Cowboys outlast BYU to win spot in Big 12 Championship game

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State Cowboys clinched a berth in the 2023 Big 12 Football Championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Cowboys AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, against Texas with a 40-34 double-overtime win against Brigham Young University in front of 53,855 fans on a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon at Boone Pickens Stadium.

After a 57-7 win by the Longhorns (11-1) over Texas Tech on Friday, all the Cowboys (9-3) needed to do to clinch a berth in the Big 12 Championship was win due to defeating all the other two-loss teams in the conference (Oklahoma and Kansas State). With an OSU loss, OU would have gone to the Big 12 Championship and played Texas.

OSU received the opening kickoff. On the opening play, Ollie Gordon II ran for 23 yards which was his longest run of the game. The OSU drive stalled at the BYU 22, and Alex Hale made a 40-yard field goal to give OSU a 3-0 lead with 12:26 remaining in the first quarter.

Two plays into BYU’s opening drive, Trey Rucker recovered a fumble giving OSU the ball at the BYU 19. On the ensuing drive, OSU had six plays for 16 yards, and Hale made a 20yard field goal for a 6-0 OSU advantage.

After three-and-outs by both teams, BYU scored its first points of the game on a 2-yard run by Jake Retzlaff with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter. Place-kicker Will Ferrin then made the extra point to give BYU a 7-6 lead.

At midfield, OSU failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 with Alan Bowman throwing an incomplete pass to Gordon.

BYU punter Ryan Rehkow pinned OSU back at the OSU 8. Bowman threw an interception on the first play of the drive, which Eddie Heckard took to the house for a pick-6 and a 14-6 BYU advantage after Ferrin’s PAT.

At halftime, BYU had a 24-6 lead after an 11-yard touchdown run by Keelan Marion and a 42-yard field goal by Ferrin. Due to weather conditions and the Cowboys being down 18, thousands of fans left at the half.

To start the second half, BYU went three-and-out. OSU then drove the ball 64 yards in four plays with Bowman completing two passes of 24 yards or more — one to Brennan Presley and another to Leon Johnson III — and the drive was capped off by a Gordon 2-yard touchdown run. Hale made the extra point to cut the OSU deficit to 24-13 with 11:04 remaining in the third quarter.

After two punts by BYU and an OSU punt, OSU moved the ball down to the BYU 42. After a false start moved the Cowboys back, Heckard caught his second interception thrown by Bowman to thwart another OSU drive. To start the fourth quarter, BYU had a 24-13 lead.

OSU went 86 yards in 3:12 on nine plays as Gordon scored on a 2-yard run. Bowman threw to Rashod Owens for the twopoint conversion to get the Cowboys within three, as BYU led 24-21 with 10:53 remaining in the game.

After two punts by BYU and a three-and-out by the Cowboys, OSU received the ball at the OSU 20 with 5:15 remaining in the fourth. With 3:17 left in the quarter OSU coach Mike Gundy called a timeout to discuss the teams’ fourth-and-2 play at the OSU 42. Bowman threw to Jaden Nixon who was behind the yard-to-gain marker, but Nixon powered his way to the OSU 46 to give them a first down. Five plays later, Gordon scored a 15yard touchdown run with 53 seconds remaining to give OSU its first lead since 1:22 in the first quarter. However a blocked PAT left the score at 27-24 in OSU’s favor, opening the door for a potential game-tying field goal by Ferrin for BYU.

BYU then drove the ball 44 yards down the field in nine plays before Ferrin kicked the game-tying field goal from 48 yards out as time expired in regulation to send the game into overtime with both teams tied at 27-all.

In the first overtime, both teams had a rushing touchdown (Retzlaff six yards for BYU and Gordon three yards for OSU) to send the game into double overtime tied at 34-all.

Due to BYU playing offense first in the first overtime, OSU received the ball to start the second overtime. Gordon scored on a 2-yard rushing touchdown which tied the school record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game with five. OSU’s 1988 Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders had three games with five rushing TDs.

Due to college football rules, OSU had to go for two, they failed to convert, keeping the Pokes ahead 40-34.

Two plays later into BYU’s drive, Trey Rucker forced and recovered a fumble which gave the Cowboys a 40-34 victory in double overtime.

The win clinched OSU’s second Big 12 Championship game appearance in three years.