Check out these highlights from the first half of the Big 12 championship.
As the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma State Cowboys head into the break, the Horns hold a commanding 35-14 lead over the Pokes.
It all started early in the first quarter after forcing Oklahoma State to go three-and-out on three incomplete passes. Texas immediately answered with a touchdown drive that went 39 yards in four plays. The great field position started when Oklahoma State was called for kick catch interference.
Quinn Ewers was 3-3 on passes to CJ Baxter and capped off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. The Longhorns held the ball for just 1:29 seconds. That touchdown came with 12:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The next drive ended the same way for the Cowboys after getting one first down and then punting it back to the Longhorns. This time Texas would have to go 84 yards to score this time around. Once again the offense would need just four plays to put it in the end zone. The big play was a 54-yard catch and run by Xavier Worthy. It was the 12th play of 50+ yards allowed by the Oklahoma State defense this season. On a trick play, Ewers found tight end JT Sanders all alone and he galloped into the end zone for the 14-0 lead.
The Cowboys would finally answer back after back-to-back drives that ended in punts. Oklahoma State would go down the field to the tune of 75 yards on eight plays. Alan Bowman put them on the board with a five-yard pass to Brennan Presley to cut the deficit to seven points. Once again Texas would answer.
This time it would Steve Sarkisian’s offense nine plays to get down the field. The offense was methodical on this drive that saw Keilan Robinson, Jaydon Blue, Jordan Whittington, and Worthy get involved. It was Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, T’Vondre Sweat who scored the touchdown and hit them with the Heisman pose.
The Cowboys looked to respond to the Longhorns but it was all for not as Kitan Crawford picked off Alan Bowman deep in Texas territory. They would need to go 95 yards on the ensuing drive. Another big play of 50+ yards by the offense would get them in position to score again.
Baxter would rumble into the end zone on a 10-yard run to get the lead back to three touchdowns. After another three-and-out drive by Oklahoma State, Texas had a chance to extend the lead. An interception by Nick Martin set up the Cowboys with an easy opportunity from the Texas 3-yard line.
Texas would respond once again with a 10-82 yard drive which ended with a Jaydon Blue touchdown. Whittington and Sanders were a huge part of this drive going down the field. The highlight-level play came when Worthy ran through a defender after he stepped out of bounds.
Texas defense would force another turnover on the following drive which lasted just 42 seconds. Freshman linebacker Anthony Hill Jr punched the ball lose from Leon Johnson III and was recovered by Ethan Burke.
After gaining just nine yards on three plays, Texas went for it on fourth down. On an end around by tight end J.T. Sanders, they gained 12 yards and set them up at the Oklahoma State 26-yard line with under a minute to go in the half. The offense stalled and Bert Auburn missed the field goal attempt from 44-yards out.
First Half Stats Leaders
- Quinn Ewers: 23-31 | 354 Yards | 4 TDs | 1 INT
- Ja’Tavion Sanders: 4 Rec | 68 Yards | 1 TD
- Adonai Mitchell: 3 Rec | 78 Yards | 1 TD
- Xavier Worthy: 3 Rec | 69 Yards
First Half Team Stats:
- Total Offense: 422 Yards
- Total Defense: 157 Yards
- Yards Per Play: Offense (9.0) | Defense (4.4)
