It was one of the best Big XII championship games in many years.\u00a0 This was a battle potentially for the number four seed in the CFB playoffs.\u00a0 Anyone who says there\u2019s no defense in the Big XII didn\u2019t watch these two teams go at it.\u00a0 Oklahoma just made a few more big defensive plays than Baylor. Oklahoma\u2019s defense took over in the overtime period as we look at the Big XII Championship review.<\/p>\n
The Sooners dominated the first quarter building a 10-0 lead.\u00a0 Baylor responded with 13-second quarter points, largely due to two Jalen Hurts<\/a> <\/strong>turnovers.\u00a0 The Sooners helped the Bears with five first-half penalties.\u00a0 The Sooners had an opportunity to break the game open in the first half dominated by the Oklahoma defense.\u00a0 Oklahoma turnovers and mistakes helped Baylor to a 13-10 halftime advantage.<\/p>\n The Sooners defense took control in the third quarter, while the offense put up 10 points to take a 20-13 lead after three quarters.\u00a0 Oklahoma added a 24-yard field goal with 10:31 remaining.\u00a0 It seemed like Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley<\/strong> was very conservative at times.\u00a0 Possibly a lack of trust in Hurts’ inability to take care of the ball.\u00a0 Hurts has had at least two turnovers in three of the Sooners last four games.\u00a0 Baylor was able to manage two big pass plays to pull even in regulation.\u00a0 Overtime was all Oklahoma.\u00a0 The Sooners scored on a Rhamondre Stevenson<\/a> <\/strong>five-yard touchdown run.\u00a0 The Sooners defense held the Bears -10 yards on four overtime snaps.<\/p>\n Oklahoma won its 10th<\/sup> conference championship game, the only school to accomplish that.\u00a0 The Sooners won its fifth consecutive conference championship.\u00a0 This championship was a little different than the recent titles.\u00a0 In recent years Oklahoma has depended on its offense to outscore teams.\u00a0 The Sooners defense dominated this game.\u00a0 The Bears only managed eight first downs and 35 yards rushing.\u00a0 Baylor totaled 230 yards through the air, but 160 of those yards came on two plays.\u00a0 The Sooners had 15 tackles for losses and six quarterback sacks.<\/p>\n As previously stated, the Sooners had two turnovers and five penalties in the first half.\u00a0 The Sooners had only one penalty and zero turnovers after halftime.<\/p>\n Oklahoma had another great game from their special teams unit.\u00a0 Reeves Mundschau<\/a><\/strong> had a great game punting the ball.\u00a0 Mundschau punted six times for a 41.2-yard average, with three punts inside the 20.\u00a0 Gabe Brkic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>continued to be perfect on the season.\u00a0 Brkic has not missed a PAT all year and has made 18-18 on field goals.<\/p>\n In conclusion, this was a welcome change for Sooner fans.\u00a0 The defense has played shutdown football for three and a half games.\u00a0 It\u2019s obvious that first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch<\/strong> has been a great addition to the Sooners coaching staff.\u00a0 The Sooners went from 101 in total defense last year to 26th<\/sup> this year.\u00a0 Grinch should be the Broyles Award winner for the top assistant coach in the country.<\/p>\n Has the Hurts experiment been a success?\u00a0 Did Oklahoma win because of Hurts or in spite of him?\u00a0 Clearly, Hurts has not played well down the stretch.\u00a0 He has not done a good job of hitting open receivers downfield. Hurts has done an abysmal job of protecting the ball in the last four games with seven turnovers.\u00a0 Should Oklahoma get the fourth playoff spot, Hurts will need to make better decisions with the ball to compete in the playoffs.<\/p>\n With all of this being said, with the emergence of the defense, the Sooners can compete with any of the teams that will be in the playoffs.\u00a0 The offense will need to complement the defense and play error-free football.<\/p>\nSecond Half<\/h3>\n
Number 10 for Oklahoma<\/h3>\n
The Final Word<\/h3>\n