Cowboys will compete for the conference title in Arlington.
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Oklahoma State will appear in the Big 12 championship for the second time in three years on Saturday. (OSU athletics)
With a 40-34 double overtime victory over BYU in the regular season finale, Oklahoma State football punched their ticket to the Big 12 Championship game for a chance at a conference crown.
The Cowboys face off against the 11-1 Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this Saturday (Dec. 2) at 11 A.M. It will be the program’s second Big 12 championship game appearance in the last three seasons. OSU last made it in 2021, losing to Baylor, 21-16.
Oklahoma State had an unconventional path to the title game this time around. After suffering two early season losses to South Alabama (a game in which they lost 33-7 at home) and Iowa State, the Pokes went on to win five straight games topped by a 27-24 win in Bedlam over No. 9 Oklahoma.
The very next week, OSU lost by 42 points to Central Florida, a team that finished the regular season with a record of 6-6.
The Cowboys rebounded with a victory over Houston, but found themselves down 21-6 at halftime in the regular season finale against BYU. With conference championship hopes on the line, OSU pulled out the come-from-behind victory in double overtime to finish with a 9-3 record and a Big 12 title game berth.
Oklahoma State’s opponent experienced a somewhat less rocky journey to Arlington. Texas comes into Saturday’s matchup with just one loss, that being a 34-30 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma back on Oct. 7. The Longhorns took down No. 3 Alabama in week two to catapult into the AP top 10 poll, where they have remained all season since.
The series record between these two programs currently sits at 26-11 in favor of Texas, with the first matchup taking place in 1916. Oklahoma State has owned the series in recent years, however, winning seven of the last 10 games against the Longhorns.
Saturday’s contest could be, potentially, the last time the Cowboys and Longhorns face off for the foreseeable future. With Texas making the move to the SEC starting in 2024, the two schools will no longer be members of the same conference and are unlikely to schedule against each other for some time.
A win for Oklahoma State on Saturday would give the program its second Big 12 championship since the conference was formed in 1996. The Cowboys last won a conference title in 2011. A win would also make OSU 7-3 in the last ten seasons in games against the Longhorns.
The game will take place this Saturday in Arlington at 11 A.M. Game tickets are currently sold out but resell tickets are still available. It will also be available to watch on ABC.