Texas Will Cruise Past Cowboys

Oklahoma State vs. Texas, 12:00 ET

We already crowned one champion last night in the Pac-12 now we switch over to the Big 12. In this matchup we get the... Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship. I'm not quite sure what Dr. Pepper would have to do with this, but hell, crack one open, read the article, and let's get some cash in this one. The game kicks off in a few hours and we have the Oklahoma State Cowboys taking on the Texas Longhorns.

Oklahoma State kind of snuck into this game. A 9-3 record overall is nice, but it isn't even the second best record in the conference. No, that belongs to Oklahoma, a team that went 10-2 on the season and 7-2 in the conference. The problem for the Sooners is they lost to the Cowboys and now they are on the outside looking in as Oklahoma State takes on a team the Sooners gave their lone loss to. Here's the thing, the Cowboys aren't a great team. Yes, they are ranked in the nation, and yes they are playing for a championship, but what do they do better than anyone else? Very little. How do they beat the Longhorns? First, I think they need to control the clock as much as possible. They can do that by putting the ball in the hands of their best player, Ollie Gordon. On the season, Gordon has racked up 1,580 yards and 20 touchdowns. You know Texas is going to do whatever they can to stop him in this game. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Texas seems capable of stopping Gordon, but I also don't think that quarterback Alan Bowman is going to throw them to victory.

This is a big deal for Texas. They have an opportunity to win the Big 12 for the first time in 14 seasons. They've had plenty of hype over the last decade-plus of football, but nothing turned out the way it was supposed to. They would be in the midst of the College Football Playoff race too if they didn't lose that game to Oklahoma. As it is, they will have to settle for a Big 12 title and one of the better remaining Bowl Games. After being out for injury for a few weeks, it is nice to have Quinn Ewers under center for the Longhorns. He hasn't exactly shined for Texas, but he hasn't put them in situations where they were likely to lose either. He played fairly well against TCU as Texas pulled out the victory. Against Iowa State he was sharp enough, and he had to do very little in the blowout win against Texas Tech. It is nice to know he is there when they need him, though. I don't think he should have much trouble against this Oklahoma State secondary.

There are a lot of factors to consider when picking football games. Perhaps the biggest in this one is that Texas's defense is so good that Oklahoma State might not have a chance. They are going to sell out to stop Gordon, and it will likely work. The other factor I am considering here is that Quinn Ewers is the better quarterback and it really isn't that close. Will they win by 15 or more? I think so and will back Texas in this one. It just isn't a good matchup for the Cowboys and I think Texas makes this no contest.

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