Dean's List: What Will it Take For The Cowboys To Beat Texas For The Big 12 Title?

It's a tough assignment for the Oklahoma State Cowboys as they take on Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game.

The bookmakers are pushing the Longhorns point spread to -15, which means the Cowboys are the underdog going in.

How Can The Cowboys Score The Upset?

The best chance for what we would consider a big upset is for OSU to maximize Ollie Gordon II & Brennan Presley. They also have to avoid sitting OSU’s immobile quarterback Alan Bowman in a standard pocket against the faster and more talented Texas defense.

On the other side, Oklahoma State's defense must consistently pressure UT quarterback Quinn Ewers and make him uncomfortable without excessively exposing the backend.

They will need to win on special teams and turnovers and can pick up some bonus points if they can shut down Coach Steve Sarkisian's inevitable gadget plays. A big stop like that could give the Pokes a psychological edge.

Be Aggressive, But Not Reckless

Finally, the Cowboys need to throw caution to the wind. Yes, shorten the game but don’t concern themselves (if they lose) about whether the final score is by six or 26. They’ve earned their ticket to be in the Championship Game.

Be aggressive without being reckless. Be thoughtfully aggressive. I don’t see this as being a big problem because this isn’t Coach Gundy’s first rodeo.

If the Cowboys can get after QB from the jump and keep it going for four hours, an upset is not impossible. If not, "Sark’s" got the selection committee, winning big, and style points on top of mind.

Leaving in its league finale, the University of Texas is hoping to win only its fourth Big 12 Title in its 28 seasons of membership. And that fact my friends is more unbelievable than an Alex Grinch defense shutting out high-octane Steve Spurrier offense.