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Sooner Nation, social media reacts to Big 12 championship game

Sooner Nation and social media reacts to the Texas Longhorns win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game.

The Big 12 championship didn’t provide the theatrics we saw on Friday night in the Pac-12 title game. The Texas Longhorns dominated the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 49-21, to win their fourth Big 12 title.

Quinn Ewers was the player of the game, winning the inaugural Big 12 MVP title belt co-created with the WWE. Ewers threw for 452 yards and four touchdowns, and the Longhorns defense held Ollie Gordon to 34 yards rushing.

This game had some big plays and controversial officiating decisions. Both have been prevalent in the Big 12 this year.

At the end, Horns fans serenaded Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark with boos and chants of “S-E-C” as he presented the Big 12 title to Steve Sarkisian.

It was Texas’ fourth Big 12 championship, 10 behind the Oklahoma Sooners as the Red River Rivals head to the SEC in 2024.

Though Oklahoma wasn’t playing in the game, it generated significant interest in Sooner Nation watching their two biggest rivals go toe-to-toe.

Here’s how social media reacted to the game.

Red River Rivalry vs. Bedlam: Oklahoma fans don’t have to root for anyone in Big 12 title game

If you can’t bring yourself to pull for Texas or Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, you’re not alone.

Insert The Office’s Michael Scott saying, “This is the worst.” Texas and Oklahoma State playing in the Big 12 title is the kind of matchup that will make you want to pull your hair out. Especially with the way things went down this year.

Oklahoma beat Texas. It may have been an improbable win, but it was a win nonetheless. The Sooners lost to Oklahoma State on an uncalled pass interference. And despite the DPI on Drake Stoops that went uncalled had a chance to win the game if those third and fourth down pass plays were called to attack the first down marker.

And so, here we sit on championship weekend watching Oklahoma’s two biggest rivals playing for the title that the Oklahoma Sooners have dominated.

And the question that’s dominated the social media space this week is who Oklahoma should root for. Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman set out to determine which teams winning on championship weekend would benefit the Sooners in hopes of making it to a New Year’s Six Bowl.

Take a big gulp here, Sooners fans, but you need to root for the Longhorns. OU is already ahead of Oklahoma State in the rankings but a Cowboys win here would guarantee OSU a NY6 spot, Texas figures to make a major bowl regardless. It wouldn’t be completely devastating for the Sooners if OSU wins — Sooners fans would relish Texas’ national title hopes, however remote, going up in flames — but a Texas win would eliminate a competitor and burnish OU’s resume. The Sooners’ resume needs all the boost it can get, with two of OU’s primary competitors for a berth — Penn State and Ole Miss — also not playing this weekend. The committee has shown it considers overall resume week to week rather than projecting, so a Texas win would help the Sooners’ best win look even better. Penn State’s best win right now is Iowa and Ole Miss’ is LSU. – Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman

More: Championship Weekend Predictions.

Texas, huh?

Feels like the time would be better spent raking the leaves or taking a hike. Do we want Oklahoma in the best bowl game possible? Sure. But rooting for Texas just feels dirty.

But that’s not to say one SHOULD pull for Oklahoma State.

If, this week, you find yourself unable to pick a side in the Big 12 title game, you’re in good company.

But as Aber writes, that would be good for the Sooners. But I get it if you’re unable to bring yourself to cheer for either team playing for the Big 12 title this week.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Big 12 Bowl Projections: Sooners to face incoming and ascending Big 12 squad in Bowl Season

The Oklahoma Sooners will play a future Big 12 member in the latest Bowl Projections from USA TODAY Sports.

The regular season is over, and all that awaits before knowing OU’s bowl destination is championship weekend. The Oklahoma Sooners just missed out on the Big 12 title game. It’s the third season in a row that the Sooners won’t play for the conference title.

Things are improving at Oklahoma, but after running the Big 12 to the tune of 14 conference championships, it stings a bit not to be able to play for one more.

