Texas got off to a hot start and didn’t look back on Saturday in Arlington. The No. 7 Longhorns made their final argument for a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 49-21 thumping of No. 18 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

With the victory, Texas is now 12-1 on the season with a resume that includes a conference championship and wins over Alabama, Kansas and Kansas State.

Here are 3 takeaways from the blowout at Jerry World:

Fast and furious

Texas left no doubt on Saturday, getting off to a fast and furious start in the Big 12 Championship Game. Steve Sarkisian clearly made sure his team was locked in to avoid letting Oklahoma State ever feel like it could pull off the massive upset as 14.5-point underdogs.

The 1st quarter wasn’t even halfway done by the time Texas had jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Early in the 2nd quarter, it was 28-7 Longhorns. Like most movies or concerts, things slowed down a bit in the middle, but it was back to all gas, no brakes by the start of the 4th quarter as the Horns widened the lead to 49-14.

Early start for Ewers’ 2024 Heisman campaign?

The 2023 Heisman Trophy looks to be going to Jayden Daniels. Ewers is eligible to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, but ESPN insider Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning that there are indications Ewers will be back in Austin and wait 1 more year to go pro.

If Ewers is back in Austin, it’s hard not to see him as an early Heisman Trophy frontrunner. With a national audience watching, the Texas QB threw for 4 touchdowns and over 450 yards before his early exit in the 4th quarter.

If Ewers were declaring for the draft, this would be hard to top as his collegiate swan song. If Ewers is coming back, as Thamel’s report suggests, the Texas QB is building momentum for a special final season in Austin.

Texas did all it could do. Now it’s up to the committee.

It wasn’t up to Texas that the Longhorns drew a 3-loss team ranked No. 18 for the final showing before the College Football Playoff field of 4 is set. The Longhorns did what they could, turning in a dominating performance in a conference championship game on a neutral field against a ranked team.

Is it enough to make the CFP? That’s what everyone will be asking from now until the field of 4 is set on Sunday. One of the 4 spots is locked up as No. 3 Washington is now a 13-0 Pac-12 champion, defeating No. 5 Oregon on Friday. The Horns will be scoreboard-watching the rest of Saturday.

Georgia and Michigan are clearly win-and-in teams, but there’s already some media debate about whether a 1-loss Texas team could jump an undefeated Florida State squad that lost star QB Jordan Travis. And there is also plenty of lobbying that Alabama deserves a spot if it defeats Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, despite the Week 2 loss to Texas.