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Texas Longhorns Make Statement To Big 12 And College Football In Conference Title Win

The Texas Longhorns won their first Big 12 Championship since the 2009 season.

For well over a decade the question of whether Texas could return to the glory it once experienced haunted the Longhorns. In fact, the question went from a serious inquiry to somewhat of a meme used against the Longhorns.

On Saturday, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns came one step closer to being "back" with a victory in the Big 12 Championship over Oklahoma State. The game was only close when it was 0-0, as the Longhorns quickly put together a huge first-half lead and never looked back.

Led by Quinn Ewers' record-breaking performance that saw him throw four touchdowns and 452 yards, Texas went on to win by a score of 49-21. While winning their first Big 12 title since 2009 is a huge accomplishment, how they did so should seize the attention of not only the Big 12, whose commissioner actively rooted against them before the season, but also the College Football Playoff committee.

Texas's Kitan Crawford (21) celebrates an interception with Texas's Malik Muhammad (5) in the first half of the Big 12 Football Championship game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the Texas Longhorns at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.

Kitan Crawford celebrates after making a diving interception 

The Longhorns are projected to be on the outside looking in of the College Football Playoff, but with their offense and defense both peaking at the right time they have shown just how dominant they can be. They were able to address their biggest flaw, which is letting teams back into games, and they played as complete a game as one could. In reality, Texas needs one of Georgia, Michigan, or Florida State to lose on Saturday to give them a chance, but if the committee truly was just looking to include the four best teams; Texas would be one of those four. 

Instead, they are sitting and waiting like the rest of college football to see how things shake out on Championship Saturday.