Still, 10-2 is better than 6-6. The Sooners are showing they’re a program on the right track as they get ready for the SEC. Recruiting is better on both sides of the ball and in 2023, we began to see glimpses of Brent Venables’ recruiting classes impacting the game.

In Oklahoma’s bowl game, we’ll likely get to see more of the youth the Sooners have added since Brent Venables’ arrival. Who will they play? Let’s take a look at the latest Big 12 Bowl Projections via USA TODAY Sports.

How did Big 12 teams finish relative to preseason expectations in USA TODAY Sports 1-133 re-rank?

With the regular season over, how did the Big 12 land in USA TODAY Sports latest 1-133 re-rank of every college football team in the nation?

It’s championship week in college football. But for some teams, it’s the beginning of the offseason, while others wait on their bowl destinations.

It was a unique season in the Big 12. A number of teams met or exceeded expectations in 2023. And several were incredibly disappointing based on preseason expectations.

Let’s take a look at how each of the Big 12 teams ranked in the USA TODAY Sports 1-133 rankings in the preseason compared to how they now rank after the regular season.

Texas secures top spot in Big 12 Power Rankings after final week of the regular season

How does the Big 12 stack up after the final week of the regular season? Here are this week’s power rankings.

The 2023 college football season has been a thrill ride from start to finish. In its lone season as a 14-team conference, the Big 12 did not disappoint. There were fantastic games throughout the conference schedule that brought us to a dramatic final weekend of the regular season.

The Sooners will look back on this season, knowing they missed an opportunity to reach the Big 12 title game. Their performances against Kansas and Oklahoma State were the difference. And although there was some officiating negligence in the loss to the Cowboys, the Sooners also gave the ball away three times in the loss in Bedlam. Combined, the Sooners turned the ball over six times in their two losses and just seven times total in their other 10 games.

Take care of the football and the Sooners are playing for the Big 12 title this weekend.

Week 13 provided a thrilling overtime game between Oklahoma State and BYU. Iowa State and Kansas State played down to the wire in a wintery Farmageddon. Texas beat Texas Tech by 50 with Brett Yormark in attendance, and West Virginia made good on their promise to the preseason media poll look foolish.

After the final week of the regular season, let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Top of the conference survive scares in week 12

With just one week remaining in the regular season, how doe the Big 12 power rankings look after Week 12 action?

The Big 12 will come down to the final week of the regular season to determine who will represent the conference in their title game in Arlington, Texas.

Texas was challenged by Iowa State and Oklahoma State survived a terrible start in Houston. The Kansas State Wildcats trailed in the fourth quarter against Kansas before pulling out a win and the Oklahoma Sooners survived in Provo despite the loss of Dillon Gabriel.

Here’s a look at the Big 12 Power Rankings ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys dropped by Knights, Sooners make a statement in week 11

Oklahoma’s win over West Virginia and Oklahoma State’s loss to UCF shook up this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

There are just two weeks left in the regular season, and there’s still a lot to sort out. Texas and Oklahoma State currently hold the top two spots in the Big 12 standings, but Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State are lurking.

There’s no time for anyone to slip up like Oklahoma State did this past weekend in Orlando.

The UCF Knights’ dominating 45-3 win over the Cowboys was shocking after Oklahoma State knocked off Oklahoma in Bedlam.

As for the Sooners, they responded to their two-game losing streak with authority, putting together arguably their best game of the season in their 59-20 win over West Virginia.

In the win, the Sooners looked like one of the best teams in the Big 12. That combined with the Cowboys’ loss, there’s been a shakeup in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Oklahoma Sooners fall to No. 18 in ESPN’s updated power rankings

The Oklahoma Sooners are on a two-game losing streak and have fallen from the top 10 to just inside the top 20 in ESPN’s power rankings

The Oklahoma Sooners are on a two-game losing streak after losing to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. It was a bitter end to a rivalry that dates back to 1904 in a series the Sooners have dominated to the tune of a 91-20-7 record.

It’s a loss that stings. For the second time in three years, the Cowboys knocked the Sooners out of College Football Playoff contention and have Oklahoma on the ropes in the Big 12 title race.

