9-3 642 +1
15 Louisville 10-3 642 -1
16 Notre Dame 9-3 633 –
17 Iowa 10-3 426 –
18 North Carolina State 9-3 423 +2
19 SMU 11-2 375 +5
20 Liberty 13-0 315 +2
21 Oklahoma State 9-4 299 -2
22 Oregon State 8-4 295 -1
23 Tennessee 8-4 226 –
24 Tulane 11-2 139 -6
25 James Madison 11-1 114 –

Others Receiving Votes

Clemson 107; Troy 66; Kansas State 64; Utah 36; Kansas 17; West Virginia 8; Miami (OH) 8; Toledo 7; Boise State 7; San Jose State 3; New Mexico State 1

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WATCH: Best highlights from Texas’ 49-21 win over Oklahoma State

Texas showed up on both sides of the ball for the Big 12 title game.

Texas made a statement in the Big 12 title game on Saturday. Continue reading “WATCH: Best highlights from Texas’ 49-21 win over Oklahoma State”

Iowa finishes 2023 season with over 1,000 more punting yards than offensive yards

Iowa’s 2023 offense was a disaster, but when you have over 1,000 more punting yards than offensive yards, that puts it in perspective.

The 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes finished their season ranked fourth in in the FBS in total defense, which was a good thing… because Iowa’s offense was a disaster. The 10-3 Hawkeyes finished 130th of 133 teams in points per game (16.6), which is far short of the 25 points per game head coach Kirk Ferentz estimated his team could amass.

It’s also fortunate that the Hawkeyes had punter Tory Taylor, who averaged 47.9 yards per punt, and he had 86 (!) of them. Taylor was by far the team’s yardage leader, and to an historic level. After its 26-0 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the Big 12 Championship, Iowa set another mark for offensive futility.

In the end, Iowa gained 3,123 yards and punted for 4,156 yards, which works out to 1,033 more punting yards than total yards. To put that in perspective, the New York Jets have the fewest offensive yards in the NFL this season with 2,862, and they’ve punted for 3,160 yards. That’s a difference of 298 yards — not what you want, but it isn’t over 1,000 yards.

Steve Sarkisian classily put injured Texas RB Jonathon Brooks in for the Big 12 title game’s final play

A classy move, Texas.

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns cruised to their first Big 12 championship since 2009 on Saturday with a dominant 49-21 win over No. 18 Oklahoma State and a convincing argument for one of the four College Football Playoff spots.

Thanks to a high-scoring first half, the game was pretty much over before it started with the Longhorns having a 35-14 lead at the break, and a major game highlight was the Dr Pepper Tuition Challenge at the half.

But something special happened in the second half: Injured Texas running back Jonathon Brooks was on the field for the last snap, technically playing in the conference championship game.

Brooks tore his ACL during the Longhorns’ win over TCU on Nov. 11 and was deemed out for the season. A major factor for Texas’ offense, he was sixth in FBS rushing yards and seventh in yards per game at the time of his injury, per ESPN. And as The Athletic‘s Chris Vannini noted, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian planned to get Brooks on the field for one snap so he would technically end up playing in the game.

A classy move by Sark, who said at the time of Brooks’ injury, via ESPN:

“We’re heartbroken for Jonathon,” coach Steve Sarkisian said in a statement. “He was having a fantastic season and leaves a void that needs to be filled. But we know he will continue to be an invaluable leader on our team, helping us prepare as we move forward in our mission this season.”

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Fans chanted ‘S-E-C’ at Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark during Texas’ trophy presentation

Texas fans really don’t sound too upset with leaving the Big 12.

It doesn’t sound like Texas Longhorns fans are too bent out of shape about leaving the Big 12 for the SEC next year. And they’re not huge fans of Brett Yormark.

As the Big 12 commissioner presented Texas with its conference championship hardware after the team took down Oklahoma State, 49-21, on Saturday, he got loud boos from the fans in the crowd.

Any sort of commissioner of anything is pretty much always going to get booed by the fans, but fans elevated their jeers by audibly chanting “S-E-C!” as Yormark was talking.

