Big 12 Championship Game Recap

Oklahoma held off a second half rally by Iowa State to win the Big 12 Championship 27 – 21. The Sooners avenged their early season loss to Iowa State and came back from a 1 – 2 start to the season to win the Big 12 Championship Game for the fourth consecutive year. Oklahoma’s offense started strong and the defense helped preserve the win by holding off the Iowa State rally.

Oklahoma is a different team now than they were earlier this season. The Sooners can still score in bunches but also have the ability to win games on the defensive side of the ball. That defense was critical in carrying them to a win against the Cyclones in what turned out to be a very evenly played game.

A Fast Start For Oklahoma

The game got off to a terrible start for Iowa State. On the second play of the game, safety Isheem young was ejected for targeting on a play that may have been targeting by the letter of the rule, but was hardly the most egregious hit on Saturday. The Sooners took advantage of the early momentum swing and marched down the field for a quick touchdown and an early 7 – 0 lead.

After an Iowa State punt the two teams traded missed field goals, before another big momentum swing for the Sooners. As the first quarter came to a close, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler scrambled out of the pocket to his right and threw the ball in the direction of Marvin Mims, the ball hit an Iowa State defender in the chest and popped in the air for Mims to make the catch at the Cyclones 45. The missed interception would prove costly as on the very next play, Rattler hit Mims with a perfect deep post pass for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 14 – 0.

The Oklahoma special teams made a couple big plays to help the Sooners add to the lead later in the second quarter. Oklahoma’s Reeves Mundschau booted a perfect punt to pin Iowa State at their two yard line. The Sooners’ defense forced a three and out and Oklahoma got the ball back at the Iowa State 40. Though they only gained three yards on the next three plays, Oklahoma’s Gabe Brkic made up for his earlier miss by drilling a 54 yard field goal that extended the lead to 17 – 0. The kicking game created the field position and then put points on the board, those points proved to be very important later in the game.

Iowa State finally got something on the ensuing possession. They drove the ball deep into Oklahoma territory, but again saw the momentum snatched away from them. With a first and ten at the Oklahoma 11, Brock Purdy attempted to throw a jump ball in the corner of the endzone to Charlie Kolar, but the ball was badly underthrown and Tre Norwood made the interception for Oklahoma. The turnover again swung the momentum of the game towards Oklahoma and left Iowa State empty handed after a quality drive.

Iowa State caught a break on their next possession. Oklahoma was able to sack Brock Purdy on the third and six but they grabbed the facemask, extending the drive for Iowa State. The Cyclones capitalized this time with a touchdown pass from Purdy to Kolar to cut the lead to 17 – 7. Oklahoma did not let the momentum last long, continuing their first half domination with a quick momentum swing on the ensuing kickoff.

Just when it looked like Iowa State was back in the game, Oklahoma’s Tre Brown returned the kickoff to the Iowa State 45 to give the Sooners one last chance to score before the half. Oklahoma needed just four plays to cover the 45 yards and score another touchdown to take a commanding 24 – 7 lead into the half.

The first half had plenty of momentum swings, but the pendulum stayed on the Oklahoma side longer than it did on the Cyclones side. Every time Iowa State made a big play or caught a break, Oklahoma got one back to keep the momentum of the game on their side. The Cyclones were behind by three scores, but they certainly weren’t done.

Iowa State Can’t Complete The Comeback

The Oklahoma defense played well and made big plays, but Iowa State’s offense also spent a lot of the first half getting in their own way. Things didn’t change right away coming out of the locker room, Brock Purdy threw another ill advised interception and the Cyclones could have been finished there, but the defense played well and kept the Sooners off the scoreboard, and kept Iowa State in the game.

Late in the third quarter Iowa State’s offense finally got things going. They went on a 9 play 90 yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a screen pass to Xavier Hutchinson, where the receiver broke tackles and rumbled through defenders for a big play. Breece Hall capped the drive with a lead into the endzone from the 1 yard line. At 24 – 14, Iowa State was back within striking distance.

