Sooners win 6th Big 12 title in row
ARLINGTON, Texas — Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley remembered two specific moments right after the Sooners won their sixth consecutive Big 12 championship.
There was the uncertainty of what was next when players were sent home after one spring practice in March at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. And then the feeling in the locker room after a loss at Iowa State that had Oklahoma 0-2 in league play for the first time since 1998.
The Sooners got a bit of revenge Saturday when winning another Big 12 title game, with Spencer Rattler throwing a 45-yard touchdown pass to fellow freshman Marvin Mims and running for another score in a 27-21 victory over the Cyclones.
“I’ve felt tremendous excitement after each one of them, but this one does feel different … maybe the most unlikely,” said Riley, the fourth-year head coach who was the Sooners’ offensive coordinator the two seasons before that.
That impressive title streak probably won’t be enough to get the Sooners (8-2) back in the College Football Playoff for the fourth year in a row, even when paired with their seven-game winning streak since that 37-30 loss in Ames, Iowa, on Oct. 3.
Oklahoma still has its 14th Big 12 title overall in the league’s 25-season history, and the 50th conference championship in school history.
“When we were 0-2 in the conference, and I told them a place like OU there’s nowhere to hide. It’s not like we’re just going to go off and have a bad season and people aren’t going to pay attention,” Riley said. “I think everybody in our locker room knew that this was possible at that point, and what a tremendous run it’s been.”
Big 12 rushing leader Breece Hall ran for two touchdowns for the Cyclones (8-3) in the second half, when Oklahoma punted on its first five drives before Gabe Brkic’s 32-yard field goal with 2:01 left. The Sooners finally clinched the game when Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy was under pressure and threw his third interception, a fluttering pass picked off by Tre Brown inside the 10.
The Sooners will play in a New Year’s Six game, probably back at AT&T Stadium, after winning their fourth straight Big 12 championship since the title game was reinstated — with four different starting quarterbacks. Rattler, who finished 22 of 34 for 272 yards and his 25th touchdown, is the first of those quarterbacks who went to Oklahoma as a freshman instead of transferring into the program.
Iowa State played in a conference championship game for the first time in school history, though fifth-year coach Matt Campbell was incensed at times. Standout defensive back Isheem Young was ejected after a questionable targeting call in the opening minute, and the Cyclones later didn’t get a fourth-down call when trying to draw Oklahoma offside even when two Sooners appeared to jump over the line.
Campbell lost it on the sideline, pointing and screaming, but like his team calmed down and
got back in the game.
“I hope we just got respect on our name, on this university, to everybody outside of this program that we’re here to stay and we’re always going to play our butts off,” Cyclones receiver Xavier Hutchinson said.
Rattler hit Mims in stride behind two defenders on the opening play of the second quarter to put Oklahoma up 14-0. That came after a 16-yard catch by Mims to end the first quarter on a pass that first deflected off two defenders.
After Iowa State finally scored with 1:34 left in the first half on Purdy’s 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Kolar, the Sooners got a 43-yard kickoff return from Brown. That set up a quick four-play drive capped by Rattler’s 9-yard keeper for a 24-7 halftime lead.
› Army 10, Air Force 7
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Jakobi Buchanan scored on a 1-yard run with 73 seconds left, and Army rallied past Air Force to win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the ninth time.
With time winding in the fourth quarter, Army drove 80 yards to the Air Force 1 and Buchanan delivered. Arik Smith’s interception on a deflected pass sealed it for the Black Knights.
Quinn Maretzki kicked a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter for Army’s other points.
The Falcons beat Army 17-13 at home last year, stopping the Black Knights on fourth down at the goal line to escape.
Haaziq Daniels found Kyle Patterson for a 10-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter to give Air Force a 7-3 lead.
The Falcons (3-3) began the season with a dominant 40-7 win over Navy and were poised to capture their record 21st CIC. But after falling behind, Army’s Jabari Moore stopped the Falcons’ attempt to seal it with an interception at the goal line to set up the winning drive for the Black Knights, who have won nine straight at home.
› Mississippi State 51, Missouri 32
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Will Rogers threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi State to a victory over Missouri.
After weeks of floundering offensively, Mississippi State (3-7) finally got many of their young weapons working in tandem. The Bulldogs racked up 446 yards of total offense in the game, including a season-high 151 yards on the ground. Their previous high was 87 yards in a loss to Arkansas in the second game of the year.
Missouri (5-5) logged 342 yards of total offense, but many of them after the outcome of the game was already decided, and they turned the ball over four times. This is the second-straight .500 finish for the Tigers.
› LSU 53, Ole Miss 48
BATON ROUGE, La. — Freshman receiver Kayshon Boutte caught 14 passes for an LSU-record 308 yards receiving, and his third touchdown of the game on a 45-yard catch-andrun with 1:30 remaining lifted the Tigers to a over Mississippi.
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral quickly drove the Rebels into LSU territory in the final minute, but his sixth turnover of the game on a fumble caused by Ali Gaye ended the threat and allowed the Tigers (5-5) to avoid their first losing season since 1999.
LSU freshmanMax Johnson, who won his first career start in stunning fashion at Florida a week earlier, passed for 435 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson also scored on a 1-yard keeper in the fourth quarter.
Corral was intercepted five times — twice by Jay Ward and once each by Gaye, Todd Harris and Jabril Cox. But Ole Miss’ scrappy, dual-threat quarterback very nearly overcame it. He passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, the last on a pinpoint, over-the-shoulder throw to Braylon Sanders for the Rebels (4-5).
Late Friday › Oregon 31, No. 24 Southern Cal 24
LOS ANGELES — Anthony Brown threw two touchdown passes in his unusual Oregon debut, Jamal Hill made an interception with 2:47 to play, and the Ducks won their second straight Pac-12 title with a victory over Southern California in the championship game.
Tyler Shough also threw two touchdown passes for the Ducks (4-2), who didn’t win the North Division, yet still secured the Pac-12’s New Year’s Six bowl berth with their only victory in the past month.
Oregon had a 31-17 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, but Bru McCoy caught a touchdown pass on fourth down for the Trojans (5-1) before they got the ball back with 4:43 left. USC reached midfield in search of a fourth-quarter comeback win for the fourth time in its six-game season, but Kedon Slovis threw the first fourth-quarter interception of his career.
› Ball State 38, No. 23 Buffalo 28
DETROIT — Drew Plitt threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score in the first half, and Ball State kept Buffalo star Jaret Patterson under control in the Mid-American Conference title game.
The Cardinals (6-1) won their first MAC championship since 1996, the year before the title game originated. They held Patterson to 47 yards on 18 carries after he’d been averaging over 200 a game. Patterson left with an apparent right leg injury in the third quarter, but he was able to return in the fourth. By then, Buffalo (5-1) was playing catch-up. The game turned when Ball State scored three touchdowns in the final 5:55 of the first half to take a 35-21 lead.
› UAB 22, Marshall 13
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Trea Shropshire had five receptions for 180 yards — including a 71-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter — and Spencer Brown had 30 carries for 149 yards rushing to help the University of Alabama at Birmingham beat Marshall for the Blazers’ second Conference USA championship in the last three years. Tyler Johnston III was 12-of-22 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns for UAB (6-3).
UAB became the first school to reach the championship game for the third straight season, all on the road. The Blazers, who resumed their football program in 2017 after it was cut after the 2014 season, won the title at Middle Tennessee in 2018 and lost at Florida Atlantic last year.
Grant Wells was 8-of-23 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns for the Thundering Herd (7-2).