{"id":19002,"date":"2018-11-29T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=19002"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T20:15:08","slug":"kyler-murrays-shot-at-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2018\/11\/29\/kyler-murrays-shot-at-redemption\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyler Murray’s Shot At Redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s championship weekend. The Oklahoma Sooners have a unique opportunity when they face the Texas Longhorns for the Big 12 Championship. The Sooners have the opportunity to avenge their one loss on the season and put itself in position to be in the College Football Playoff. But, this is also Kyler Murray<\/a><\/strong>‘s shot at redemption. During his high school career, Murray did not face defeat. And, his only loss as the Oklahoma quarterback was in his first Red River Showdown game. How will this matchup be different for Murray and the Sooners?<\/p>\n

Murray places the blame on his shoulders<\/h3>\n

Many focus on the poor defensive play for the loss in the first game. The defense gave up 48 points in that loss. That dismissal of\u00a0Mike Stoops<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>as defensive coordinator came thereafter. The 48 points mark the season high in points for the Longhorns. However, Murray placed that loss squarely on his shoulders. He had two turnovers in the game that turned out to be pivotal. He threw an interception deep in Texas territory early in the game while it was tied at seven apiece. Also, while trailing 31-24 he fumbled which opened the floodgates to a 45-24 third quarter deficit.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Murray still had a tremendous game that resulted in a furious 21-point fourth quarter rally. In total, he threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns and 92 yards on the ground and one score. He will need to continue his dynamic play as the best dual-threat quarterback in the country for the Sooners to come out victorious.<\/p>\n

Does the Heisman race come down to this?<\/h3>\n

Murray and Tua Tagovailoa<\/a><\/strong> have been one and two for the majority of the year in the Heisman race. Tagovailoa has been in the lead for the majority of the season. However, that lead has slowly subsided down the stretch. Looking statistically, Murray actually leads in many of those key categories with the exception of touchdown to interception ratio. Currently, Murray has accounted for 48 total touchdowns on the season and has completed 70.6% of his passes.<\/p>\n

Murray and Tagovailoa will have the entire nation watching to afford Heisman voters with a final view. Oklahoma faces Texas at 11:00 AM on ABC while Alabama faces Georgia at 3:00 PM on CBS. Murray has the advantage in terms of the defense that he has to face. However, Tagovailoa has the added advantage of being the leader and will be the last player in voters minds.<\/p>\n

It’s getting chippy<\/h3>\n

In recent years, the Red River Showdown has been a relatively friendly rivalry. However, that’s certainly not the case this week through\u00a0social media and weekly press conferences. For proper context, we’ll take\u00a0you back October 6th for a moment. After the game, there was a situation where Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger<\/a><\/strong> and Murray did not shake hands upon Ehlinger’s attempt. This week, when asked if Murray respected Ehlinger’s game he had the following to say.<\/p>\n

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Kyler Murray, on the postgame handshake drama with Sam Ehlinger back in October: "If we would've won the game, I wouldn\u2019t have run up to him in that moment.\u201d Murray was then asked how much he respected Ehlinger\u2019s game. Murray: \u201cI have no comment on that."<\/p>\n

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n