The 2023 Big 12 Championship Game was a college football game played on December 2, 2023, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was the 22nd edition of the Big 12 Championship Game, and determined the champion of the Big 12 Conference for the 2023 season. The game began at 11:12 a.m. CST and aired on ABC, garnering an average viewership of 7.89 million people. The game featured the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, respectively ranked first and second in the conference standings heading into the game. Texas entered the game seeking its fourth Big 12 conference title, while Oklahoma State entered seeking its second.
The higher-ranked Longhorns were heavy favorites to win the game, with spreads favoring Texas by at least two touchdowns. Texas quickly accumulated a large lead over Oklahoma State in the first half, leading 21–7 at the end of the first quarter and 35–14 at the end of the second quarter. The 49 points scored by the two teams in the first half were the most in a single half of any Big 12 title game. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw four touchdown passes in the half, tying the record for the most touchdown passes thrown in a Big 12 championship game. The second half featured less scoring and the Longhorns ultimately won 49–21. Ewers's 452 passing yards set a Big 12 title game record; he was named Most Outstanding Player of the match. Following the game, Texas took the 3 spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, earning a playoff berth for the first time in the school's history. Oklahoma State fell to 20 and accepted an invitation to the 2023 Texas Bowl.
Overview
The Big 12 Championship Game matches the top two teams in the Big 12 Conferenceas determined by in-conference winning percentage and tiebreaker rules if necessaryto designate the conference's champion. The game is held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as part of a contract between the conference and the stadium extending through 2030. AT&T Stadium was the site of the Big 12 Championship Game in 2009 and 2010 and has hosted the game since the reinstatement of the championship game in 2017.
The 2023 Big 12 Championship Game featured the Texas Longhorns, with an 8–1 conference record, representing the 1 seed, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, with a 7–2 conference record, representing the 2 seed. Accordingly, Texas was designated as the home team and Oklahoma State the away team. This was the seventh Big 12 title game appearance for Texas and their first since 2018. They were 3–3 overall in previous appearances. This was the second Big 12 title game appearance for Oklahoma State, with their only previous one being in 2021. They were 0–1 in previous appearances. Sportsbooks generally opened with two-touchdown spreads favoring Texas, marking one of the larger spreads among conference championship games in 2023; Texas remained roughly 15-point favorites headed into the game. Media outlets viewed the title matchup as consequential for the selection of Texas and Oklahoma State in bowl games and potentially influential for a possible College Football Playoff (CFP) bid for Texas, contingent on the outcome of other conference championship games. Tickets for seating for the game were sold out by November 29.
On November 16, 2023, the Big 12 began a collaboration with professional wrestling promotion, WWE, which introduced custom-made championship title belt for the 2023 Big 12 Football Championship Most Outstanding Player, presented on-field at the conclusion of the game by The Undertaker. Additionally, a co-branded logo promoting both the Big 12 and WWE was featured throughout the venue and on the field.
Team selection The Big 12 Conference approved a new tiebreaking procedure for the 2023 season in August 2023 following the addition of new member schools. Towards the end of the conference season, a multi-way tie in conference records between the Iowa State Cyclones, Kansas State Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners, and Oklahoma State Cowboys, all with two conference losses, prompted the conference to clarify ambiguous wording in its tiebreaking rules. While use of head-to-head results to resolve ties appeared to only apply if all tied teams played each other, the conference issued a clarification on November 15 indicating that not all tied teams needed to be common opponents for head-to-head results to apply. Although the original wording appeared to favor a potential championship game berth for Kansas State, the clarification gave Oklahoma State an edge given their wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma.
On November 19, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Texas had clinched a spot in the championship following a win against Iowa State, but a Big 12 official clarified that Texas had not secured a berth in the game. The conference later outlined some resulting championship game matchups based on the outcomes of conference games in the final week of the regular season, with multiple outcomes resulting in as many as four teams tied for spots in the game. Texas clinched the 1 seed following their win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 24. The result also eliminated Kansas State from championship game contention; Kansas State lost at home to Iowa State anyway. Oklahoma State clinched the 2 seed following their win against the BYU Cougars on November 25.
Texas
The Texas Longhorns finished their 2022 season with an 8–5 record, losing their final matchup against the Washington Huskies in the 2022 Alamo Bowl. Early in 2023, Texas reached an agreement with the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference in 2024, making 2023 their final season in the Big 12. The Longhorns were considered a possible playoff contender and heavy favorites for the Big 12 conference title entering the 2023 season, ranking first in the Big 12 preseason media poll for the first time since 2009 despite the departure of two players in the 2023 NFL draft accounting for 87 percent of Texas's 2022 rushing yardage. Texas began the season ranked 11 in the preseason AP Poll and 12 in the preseason Coaches Poll. After winning their opening contest against Rice, the Longhorns defeated then- 3 Alabama 34–24 at Bryant–Denny Stadium in a game described as a signature win for both the program and head coach Steve Sarkisian by media outlets. Texas rose to 4 in the AP Poll following the win and ultimately attained the 3 spot in the AP Poll and the 4 spot in the Coaches Poll after consecutive victories against Wyoming, Baylor, and then- 24 Kansas to close out-of-conference play and open conference play. The Longhorns's placement in either poll was their highest since 2009. The Longhorns also began a season with five consecutive wins for the first time since 2009.
