Texas bids farewell to Big 12 with title win vs. OSU

ARLINGTON, Texas — Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns are leaving the Big 12 with bookend championships and still hoping for a chance at the College Football Playoff. As for their fans, it was good riddance to the commissioner they felt was rooting against them.

Longhorns fans heartily booed and chanted “SE-C!, S-E-C!” while Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark addressed the crowd before presenting the championship trophy to their team. Ewers set a career high by throwing for 452 yards with four touchdowns, one of those to 362-pound defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, as seventh-ranked Texas won 49-21 over No. 19 Oklahoma State on Saturday.

It was the fourth Big 12 title for the Longhorns (12-1, No. 7 CFP), and their first since 2009. They also won the championship game in the league’s inaugural 1996 season and in 2005 when they were last national champs.

At one point during the postgame presentation, Sarkisian waved both of his arms trying to quiet the jeers toward Yormark, who before the season when addressing a crowd of Texas Tech supporters publicly rooted against the Longhorns, who are going with Oklahoma to the SEC next season. Keilan Robinson tiptoed the sideline on a 57-yard run for the first of his two touchdowns in the second half as Texas, the only team that has beaten SEC champion Alabama this season.

Behind national rushing leader Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State (9-4, No. 18 CFP) had won seven of eight games to get to its second Big 12 title game in three years. But Texas scored on its first four possessions, going ahead 28-7 on true freshman CJ Baxter’s 10-yard run early in the second quarter.

Cowboys quarterback Alan Bowman, who previously played at Texas Tech and Michigan, was 22-of-38 passing for 250 yards with two of his three touchdowns going to Rashod Owens. Gordon came in averaging 137.1 yards per game overall — and 163 in conference games. The sophomore finished with only 34 yards on 13 carries.