Midway through the fourth quarter Purdy and the Cyclones pulled even closer. Iowa State began at their own 13 yard line and Brock Purdy had his best drive of the game. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 74 yards on the drive and led his team on a 12 play 87 yard drive that was capped by another Breece Hall touchdown run. Iowa State had the momentum and they were back in the game, trailing just 24 – 21 with 5:06 to play in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Tre Brown made a big special teams play for the Sooners again. Though it was not as long of a return as his first big one, Brown returned the kickoff 41 yards to set Oklahoma up at their own 44. The Sooners took advantage of the good field position and kicked a field goal that extended the lead to 27 – 21. Oklahoma was able to force Iowa State to take two timeouts on the drive as well, which proved crucial later.

Despite all of their struggles, Iowa State got the ball with 1:55 to play at their own 30 needing a touchdown and extra point to win the game. The Cyclones made their way to the Oklahoma 34 yard line despite to procedure penalties on the drive. Facing 3rd and 11 with 1:14 to play in the game, Iowa State appeared to be confused and was late lining up. The Cyclones had a timeout remaining but elected not to use it. The play was doomed from the start, Oklahoma got a free rusher up the middle and forced Purdy to scramble, with another defender bearing down on him, Purdy lobbed the ball down the field. Tre Brown came down with the football for Oklahoma and Purdy’s poor decision resulted in the game sealing interception for Oklahoma.

This was the most important play of the game for Iowa State. They had overcome a lot to be in a position to win this game, and were 34 yards out with over a minute to play. Time was not really an issue, but on third down making sure the entire offense was on the same page was critical. Matt Campbell should have burned his final timeout to make sure his team was on the same page. Once the ball is snapped and the play is broken, Brock Purdy is an experienced quarterback who should know better than to throw the ball up for grabs. He was out of the pocket and could have thrown the ball away and gotten the team organized for fourth down. Iowa State’s comeback came up short, and that was a microcosm for the game; the Cyclones played well at times, but kept stumbling when it looked like they were hitting their stride.

Rattler Outplays Purdy

The first time these two teams met this year, it was Spencer Rattler who made the key mistake down the stretch and cost his team a chance to make a comeback. Rattler has matured over the course of the season and has learned to limit the risks he takes with the football. Against Iowa State, he did not throw an interception. That meant he didn’t ruin a scoring chance for his team or set up Iowa State with a short field so they can score quickly. That zero in the interception column was more important than his touchdown passes, passing yards or any other stat.

Brock Purdy threw for 322 yards in the game, but he made critical mistakes that cost his team possessions. He threw three interceptions, one in the endzone in the first half, one on first down near mid field in the third quarter and the last to end the game when the Cyclones were driving. Purdy not only made critical mistakes he made mistakes that took away opportunities to score points. In a game of this magnitude the margins are too narrow for the star quarterback and leader of the team to make that many mistakes.

In the end, the biggest difference between the first game between Oklahoma and Iowa State and the Big 12 Championship Game was Spencer Rattler’s maturity and ability to avoid mistakes this time around, and Brock Purdy’s inability to match him in that department.

Impact going forward

Oklahoma’s grasp on the Big 12 Crown was as shaky as it has been recently. The Sooners came into the season, a young team with a new quarterback and several new players playing key roles. With two early season losses it looked like they might even miss the Big 12 Championship Game all together, but Lincoln Riley’s team got better as the season moved forward and rallied to reclaim their spot at the top of the Big 12. Now with a lot of those young players gaining experience and Rattler returning for another year behind center, Oklahoma will be tough to compete with in 2021.

Iowa State won the regular season Big 12 title for the first time in the program’s history and played in the Big 12 Championship game for the first time as well. Matt Campbell has elevated the program to never before seen heights. He will be a hot commodity this off season, but Campbell has turned down job offers to stay in Ames recently and could decide he is happy where he is. If Campbell is back, Iowa State should continue to compete for Big 12 titles in the future.

2020 Oklahoma Sooners Big 12 Champs Gear

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