Pokes Post
Fansided

Oklahoma State football: Numbers to know for Big 12 championship game

By John Scimeca

STILLWATER, OK - NOVEMBER 27: Cornerback Christian Holmes #0 and safety Tanner McCalister #2 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys celebrate after stopping quarterback Caleb Williams #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners on fourth down near the end of the game at Boone Pickens Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys won 'Bedlam' 37-33. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
STILLWATER, OK - NOVEMBER 27: Cornerback Christian Holmes #0 and safety Tanner McCalister #2 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys celebrate after stopping quarterback Caleb Williams #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners on fourth down near the end of the game at Boone Pickens Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys won 'Bedlam' 37-33. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 2
Next

4. One

OSU has won only one conference championship since 1976. That was 2011, when a Mike Gundy-coached squad led by Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon, and Joseph Randle finished 12-1 with a Fiesta Bowl victory against Stanford.

Those seemingly distant memories have now been revived for OSU fans in another banner year for the program. This year’s squad has already matched the most wins (11) within the last decade and that 2011 team.

3. 47

OSU leads the nation with 47 sacks for the 2021 season. Collin Oliver, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads a defensive line that also features a first-team all-conference performer in Brock Martin. The Cowboys collected six sacks against OU in last week’s 37-33 Bedlam victory, including Oliver’s game-sealing stop in the final moments of the fourth quarter with the Sooners threatening to score.

Ndamukong Suh holds the individual record for sacks in a Big 12 championship game, racking up 4.5 sacks in Nebraska’s 2009 loss to Texas.

2. Zero

OSU has zero appearances in the Big 12 championship game. The game was discontinued after the league shrank to 10 teams following the 2010 season, but was reinstated in 2017 in order to give the league champion another chance at a quality win in the eyes of the CFP Committee.

Baylor has appeared in the title game only once before, losing 30-23 in overtime in 2019 to Oklahoma. If the Cowboys were to defeat Baylor on Saturday, they would be the only team with three Top 15 wins while vying for a final CFP spot.

Three keys to an OSU win in Big 12 title game. dark. Next

1. 14-6

The higher-ranked team is 14-6 in Big 12 championship game history. Before last year’s game between No. 12 OU and No. 8 Iowa State, which the Sooners won 27-21, the higher-ranked team had won six title games in a row.

OSU is now ranked No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, with Baylor coming in at No. 10. The oddsmakers have pegged the Cowboys as a 5.5-point favorite against the Bears entering Saturday.

Home/Oklahoma State Cowboys