2004 Big 12 Championship Game
The 2004 Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship Game was played on December 4, 2004 in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The game determined the 2004 football champions of the Big 12 Conference. The #2 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma Sooners] defeated the Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado Buffaloes] 42-3.
The teams
The Oklahoma Sooners came into the game with a perfect 11–0 record and #2 in the nation. They started the season with four home games, defeating Bowling Green Falcons football team|Bowling Green], Houston Cougars football team|Houston], Oregon Ducks football team|Oregon], and 2004 [Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech]. The Sooners then traveled to Dallas for the Red River Shootout against #5 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas], which they won 12-0. Oklahoma then beat 2004 [Kansas State Wildcats football team|Kansas State] on the road; then returned home for their homecoming game against Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas]. Their next two games were both road games against ranked conference opponents; they beat #20 2004 [Oklahoma State Cowboys football team|Oklahoma State] and #22 2004 [Texas A&M Aggies football team|Texas A&M]. They finished the season with wins at home against Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska] and at Baylor Bears football team|Baylor].The Colorado Buffaloes came into the game with a 7–4 record; they were co-champions of the North Division and got into the championship game via head-to-head result. The Buffaloes started the season with three wins: 2004 [Colorado State Rams football team|Colorado State], at 2004 [Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State] and back home against North Texas. They lost the next two games against Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri] and #21 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team|Oklahoma State]. They beat 2004 [Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State] by 5, which would ultimately be their ticket into the Big 12 Championship Game. They dropped their next two matchups, losing to #17 Texas A&M and #8 Texas. They finished the regular season with three wins, however: at Kansas, at home against Kansas State Wildcats football team|Kansas State], and at Nebraska.
Game summary
Oklahoma's success was fueled by quarterback Jason White, who exceeded 250 yards passing. The Sooners' offense ran over Colorado's defense, finishing the game with 498 total yards and 26 first downs. They controlled the ball for just over 24 minutes, as opposed to the Buffaloes' 12 minutes of possession.The Sooners' defense showed up as well; Colorado finished the game 0-12 on third down conversions and 0-1 on fourth down conversions.