KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They say defense wins championships, and Oklahoma would agree.

Some timely passing didn’t hurt, either.

For instance, Oklahoma faced third-and-10 at its 1-yard line Saturday night, and you could see breath pouring out of Nebraska defenders’ facemasks. It might as well have been fire. The Huskers seemed poised to take control of the game.

Sooners quarterback Paul Thompson, however, put out the blaze with a series of completions, starting with a 35-yard strike to tight end Jermaine Gresham.

Indeed, Gresham slipped free behind the Husker secondary, caught a short pass and turned it into a gain that allowed his team to exhale. The catch — only Gresham’s eighth of the season — sparked an 11-play, 99-yard touchdown drive late in the third quarter that ultimately provided the impetus behind Oklahoma’s 21-7 triumph in the Big 12 title game before 80,031 at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Drive of the year,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. “It was huge. That was a big blow to them.”

Thompson capped the crucial drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to 6-foot-4 wideout Malcolm Kelly on a fade route over 5-9 corner Cortney Grixby in the corner of the end zone. All told, Thompson was 6-for-8 passing for 88 yards on a scoring drive that will be remembered as the turning point in a triumph that produced Oklahoma’s fourth league title.

“I think that really changed the way the second half went,” said Nebraska defensive end Jay Moore. “It changed the momentum.”

Nineteenth-ranked Nebraska’s comeback hopes ultimately were snuffed out by fourth-quarter interceptions by safeties Nic Harris and Reggie Smith, as the Huskers  fell to 9-4. NU will next play in the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl against either Arkansas or Auburn. An official announcement will come today.

No. 8 Oklahoma (11-2) advances to the Fiesta Bowl, and will probably play Boise State.

The Sooners’ vaunted defense forced five turnovers, and the Huskers never fully recovered from a slow start, casting a pall over NU’s first Big 12 Championship Game appearance since 1999.

Nebraska played valiantly, but ultimately was doomed by the turnovers and its inability to capitalize on favorable field position — not to mention the Husker defense’s failure to put the squeeze on Oklahoma late in the third quarter when the Sooners were in the shadow of their own end zone.

“I thought we squandered too many opportunities,” said Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, whose squad came up empty in the third quarter despite starting its first two drives of the half at Oklahoma’s 45-yard line and Nebraska’s 47.

“We kept getting the feeling that we were going to bust a big play,” said Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, who was 23-for-50 passing for 282 yards and a touchdown. He also threw three interceptions after entering the night with only four on the season. He was sacked three times and faced constant pressure in the pocket.

Neither team established its run game — Oklahoma rushed for 42 yards, Nebraska 84.

Thompson, however, made some key throws, especially during the critical third-quarter drive, and finished 19-for-34 for 265 yards and two scores.

Nevertheless, “I thought our defense played well enough to win the game,” Callahan said.

Before Oklahoma took control in the third quarter, Nebraska seemed to have captured momentum in the first half.

Trailing 14-0 and needing a break, Nebraska got one late in the second quarter, when Thompson, apparently trying to heave the ball out-of-bounds, instead floated a pass into the arms of Husker safety Andrew Shanle at the Oklahoma 23-yard line.

Three plays later, Taylor fired a 14-yard touchdown strike to walk-on tight end Hunter Teafatiller, pulling the Huskers to 14-7 with 4:37 left before halftime. The pro-Husker fans came to life, as Big Red had weathered OU’s quick start.

Nebraska went into halftime with a 207-166 edge in total yards, as Oklahoma managed only 13 rushing yards on 10 attempts. The Sooners had to go to their passing game, not exactly their forte.

Nevertheless, Kelly gave his team a 14-0 lead, bolting past Grixby on a go-route and sprinting to paydirt for a 66-yard score with 5:35 left in the first quarter. Kelly finished with 10 receptions for 142 yards and two TDs.

A team known for its running prowess, Oklahoma came out throwing, as Thompson was 6-for-8 for 105 yards in the first quarter. However, he was just 6-for-15 in the second quarter.

The game began on an extremely ominous note for Nebraska. First of all, Oklahoma’s Lewis Baker tackled Brandon Jackson at the 9-yard line after he took a reverse handoff from Kenny Wilson on the opening kickoff.

On the first play from scrimmage, NU’s Maurice Purify dropped the ball along the sideline as he stared toward the ground to see if his foot was in-bounds. Strong safety Reggie Smith picked up the ball and rumbled to the 2. Tailback Allen Patrick burst into the end zone, and Oklahoma led 7-0 just 48 seconds into the ballgame.

It was the quickest score in the 11 years of the Big 12 title game.

Nebraska played the final 25 minutes without starting I-back Brandon Jackson, who wobbled after a hit by Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander. Jackson suffered a hand injury, Callahan said, and will have X-rays today.