Grades: Some Perfection as Oklahoma State Sealed Trip to Big 12 Championship

That 2-2 football team from September that was questioned if it’d even win another game will play for a Big 12 championship.

Oklahoma State came back from being down 18 to beat BYU 40-34 in double overtime Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. The win cemented the Cowboys’ spot in the Big 12 championship game against Texas at 11 a.m. Saturday in Arlington.

Without rambling about how in the world the Cowboys got to this point and the details of an insane comeback, here are grades from the Pokes’ win that sent them south.

OSU’s Big 12 Championship Game Chances: 100%

We’ve been monitoring these chances for a few weeks now, and I’ve been careful not to put the Bullet before the touchdown. But now it’s a lock.

The Cowboys will play for a Big 12 title for the second time in three years when they take on Texas at 11 a.m. Saturday in Arlington.

Another fun percentage to see: OU’s chances at ever playing for a Big 12 title over OSU again is 0%. Had OSU lost Saturday, it would have sent the Sooners to Arlington and set up a Red Rivalry Rematch. Instead, OU played its last ever Big 12 contest on Friday as it leaves for the SEC.

The Pokes also become the only team in the entire conference that has made more than one title game the past four years. That includes exiting powers OU and Texas, neither of which had played for a conference championship since 2020. The Longhorns haven’t since 2018.

Nardo’s Defense: A

The Cowboy defense technically didn’t give up any points with time still left on the clock in the second half.

Will Ferrin’s game-tying 48-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime was BYU’s only points in the second half. The Cougars scored 24 in the first half, but seven of those were thanks to a pick-6 and the PAT that followed, so the defense actually gave up 17 in the first 30 minutes. Then in overtime, after giving up a touchdown the first possession, the Cowboy defense iced the game with Trey Rucker’s game-sealing strip and fumble recovery.

The defense has given up big plays throughout the season, and did again against BYU. OSU gave up three passing plays of at least 25 yards– two of which came on the same drive. But the Cowboys gave up only one play of more than 15 yards in the second half– a 19-yard pass during BYU’s final possession of regulation.

Yes, Ollie Gordon scored five touchdowns, but the OSU defense was the foundation of the Cowboys’ comeback Saturday. And was last week, too. Bryan Nardo, especially in his first year at the Division-I level, has been outstanding with halftime adjustments, and his guys have been as clutch as can be. That was the same story against BYU.

Ollie Gordon: 36

An A+ just doesn’t do justice for what Ollie Gordon has accomplished, especially Saturday night. He scored five (!!!!!) touchdowns, which was all of OSU’s touchdowns, and rushed for 166 yards. He powered and cut his team back to his neck of the woods to play for a Big 12 title.

A perfect ACT score is a 36. A student that gets a 36 on the ACT is sure to be top of their class and get all of the scholarship money. Gordon should be crowned the best running back in the country as the Doak Walker Award winner after Saturday’s performance. He also deserves all the NIL money OSU can throw at its superstar.