ARLINGTON, Texas – There’s something about Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and the Big 12 championship.

Lamb was at his best once again at AT&T Stadium in helping the Sooners to a thrilling 30-23 overtime victory against No. 7 Baylor on Saturday afternoon.

The previous two games hadn’t been very Lamb-like, and obviously, he missed the team’s initial meeting in Waco three weeks ago. If you’re writing a script, this would be the time for Lamb.

It was. He got it started with a 71-yard beautiful catch-and-run and never looked back in earning the game’s Most Outstanding Player. Lamb finished with eight catches for 173 yards and showed why he is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.

“CeeDee has been a really, really good player for us for a long time,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “He’s a dynamic player, and we have prided ourselves on getting the ball to our best players as much as we can. And he did a great job with the opportunities he’s had.”

It was not an easy night for Jalen Hurts, who was sacked three times, but he always knew he had something in Lamb, who accounted for 173 of the team’s 287 receiving yards.

Hurts’ Big 12 appreciation

It’s the third conference championship for Hurts, who accumulated two at Alabama. But if you think this one was any easier than what he had to do with the Tide, he didn’t mince his words.

“There is a narrative out there that the SEC is a different animal, but the Big 12 is tough,” Hurts said. “Baylor, they’re a really good team, very physical team, and I got a lot of respect for them. We’re going to enjoy it, and you know, just enjoy it.”

Hurts completed 17 of 24 passes for 287 yards with a touchdown and also lost a fumble and threw an interception. It was also an afternoon where he simply couldn’t get going on the ground, with just 38 yards on 23 carries.

Not the best of outings, but he made just enough plays when OU needed them most, especially in the second half.

Brown saves the day

You knew in that very moment it was huge, and now you understand just how big. Baylor third-string quarterback Jacob Zeno found Chris Platt for a 78-yard gain with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter.

Platt was streaking down the sideline only for cornerback Tre Brown to catch him from behind and make the stop at the 17 yard line.

“Huge. Huge. I’ll say it: it shouldn’t happen,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “It’s a bad play defensively. But it’s everything we talk about as a defense. Find a way. Find a way. If that referee doesn’t throw two hands in the air, then we’ve got a shot—to get a takeaway, to hold ‘em to three. And we’ve done a better job over the course of the year of holding them to a three. It includes plays like that.

“It’s not exactly how you draw it up. Sometimes you gotta overcome coach Grinch. And in that case, he did. What a great visual for running your tail to the ball and getting the ball carrier down. It was a huge, huge play in the game.”

Baylor would kick the FG to tie it 23-23, but Brown was the only person that could have prevented Baylor from regaining the lead. He did just that.

War of attrition

They play a little defense in the Big 12 and hit some, too, huh? This was an absolute war of attrition with both teams losing key members throughout the game.

OU saw offensive tackle Adrian Ealy, nickelback Brendan Radley-Hiles and Kennedy Brooks all leave the game. Baylor had to play the majority of the game without starting quarterback Charlie Brewer. It wasn’t a 61-58 throwback to those track meet days.

It was physical.

“Mike Defee came over and said Coach can you look at Charlie,” Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. “And I had been talking to Charlie on the sidelines and he didn't seem out of it to me but I got a lot of respect for Mike Defee and when he said that I called over Matt and hey, they're saying on the field they were concerned about Charlie and so our training staff took him, got him to the doctor and they took him in for evaluation and then they ruled him out for the rest of the game.”

There are no updates at this time on the severity of the OU injured starters.

Special teams are special

The return units are still a work in progress, but kicker Gabe Brkic and punter Reeves Mundschau couldn’t have performed better.

Brkic remained perfect on the season, nailing three field goals (44, 24, 24). Mundschau had one of the most underrated plays with a punt downed at the 1 yard line in the final minute, so that Baylor didn’t attempt to drive for the win and elected to play for overtime.