Sooners state case in Big 12 title game

Clemson claims 4th straight ACC crown

Kyler Murray had another Heisman Trophy-worthy performance, Oklahoma's much-maligned defense made some big key plays and the fifth-ranked Sooners won yet another conference title.

Now the 12-time Big 12 champions wait to find out if all that is good enough to get back into the College Football Playoff.

“There's no doubt we have a playoff-worthy team, but I understand that there's other factors there too that we can't control,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “We've done all we can.”

Murray was 25-for-34 passing for 379 yards and three touchdowns as the Sooners beat No. 9 Texas, 39-27, in the Big 12 championship game Saturday in Arlington, Texas, avenging their only loss and making their case for their third playoff appearance in four years.

Two of Murray's TD throws were to Grant Calcaterra, who had an impressive one-handed grab for an 18-yard score on a third-and-10 play with two minutes left.

“That catch will live on in Oklahoma history forever,” Riley said.

The Sooners (12-1, No. 5 CFP) won their seventh consecutive game — and became the first Power Five team to win four outright conference titles in a row since Florida in the SEC in the mid-1990s.

Sam Ehlinger was 23-of-36 passing for 349 yards with two touchdowns and also ran for two scores for Texas (9-4). But his final pass was picked off by Tre Norwood at the 1 in the final minute, and there was also a critical safety.

Two plays after Oklahoma's only turnover, when receiver CeeDee Lamb fumbled inside the 10 after a 54-yard catch-and-run with nine minutes left, the Sooners got points anyway. Cornerback Tre Brown blitzed and sacked Ehlinger in the end zone for a safety that made it 32-27.

NO. 2 CLEMSON 42, PITTSBURGH 10: Travis Etienne ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Trevor Lawrence threw two short scoring passes to Tee Higgins and the Tigers beat the Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.,to become the first team to win four straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships.

Clemson (13-0, CFP No. 2) is expected to face third-ranked Notre Dame, which was idle Saturday, in the College Football Playoffs on Dec. 29.

The Tigers ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry on a dreary, rain-soaked night in which Lawrence was limited to 118 passing yards.

The Tigers joined the Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators (1993-96) as the only Power Five teams to win four straight conference titles.