ARLINGTON, Texas — The Big 12 championship came down to one play. And a few inches.
The Baylor Bears made it, holding on for a thrilling 21-16 upset victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium. It ended any hopes the Cowboys (11-2) had of making the College Football Playoff while sending the Bears (11-2) to a likely Sugar Bowl berth. As the saying goes, never say never, but Baylor is a longs hot for CFP consideration.
Oklahoma State faced a fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 30 seconds left and running back Dezmon Jackson headed to the edge and the pylon. But the ball never broke the goal-line plane as Baylor safety Jairon McVea chased Jackson down.
“Had a chance to win, obviously,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “Came up just a few inches short.”
That was the 147th of 148 plays run on the day. Baylor sealed the victory on a run by QB Blake Shapen on the final play, sparking a celebration on the Bears sidelines and among the Bears faithful in a crowd of 65,771.
The ninth-ranked Bears won their first Big 12 football championship since 2014. A Nov. 6 loss to TCU looms large in terms of a potential CFP berth.
No. 5 Oklahoma State, though, certainly had CFP dreams with a victory. Instead, the Cowboys will await their fate as a possible at-large team for a New Year’s Six berth. OSU missed star running back Jaylen Warren, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.
In the end, the Big 12 is expected to be shut out of the CFP for a second straight season. But credit Baylor for coming through with a remarkable defensive stand to win it.
Oklahoma State had a chance for the game-winning drive, taking over with just over three minutes left on its own 10, and marched down the field. The Cowboys had a first-and-goal from the 2 and it felt like they would punch it in. But they never did.
Jackson gained 1 yard on first down. He was stuffed for no gain on second down. OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders couldn’t connect with Jaden Bray on third down. And then Jackson came up just short on fourth down.
There’s no question that Baylor won this championship with its defense. The Bears didn’t score and had only 36 yards of total offense in the second half.
The Bears scored all of their points in the first half. They capitalized by turning two interceptions by Sanders into touchdowns, and then scored on a 13-yard pass from Shapen to Tyquan Thornton.
Shapen completed his first 17 passes of the day, finishing 23 of 28 for 280 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Sanders, meanwhile, was 31 of 46 for 257 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions.
For Baylor, the 2021 season will be one of the more remarkable stories in its history. This is a program that went 2-7 in Dave Aranda’s first season and were projected to finish eighth in the preseason media poll.
