#12 Baylor Bears (9-0, 6-0) 29, TCU Horned Frogs (4-5, 2-4) 23

Baylor’s offense wasn’t good enough in regulation. It was spectacular in overtime. The offensive line couldn’t block much, and they had horrendous false starts. But Terrel Bernard has stepped up for Clay Johnston—the Bear had an interception and led the team in tackles. The three man defensive line got pressure, and the secondary held up all game. Blake Lynch had a big sack to keep Baylor in the game.

There are plenty of reasons Baylor should have lost this game. But Baylor has played nine times and won every game. They’ll face their biggest task of the season against Oklahoma. The Bears will likely be underdogs. But the Bears had never won in Ames, Stillwater, Manhattan or Fort Worth under Rhule. They’ve now done all those things.

Gary Patterson’s two favorite quotes are “win by one” and “you have to make one more play than the other guy.”

On Saturday, his team had several opportunities to do both, but couldn’t close the deal in losing to Baylor for the first time since the game that shall not be named.

The TCU defense put together one of their best performances of the last several years in shutting out the Bears through the first 30 minutes of play, only to see the offense go dormant in the second.

#9 Oklahoma Sooners (8-1, 5-1) 42, Iowa St. Cyclones (5-4, 3-3) 41

From the jump, this one looked like it could be another blowout ala the kind Oklahoma has grown accustomed to doing for most of the 2019 season, but after a 28-7 lead was built in the second quarter, Matt Campbell and his tough Iowa State squad kept their eyes on the prize while the Sooners slowly fell apart at the seams.

On a few different drives in the first half, Alex Grinch’s defense looked totally lost and were caught way out of position, allowing Iowa State to convert huge chunk plays around the edge and over the middle. In the second half, that just became the norm, and to make matters worse, Lincoln Riley’s offense stalled out down the stretch, scoring just a single touchdown in the game’s final 30 minutes.

Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar would score from 13 yards out, but the two point conversion wasn’t to be and the Cyclones would lose 41-42. Parnell Motley was the savior of the ninth ranked Sooners Saturday night when he intercepted Brock Purdy’s two point conversion with 24 seconds left.

Texas Longhorns (6-3, 4-2) 27, #16 Kansas State Wildcats (6-3, 3-3) 24

The feeling must be getting familiar now for Texas Longhorns sophomore kicker Cameron Dicker — for the third time in his short collegiate career, he was lined up for the game-winning field goal, this time at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against the No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats with three seconds on the clock.

And just as he’s done in each instance, he calmly knocked through the kick from 26 yards away to push Texas past Kansas State for a 27-24 victory that was much needed after weeks of turbulence in Austin following two defeats in three games and a narrow victory over Kansas. “I think it’s about the same for me,” Dicker said when asked if this one felt different. “I’m just happy to go out there and kick it through so everybody can celebrate.”

After a first quarter which made it look like Kansas State was going to roll, followed by two quarters of Texas dominating the game to take the lead, the Wildcats rallied back. But in the end, Dicker the Kicker‘s 26-yard field goal with no time left on the clock allowed the Longhorns (6-3, 4-2) to escape with a 27-24 victory at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.

The key moment, perhaps, was a 3rd-and-14 at midfield on the final Texas drive. K-State (6-3, 3-3) gave an aggressive look at the line, but instead of backing off as they’d done most of the game, Scottie Hazleton pulled the trigger and sent the house. Texas was prepared, and kept the pressure off Sam Ehlinger long enough to complete an 18-yard pass to Devin Duvernay.

Big 12 Championship Game Scenarios

Baylor - Win out and they are in. They control their fate.

Oklahoma - Win out and they are in.

Texas - They need help. They get the chance if OU beats Baylor, then Texas can beat Baylor the next week.

STANDINGS