STILLWATER — Oklahoma got an early Christmas gift when the door to the Big 12 championship game was unlocked Friday. Texas A&M;’s upset victory over Texas put the conference’s South Division up for grabs.

It didn’t remain in limbo very long.

The 13th-ranked Sooners held off a second-half charge from Oklahoma State to claim the 101st edition of Bedlam, 27-21, and secure a berth in next Saturday’s Big 12 championship game.

“We have fought all year,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “Now we have an opportunity to go.”

The fight lasted until the final second at Boone Pickens Stadium.

OSU had the ball at the Sooner 25 for the game’s final play. But Zac Robinson’s pass was tipped by OU cornerback Lendy Holmes and D’Juan Woods couldn’t haul in the ball.

“Tight game like that you have to make a play,” Holmes said.

The Sooners made them to improve to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big 12. The victory was their seventh straight and once again came thanks to strong defense and another gritty afternoon on the ground.

It was the same pattern the Sooners have followed through most of their seven-game winning streak. They have run the ball with stubborn determination and defended in the same manner.

It was enough to turn back the Cowboys in the third straight Bedlam meeting in Stillwater settled by 10 points or less.

The Cowboys, who finished the regular season 6-6 and 3-5, cut the gap to 27-21 when Woods caught a 2-yard, fourth-down pass from Bobby Reid.

The touchdown made for frantic final minutes.

“That was about as fun a game as I have ever been involved in as a player or coach,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.

Momentum swung back and forth all afternoon.

OU, which led by 13 early in the fourth quarter, tried to run the clock out the entire second half. By the fourth quarter, the Sooners had ground to a halt.

OU had three possessions in the fourth quarter and gained 1 yard.

“We knew it was going to come down to a couple stops in the fourth quarter,” OU defensive end Larry Birdine said. “We were able to be successful. Anytime there’s a big game, the defense has to step up. We were able to do that.”

The Cowboys alternated Reid and Robinson at quarterback. Reid, the starter, was 8-for-12 for 82 yards, but appeared to injure his left shoulder late in the third quarter. Robinson threw for 149.

Gundy said the plan was to use both all along.

“That is just a game plan that we had going in,” he said. “Mixing up personnel and trying to offset what they do on defense.”

OSU threw for 243 yards with Woods hauling in six catches for 95 yards. Dantrell Savage, Keith Totson and Reid combined for 102 yards on the ground.

But none were able to take control of the game.

OU running back Allen Patrick was.

Playing his first game since suffering an ankle injury Nov. 4 at Texas A&M;, the junior rushed for 163 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown sprint early in the third quarter.

“Allen was tough again and it was good to get him back and see him play the way he did,” Stoops said.

Freshman Chris Brown added another 74 yards on 19 carries and found the end zone twice. The second, a 1-yard dive late in the third quarter, was the game winner.

“I’m always proud of those guys,” OU offensive tackle Chris Messner said. “They come every day working hard. If they’re hurt, they get better, they push themselves.”

OU relied on them heavily.

Paul Thompson was just 7-for-11 for 77 yards, though he did hit Juaquin Iglesias for a 13-yard touchdown late in the first half.

But the Sooners took a conservative approach in the second half. Thompson only attempted three passes after halftime.

“There’s a gamble there,” Stoops admitted. “We could have thrown it. I have total confidence in Paul, but it comes down to a strategy of wanting to make them use their time outs and kind of handicap them that way … Fortunately, it worked.”

The Sooners could afford to be clock conscious because of the lead they built going into the fourth quarter.

Iglesias’ touchdown right before halftime and Patrick’s touchdown run on the first play of the second half, gave the Sooners a 20-7 lead.

But they couldn’t stretch it any further.

Reid answered with a 1-yard touchdown with 9:38 left in the third quarter, but Brown’s 1-yard run built the lead back up to 27-14.

Woods’ 2-yard touchdown reception cut it to 27-21 with 6:41 left, but the Cowboys never got any closer than the game’s final play.

“When the ball went up I didn’t know what to think,” OU safety Nic Harris said. “When he dropped it I was thinking, ‘Great. Thank you, Lord.’”

And the game that had been in the back of the Sooners’ minds jumped to the front. They’ll face Nebraska at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The winner earns the conference title and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

The scenario that OU put in motion after losing to Texas Oct. 7 has finally come to fruition.

“We’re ready to go to Kansas City and I’m just so happy,” OU linebacker Rufus Alexander said. “I’m a senior and we’re going to help this school get a championship.”

John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com