But the way to victory Saturday was as scripted and repetitive as the Sooners possibly could make it.

Oklahoma won the Big 12 Conference football championship game Saturday, beating Nebraska, 21-7, in front of 80,031 fans at Arrowhead Stadium. OU did it by constantly doing what was working – out-route completions on offense and constant heat on NU quarterback Zac Taylor on defense.

Both worked marvelously.

Oklahoma thrived on a clutch passing attack which benefited tremendously by great catches on hard-to-grab throws. Paul Thompson threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, many of the completions coming near the sidelines, where OU apparently saw an opening on film they exploited to death.

“We went in ready to throw the ball a good amount,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “We felt the way they would try to defend us, it would be there.”

Defensively, the Sooners pushed around NU’s offensive line and made Taylor antsy the entire night. Taylor was only sacked three times, but the heat – coupled with Oklahoma’s lock-down coverage – forced several advantageous plays for OU. Coming in with four interceptions on the season, Taylor threw three picks Saturday.

Taylor’s last two interceptions – both second-half picks in the red zone – killed any chance Nebraska had at coming back. But the Huskers’ death began before both of them, on a third-down play in the third quarter when Oklahoma was pinned inside its own one-yard line.

Instead of a safety or short gain that would force an OU punt out of its own end zone, Thompson completed a short pass to Jermaine Greshman that ended up as a 35-yard gain for the first down. Oklahoma eventually scored on a Malcolm Kelly three-yard touchdown catch, capping a back-breaking 99-yard drive in the third quarter.

“The drive of the year, without question.” Stoops said. “It was huge.”

Added Nebraska coach Bill Callahan: “We let them out of the hole. We were pretty aggressive with our front rush, and they hit us with a play-action pass.”

Oklahoma went up 21-7 at that point. And OU’s aggressiveness on defense made sure the Huskers didn’t get any closer.

“They do a good job of getting pressure and disguising their coverages,” Taylor said. “You’ve got to hand it to them. They did a good job.”

Kelly also scored on a 66-yard catch and had 10 catches for 142 yards Saturday. The only touchdown Kelly didn’t score was the first of the night – just 48 seconds into the game.

Nebraska’s first play from scrimmage was a completion to Maurice Purify, who fumbled the ball as he was stretching for an extra yard near the sideline. The Sooners recovered and had goal-to-go from the two. Allen Patrick ran it in on the next play.

The Sooners never trailed after that, and the 60-minute effort they showed at Arrowhead probably will be rewarded with an invitation today to the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., where they likely will play Boise State.

Nebraska will head to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Both games are on Jan. 1.

It’s quite a final destination for the Sooners, plagued with deflating setbacks the entire season. OU played without injured all-everything running back Adrian Peterson on Saturday and lost quarterback Rhett Bomar in the preseason due to NCAA violations. In addition, a loss to Oregon on Sept. 16 was fueled by an officiating error.

“We had plenty of excuses if we chose to grab onto them,” Stoops said. “Nobody ever did.”

If the Fiesta Bowl indeed calls, Oklahoma’s fifth-year seniors will finish their career by playing in every BCS bowl game. The Sooners played in the Rose Bowl in 2002, the Sugar Bowl in 2003 and the Orange Bowl in 2004.

Past OU teams have made it to January with dominance. This squad, considering all that it went through, made it with scrappiness.

“It’s just been a crazy year,” Thompson said. “The dedication and commitment these players have had is something I’ve never seen before.”