It's rarely easy against No. 6 Iowa State, but in the end, No. 10 Oklahoma made one more play necessary to capture its sixth straight Big 12 championship and fourth straight win in the conference championship game as the Sooners defeated the Cyclones 27-21. Tre Brown's interception of Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy in the final minute of the game sealed the deal, and now the Sooners will head to a New Year's Six bowl game -- perhaps the Cotton Bowl.
The Sooners twice held 17-point leads, including a 24-7 margin heading into halftime. But, as usual with Matt Campbell's team, Iowa State came out in the second half proving they weren't finished. Iowa State's defense held Oklahoma to three second-half points and forced five punts. Meanwhile, the offense, which had been slow to start, came up big with two lengthy scoring drives spanning the third and fourth quarters totaling 21 plays and 177 yards.
It just wasn't enough in the end. Purdy threw three picks on the day, tying his season-worst total. And while running back Breece Hall scored two touchdowns, he totaled just 79 yards on 23 carries. Oklahoma's defensive front keyed in on him all game and kept his big plays to a minimum. It's hard to overstate the job defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has done in Norman in just two seasons; the Sooners went from being a liability on defense to being able to win with it. The front was great and Brown and Tre Norwood had nice games on the back end. This is a defense that flies to the ball and plays with confidence. Even though it wore down late as Iowa State surged, it made huge plays when needed.
Offensively, Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler was sharp, throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown while making some spectacular plays on the run. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson had 97 yards on the ground while Marvin Mims hit 101 yards receiving and a touchdown -- his eighth on the season, most for any freshman wideout in OU history.
But it was Oklahoma's defense that was the difference, particularly up front. Oklahoma sacked Purdy three times and had him under duress all afternoon. That pressure led to the turnovers that ended up being the difference in the game.
Here's what else we learned from Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game:
Iowa State's defense played its heart out
You can't say the Cyclones didn't do well enough defensively to win. On top of allowing just three points in the second half, they played better than the score indicated -- which is pretty incredible in and of itself. Consider Oklahoma's three other touchdown drives:
- The first, to go up 7-0, came on the first drive of the game after the ball was kicked out of bounds. Cyclones DB Isheem Young, one of the team's best players, was ejected for targeting on the second play of the game.
- The second touchdown was a 45-yard bomb from Spencer Rattler to Marvin Mims. Players make plays, and a now-healthy Mims can fly.
- The third, to go up 24-7 right before halftime, came on a short field thanks to a big return from Brown.
Otherwise, Iowa State forced seven punts and four three-and-outs. Oklahoma also scored zero points off of Iowa State's three turnovers. The first two possessions were three-and-outs, while the other ended the game. Iowa State's defensive staff did an excellent job at getting pressure on Rattler and providing some different looks in the process. There were few chunk plays allowed the job at winning early downs in the second half was outstanding.
A more conservative Lincoln Riley this year
Riley has been noticeably less aggressive in his situational play-calling this season. There are a couple of reasons for that. The first is, as mentioned above, the defense is playing much better. He can rely on that group to hold its ground or come up with a stop in a way that just wasn't possible a couple of years ago. The other reason is that, while the offense has playmakers, it's not quite as consistent as in year's past. Mims, Theo Wease, Rhamondre Stevenson and Co. are all great players who make jaw-dropping plays, but the overall consistency in moving the ball wasn't there on Saturday. Some early window dressing in the play-calling was nice, but Iowa State made its own adjustments on defense.
On more than one occasion Saturday, Riley opted to punt in no-man's land and pin the Cyclones deep rather than going for it on fourth down. It worked in his favor, but it's not something we're used to seeing. Situationally, Riley is playing towards different strengths with this team. It's not something we're used to seeing, but after another Big 12 title, it's hard to argue with the results even if Iowa State nearly made a comeback.