On 3rd-and-10 from the Texas 18-yard-line, Kyler Murray took the shotgun snap and targeted tight Grant Calcaterra down the near sideline. The pass was perfect, but Calcaterra was covered, and as the 6-foot-4, 221-pounder's right arm extended for the ball, we could see another touchdown-less red-zone drive.
Instead, Calcaterra hauled in a one-handed touchdown to extend Oklahoma's lead to 12 points with two minutes remaining. The connection all but guaranteed a fourth straight Big 12 Championship (and potentially College Football Playoff berth), but without it, the one weakness of a record-setting offense nearly cost them.
Entering the game, Oklahoma's offense ranked…deep breath…first nationally in scoring average, yards per game, yards per play, yards per attempt, yards per carry and point per plays. They ranked second in passing efficiency, fourth in third-down conversions and total first down, fifth in completion percentage, sixth in yards per completion and eighth in rushing yards per game. They were also the first-ever FBS team to have 500 yards of total offense in nine separate regular-season games and ranked in the top five nationally in scoring average in the first, second, third and fourth quarters.
They were not, however, dominant in the red zone. They were darn good — 39 touchdowns on 57 attempts — but their 68.4-percent touchdown conversion rate ranked 20th in the FBS.
Yes, I'm splitting hairs, but this season Oklahoma has repeatedly set fire to those hairs.
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On their opening drive of the Big 12 Championship, Oklahoma's nine-play, 72-yard drive stalled, after 1st-and-goal at the 3-yard-line. Field goal. Their second drive — 13 plays, 55 yards — ended at the 10. Another field goal.
With 18 seconds remaining in the first half, Murray found Calcaterra for a six-yard touchdown on 1st-and-goal. Despite scoring one touchdown on three red-zone attempts, Oklahoma led, 20-14.
They converted inside the 20 on the opening possession of the second half, settled for a 31-yard field goal two drives later and, with Calcaterra's 18-yard touchdown in the final minutes, finished the game with a red-zone touchdown.
The Sooners scored 39 points on 508 yards of offense, converted nine of 14 third-down attempts (and their lone fourth-down attempt) and averaged 11.1 yards per attempt and 15.2 per completion. They did plenty to win a fourth straight Big 12 Championship.
They also played with fire in the red zone — again — and emerged unscathed — again.