After working their way into the top 10 after a win over Texas, the Sooners haven’t played as well. It’s not simply that they’ve lost games, it’s more that they’ve made a ton of mistakes along the way. And that’s as troubling as the two losses.

In ESPN’s updated power rankings after week 10, the Oklahoma Sooners have fallen all the way to No. 18.

The Sooners couldn’t make the plays when they needed them most, fumbling a direct snap to [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] at the OSU 34, ending a drive in the first quarter and then failing to convert a fourth-and-5 play with 1:01 left in the game when [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] was stopped for a 3-yard gain with Oklahoma trailing by three at midfield. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was 26-of-37 for 344 yards and a touchdown, and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] reeled off a 64-yard scoring run en route to 111 yards rushing. The Sooners loaded up to stop Ollie Gordon II, who ran 33 times for 137 yards, but Alan Bowman made them pay with 334 yards passing as the Sooners lost the last scheduled Bedlam game, one that will sting for a while, while also putting OU in a logjam with two losses in the Big 12 race. – Dave Wilson, ESPN

There’s still a lot to like about the Sooners. They’ve made significant progress as a defense and there are building blocks to an offense that has looked really good at different times throughout the season. But so much of how this season is viewed will be determined by how the Sooners finish the season.

With games vs. West Virginia, at BYU, and at home against TCU to close the regular season, Oklahoma can still finish with a 10-win season as Brent Venables and his staff continues to rebuild a program devoid of talent when they arrived.

Sooners slide, remain in front of Bedlam foes in US LBM Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners dropped back several spots but stayed in front of Bedlam rivals in latest US LBM Coaches Poll.

Oklahoma’s loss in Bedlam ended with unfortunate extenuating circumstances. As poor as the Sooners played, they still had a chance to win the game late, but a no-call on pass interference in the end zone changed how the final few minutes should have played out.

Still, it gets chalked up as a loss for the Sooners, who fell to 7-2 and 4-2 in Big 12 play. The [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] may have been a long shot before, but now those hopes are pretty well dashed. There’s an outside shot they could make it to Arlington for the Big 12 title game, but they’d need a lot of help to get there.

It was disappointing to end to [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag], especially since Oklahoma State has no interest in continuing the rivalry beyond this year.

Despite the loss to the Cowboys, the Sooners stayed in front of their Bedlam rivals in the first poll out Sunday. They also stayed in front of the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag], who beat the Sooners a week ago. That’s a testament to the improvement the Sooners have made from their 2022 season. The coaches voting in the poll respect what the Sooners have accomplished in one short season under Brent Venables.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but the Sooners defense is trending in the right direction under Venables. If you want a positive takeaway from the loss, it’s that Oklahoma has a defense that plays winning football, even if is still giving up a lot of yards.

In this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll, the top five remained the same after Week 10. In a surprise, the USC Trojans fell out of the top 25.

Here’s a look at the full top 25 of the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Best of Bedlam: Photos from the final matchup in the historic rivalry

A look at some of the best photos of the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Final Bedlam.

For the second straight week, the Oklahoma Sooners lost the final matchup in the foreseeable future to a team with a long history. For the second straight week, their opponent’s fan base rushed the field after the win.

The Sooners walked into their final Bedlam contest with Oklahoma State as road favorites and walked out with a two-game losing streak and needing lots of help to get back to the Big 12 title game for one final time.

The Sooners haven’t been to the Big 12 title game since announcing their intentions to go to the SEC. Officiating wasn’t the only reason the Sooners lost on Saturday, but it was a key factor in the outcome.

But Oklahoma shot itself in the foot far too much to overcome with three turnovers and untimely penalties throughout the game. In the game’s critical moments, Oklahoma State executed better and tackled better than the Sooners.

It was an underwhelming performance in a game the Sooners had no margin for error.

They’ve got work to do to get things right before hosting West Virginia.

Check out some of the best photos from the final Bedlam.