Texas was defeated by Oklahoma 34–30 in the Red River Rivalry on October 7. The loss knocked Texas out of their position atop the Big 12 conference standings and resulted in the Longhorns dropping to 9 in the AP Poll and 11 in the Coaches Poll. Texas narrowly beat Houston in a game that saw starting quarterback Quinn Ewers suffer a shoulder injury. Maalik Murphy assumed the quarterback role in Ewers's relief, starting at quarterback in a win against BYU and in a close overtime victory against then- 23 Kansas State. The season's first CFP ranking placed the Longhorns at 7. With Oklahoma losing to Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma entered November tied for first in the conference standings. Ewers returned from injury to lead the Longhorns to a close 29–26 victory at TCU. However, running back Jonathon Brooks sustained a season-ending injury during the game; Brooks was Texas's leading rusher and at the time the sixth leading rusher in the FBS. An Oklahoma State loss to UCF and an earlier Oklahoma loss to Oklahoma State led to Texas leading the conference standings after the win against TCU. Texas subsequently won against Iowa State and clinched a spot in the conference title game following their 57–7 defeat of Texas Tech on November 24. Texas entered the championship game ranked 7 in both the AP and Coaches polls. The Longhorns also entered the game as the 7 team in the CFP ranking, having held that position each week since the release of the first CFP ranking in 2023. The Texas defense ranked first across the FBS in preventing third down conversions and scores from within the red zone. Eight Longhorns players were named to the all-Big 12 first team and three were named to the all-Big 12 second team; four players earned all-conference distinctions, including T'Vondre Sweat as Defensive Player of the Year.
Oklahoma State
The Oklahoma State Cowboys finished their 2022 season with a 7–6 record. Both the 2022 and 2023 seasons were preceded by numerous players transferring out of the program, casting doubt on the team's success. The Cowboys were ranked seventh in the Big 12 preseason media poll and were unranked in both the preseason AP and Coaches top-25 polls. The Cowboys received 12 votes in the preseason Coaches Poll. Oklahoma State's offensive line and wide receiver personnel suffered numerous injuries in the first three games of the season. Three different quarterbacks took snaps during those games. Oklahoma State won their first two out-of-conference games against Central Arkansas and Arizona State. However, the Cowboys lost 7–33 in an upset to South Alabama the following week. The game marked the Cowboys's first non-conference loss since 2016 and only the third non-conference loss under the tenure of head coach Mike Gundy. The blowout loss was characterized by Oklahoma State's inability to run the ball or defend against the run.
Following the surprising loss, Gundy instated a run-first pistol offense in contrast to the run-pass option offense utilized by Gundy in previous years. Alan Bowman and Ollie Gordon II were selected as the Cowboys's starting quarterback and running back, respectively. Although Oklahoma State lost 27–34 to Iowa State to open Big 12 Conference play, the Cowboys saw improved offensive production with 409 yards of total offense and nearly overcame a 14-point deficit in the game's final three minutes. Gordon had a breakout game against the Cyclones, rushing for 121 yards. The Cowboys followed the loss to the Cyclones with five consecutive wins against Big 12 opponents. Four of Oklahoma State's wins in the streak were as underdogs, including a 39–32 win against then- 23 Kansas and a 27–24 win against then- 9 Oklahoma in the final scheduled edition of the Bedlam Series. The Cowboys were ranked 22 in the season's inaugural CFP ranking entering the rivalry game against the Sooners and climbed to 15 following the upset victory.
Oklahoma State's winning streak ended with a 3–45 loss to the UCF Knights in a game that included four turnovers, including three in the first half. The Cowboys defeated the Houston Cougars 43–30 the following week after trailing 9–23 in the second quarter. Oklahoma State clinched a spot in the conference championship game following their double-overtime defeat of BYU on November 25. They last won the Big 12 in 2011, and their last appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game was in 2021. Oklahoma State entered the championship game ranked 19 in both the AP and Coaches polls and 18 in the CFP ranking. Gordon led the FBS with 1,580 rushing yards, having rushed for more than 100 yards in all but one Big 12 conference game. Cowboys linebacker Nickolas Martin led the Big 12 in tackles with 120. Two Cowboys players were named to the all-Big 12 first team and three were named to the all-Big 12 second team; Gordon II was awarded Offensive Player of the Year and Gundy was named Coach of the Year.
Game summary The 22nd edition of the Big 12 Championship Game was held on December 2, 2023, and featured 84,523 people in attendance, a Big 12 title game record. The game was broadcast on ABC, drawing an average of 7.89 million television viewers.
First half