The No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners provided a major boost to their College Football Playoff resume Saturday with a 30-23 overtime victory over the No. 7 Baylor Bears in the 2019 Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, a Heisman Trophy candidate, the Sooners have compiled a 12-1 record, with their only loss coming to the Kansas State Wildcats in October. Winning the Big 12 title improves their chances of a CFP berth to 95 percent while awaiting the day's other results, per FiveThirtyEight.

Baylor entered the contest with a chance to avenge its sole loss of the campaign, a three-point defeat by OU in November, which would have likely earned the Bears a spot in college football's final four. They still have a strong case to represent the conference in the Sugar Bowl as part of the New Year's Six.

Notable Game Stats

QB Jalen Hurts (OU): 17-of-24 passing, 287 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 38 rushing yards

QB Jacob Zeno (BU): 2-of-5 passing, 159 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

RB Kennedy Brooks (OU): 59 rushing yards, 1 TD

RB Rhamondre Stevenson (OU): 48 rushing yards, 1 TD

RB Trestan Ebner (BU): 84 receiving yards, 1 TD

WR CeeDee Lamb (OU): 173 receiving yards

WR Nick Basquine (OU): 24 receiving yards, 1 TD

WR Tyquan Thornton (BU): 62 receiving yards, 1 TD

LB Kenneth Murray (OU): 10 tackles, 1 sack

LB Jordan Williams (BU): 13 tackles, 1 INT

Hurts' Turnover Woes Must End in CFP

Although fellow quarterbacks such as the LSU Tigers' Joe Burrow and Ohio State Buckeyes' Justin Fields have taken command of the Heisman Trophy race throughout the season, Hurts has still put together a mostly stellar campaign by accounting for 50 total touchdowns entering Saturday.

Turnovers are the one troublesome issue he's struggled to put aside, though.

The senior signal-caller came into the Big 12 title game with 11 turnovers (six interceptions and five lost fumbles) in 12 appearances this season. He added an interception and a lost fumble to that total against the Bears, which directly led to 10 of Baylor's points.

Hurts' second-quarter interception came after a complete misread of the defense and was thrown right into the hands of Baylor linebacker Jordan Williams. The underdogs scored a touchdown 59 seconds later.

Oklahoma's offense has been so explosive throughout the season that averaging a turnover per contest didn't generate much attention or affect the team's record. The mistakes always posed the potential to rear their ugly head at the wrong time as OU moved closer to the national title contention, though.

Hurts deserves a lot of credit for playing with much more efficiency in the second half and overtime. The offensive line did a better job of giving him time in the pocket, and he was able to stand tall to deliver several strikes, especially on third down to keep the chains moving.

That said, the bottom line is clear: Hurts needs to keep turnovers to a minimum if the Sooners are going to win a national championship.

Baylor Defense Shines Again Despite OT Loss

The Bears' defense came to the rescue all year. While they posted an 11-1 record during the regular season, five of the wins came by a single score, including two overtime triumphs.

So even getting to this point was mostly thanks to a unit that ranked 13th in the country in points allowed per game. That stat is made more impressive by the fact that the team plays in the offense-heavy Big 12.

The group stepped up in a major way once again Saturday by keeping Hurts and Co. at bay while the Baylor offense tried to find a rhythm after being forced to switch from Charlie Brewer, who was removed for evaluation on a head injury, to Gerry Bohanon and Zeno at quarterback.

Baylor held OU to 10 points on eight first-half possessions and took a 13-10 lead into the locker room.

Oklahoma eventually started putting together some sustained drives to take control of the game. As the time of possession became more lopsided, the stout defense struggled to keep pace and get off the field at times. But the unit came up huge again in the fourth quarter to help force overtime.

For a game that looked like a possible blowout after the Sooners scored a touchdown inside the first six minutes, Baylor's defensive effort kept an upset within reach all afternoon.

What's Next?

The Sooners will watch closely as the SEC (4 p.m. ET), ACC (7:30 p.m. ET) and Big Ten (8 p.m. ET) championship games take place Saturday to see how those Power Five matchups could impact their College Football Playoff outlook, though they should be in regardless.

Baylor must await its bowl assignment to see if it's indeed heading to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans for the 2020 Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.