It got so bad that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian tried to quiet down his team’s fan base during the presentation.

Talk about adding insult to injury.

Texas going to the SEC will be one of the big stories of the college football season next fall, especially since the Longhorns topped Alabama on the road this past September.

At the very least, we’re guessing there won’t be too many tears shed by Texas fans for the pending Big 12 departure with how they greeted Yormark.

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Best Texas apparel and gear to celebrate the Longhorns’ 2023 Big 12 Championship

Celebrate Texas’ first Big 12 Football Championship since 2009 with t-shirts, hats, hoodies and more.

For the first time since 2009, the Texas Longhorns are Big 12 Football champions.

The Longhorns continued their fantastic 2023 season with a 49-21 routing of No. 18 Oklahoma State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Texas got out to a commanding early lead, including a touchdown catch from Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year T’Vondre Sweat.

While Texas’ College Football Playoff future remains uncertain, the Longhorns took care of business today, earning a conference championship, and now it’s time to celebrate.

If you’re looking for a holiday gift for the Texas fan in your life, or if you just want to treat yourself, check out our Texas Longhorns holiday gift guide.

Best Texas Longhorns 2023 Big 12 Championship gear:

The Big 12 championship game’s double OT Dr. Pepper challenge enthralled college fans

Now this was a Dr. Pepper challenge to remember.

The Dr. Pepper challenge during Saturday’s Big 12 championship game featured an instant classic, as two college students duked it out for the $100,000 tuition prize.

Since Texas was clobbering Oklahoma State by a wide margin, the Dr. Pepper challenge turned into the marquee event at AT&T Stadium.

The competition went into an unexpected double overtime, as college student Ryan topped fellow student Gavin in the football throwing competition.

It was a nail-biter for the ages, but Ryan threw just enough footballs into the Dr. Pepper-branded target to win a hefty sum to help pay the college bills.

However, we think both of these fellas deserve to be proud of their efforts.

What made it even more memorable was the fact that the overtime coin flip featured sides like “regular” and “sugar free.”

While Ryan didn’t win the coin toss, he did win the heated battle for tuition.

College fans felt this particular Dr. Pepper challenge deserves to go down in the event’s history.

UPDATE: This challenge wasn’t without controversy, as some fans online noticed that perhaps the count wasn’t right. During the fourth quarter, the broadcast noted that there was “an on-field technical error apparently that a bunch of America noticed that resulted in inaccurate accounting [in] the double tiebreaker.” So Dr. Pepper is giving both contestants $100,000.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

The Undertaker, WWE Superstars showcased at Big 12 Championship Game

WWE had a major presence at the Big 12 Championship Game

Texas and Oklahoma State played at AT&T Stadium on Saturday with the Big 12 Championship on the line.

There were plenty of Superstars in attendance who know what it is like to try and win a title.

WWE was a sponsor of the game and the sports entertainment juggernaut supplied talent.

The Undertaker, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre and Jade Cargill were among those at the game.

2005 Big 12 Championship Game: Texas beats Colorado by 67 points

TBT: 17 years ago, the Longhorns put on a show to punch their ticket to the BCS title game.

Throwback Thursday: The year was 2005, and the No. 2 Texas Longhorns were playing in hopes of earning their second Big 12 Championship and a trip to the  BCS title game.

Despite not being ranked, the Colorado Buffaloes secured a spot in the Big 12 Championship game, where they faced off against the formidable Texas Longhorns. The game was highly anticipated, with fans and analysts alike wondering if the Buffaloes had what it takes to upset the Longhorns and claim the championship title.

Spoiler: they didn’t.

In the first half of the game between Texas and Colorado, the Longhorns outscored their opponents by 39 points, scoring 42-3 at halftime. Texas continued their impressive performance in the third quarter, adding another 28 points to their total. By the end of the third quarter, the Longhorns had scored a total of 70 points, while Colorado had still only scored three. It was a clear demonstration of Texas’ superior skills and dominance on the field.

Texas secured their second Big 12 Championship and upset the USC Trojans in the BCS National Championship game.