ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas native and Grammy-award winning rapper Nelly performed the halftime show at the 2023 Big 12 Championship game.
Nelly, who was born Austin but grew up in St. Louis, played his classics like "Hot In Herre" and "Ride Wit Me," which seemed to put everyone a state of nostalgia. The reaction to his performance online was seemingly positive, unlike that of the national anthem critiques. Nelly performed on the stage while being accompanied by both the Longhorn and Cowboys bands.
It was already "Hot In Here" by the time Nelly's took the stage to perform. Texas led Oklahoma State 35-14 at halftime, thanks to the hot start by former Southlake Carroll and Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers. Ewers threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. His four touchdowns tied the Big 12 Championship record for an entire game.
Ewers set a career high by throwing for 452 yards with four touchdowns, one of those to 362-pound defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, and the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns bid farewell to the Big 12 with a 49-21 win over No. 19 Oklahoma State in the conference championship game Saturday.
The Southeastern Conference-bound Longhorns (12-1, No. 7 CFP) will leave the Big 12 with bookend titles, and four overall. They also won it in the league's inaugural 1996 season, in 2005 when they were last national champs and in 2009 before playing in the BCS national championship game.
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