big 12 championship history
big 12 championship history
It’s not an accident that Big 12 Championship Game tickets are once again one of the hottest commodities throughout the college football landscape. The reason is simple: The road to the BCS National Championship Game goes through the Big 12 Conference. This year’s Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game heads south to Houston’s dazzling Reliant Stadium, which will play host to the 10th edition of the title game on December 3. As usual, the game featuring the Big 12 champions from the North and South Divisions will have a major impact on who plays for the right to hold up that sparkling crystal football as the BCS National Championship. Will Texas’ Heisman Trophy candidate Vince Young finally get the Longhorns over the hump? If so, a return trip to the Rose Bowl, site of the BCS title game, could be in the cards for the ’Horns. Or will a team from the Big 12 North shock the nation by pulling of an upset for the ages? The answers can be had by reserving your 2005 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game tickets today.
Reliant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Houston Texans, gets its second shot at hosting the Big 12 Championship Game. In 2002, more than 68,000 rabid fans bought Big 12 Championship Game tickets to catch a live look at Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma Sooners battling the defending Big 12 champion Colorado Buffalos. The Sooners had suffered a disappointing loss to rival Oklahoma State the week before, with the upset ending the Sooners’ national title hopes. Stoops and company entered the game with a chip on their shoulders. But the Buffalos had stormed through the Big 12 North and boasted one of the nation’s top rushing attacks, led by future NFL star Chris Brown. The showdown was on.
Some of the hype surrounding the 2002 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game was deflated after the Sooners’ loss. An injury to Brown kept the Colorado star out of the game. But while the Buffalo’s ground game struggled, Oklahoma’s running attack was clicking on all cylinders, thanks to the Sooners’ senior tailback, Quentin Griffin. At 5-foot-8, the diminutive Griffin hid behind Oklahoma’s mammoth offensive line, and then darted around, through and over the Buffalo defense. Griffin rushed for a Big 12 Championship Game record 188 yards and scored two touchdowns, including a 34-yard burst on a draw play to put the Sooners comfortably ahead 23-7 late in the third period. Griffin would tack on another touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure Oklahoma’s 29-7 victory. It would be the ninth consecutive game that Griffin would eclipse the 100-yard mark.
The 2005 Dr. Big 12 Championship Game is back at Houston’s Reliant Stadium for the second time. In its 10th season, the Big 12 Championship Game has annually been a steppingstone to the BCS National Championship Game. This season will be no different, as the Big 12 North and South Division champs clash for the right to call themselves conference champs. Is this the year the Texas Longhorns claim the title? Or will the Colorado Buffalos send a shockwave through the college football nation by pulling off a gigantic upset? Find out by reserving your Big 12 Championship Game tickets today.
