Kyler Murray – Noteworthy
No. 6 Oklahoma has been scoffed at for handing points and yards to opponents like presents, and it wasn’t any different against No. 12 West Virginia. Yet a couple of defensive gems now have the Sooners playing for their fourth straight Big 12 championship. Oklahoma scored two defensive touchdowns to support another brilliant performance by Kyler Murray and the Sooners beat No. 12 West Virginia 59-56 Friday night to earn a spot in next week’s title game. Oklahoma (11-1, 8-1, No. 6 CFP) survived a wild and mostly defenseless affair that featured 1,372 yards of offense to earn a rematch Dec. 1 in Arlington, Texas, against No. 11 Texas, which beat Kansas earlier Friday. “We’ll certainly be excited to play those guys,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “But, more than anything, one huge goal we set out was we want to be the only team ever to win four of these in a row.”
Oklahoma also kept its College Football Playoff chances alive. The Sooners remain the only Big 12 team that West Virginia (8-3, 6-3, No. 13 CFP) hasn’t beaten since the Mountaineers joined the league in 2012. Oklahoma players sang West Virginia’s anthem, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on the way to the locker room after the game. “It was fun,” Murray said. “There’s no other way to describe it.” Murray finished 20 of 27 for 364 yards and three touchdown passes and converted a late fourth down to seal a matchup of Heisman Trophy hopefuls. West Virginia’s Will Grier threw for four touchdowns and a career-high 539 yards on 32 of 49 passing. But Grier lost two fumbles, both of which were returned for touchdowns. – AP College Football