It was a full week’s worth of action as the Big 12 marches toward its ridiculous farce of a Conference Championship Game rematch. The top of the conference is still a muddled clump, with 5 teams (fully half the conference) still having a reasonable chance of making it to Dallas. Aside from that, Baylor and Kansas squared off, guaranteeing that they would double the number of wins they shared coming into the contest, and Kansas State and Texas Tech went in to overtime. Let’s look at the games.
Baylor Bears beat the Kansas Jayhawks, 38-9
Just when it seemed like Baylor may manage to go winless, they took a trip to Lawrence and everything was ruined. Kansas is terrible. The Jayhawks managed only 289 total yards against the previously impotent Baylor defense. Charlie Brewer made his first start for the Bears and looked pretty good. He finished 23/29 for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Thats more than enough about this game. Both teams now have one win and will get to spend the holidays at home.
Up Next: Baylor vs. TTU in Dallas, Kansas @ Texas
Kansas State Wildcats beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 42-35 OT
Kansas State went into Lubbock and found themselves in a shootout. The Wildcats relied on their third string QB, Skylar Thompson, who tied the game up with a successful two point conversion on a pass to Dalton Schoen with 42 seconds left in the game. He went on to throw the game winning touchdown pass in the first overtime. Texas Tech continues to rival the Mountaineers in regards to special teams futility. Kansas State’s game tying 80 yard touchdown drive was set up by a missed 31 yard field goal by the Red Raiders with 3:40 left in the contest. That’s four straight losses by once ranked Texas Tech.
Up Next: WVU @ KSU, TTU vs Baylor in Dallas
#8 TCU Horned Frogs beat the Texas Longhorns, 24-7
This one was a horrible watch. The only late game on the Big 12 slate saw TCU get up early on Texas and just toy with the Longhorns for the entire game. Shane Beuchele finished the game 21/44 for 254 yards and a touchdown. In case you’re wondering, thats good for a QBR of 26.5. What’s incredible is that the running game was worse. The Horned Frogs held the Longhorns to nine yards on the ground. Buechele’s rushing stat line is pretty incredible, as he managed -23 rushing yards (yes, sacks count against rushing in college) with a long of 18. Wow! TCU only finished with 343 total yards, but that was more than enough. The Horned Frogs continue to morph into whatever they need to be to win in any given week. TCU currently controls its own path to the B12 Championship Game, but its likely they’ll need more than 24 points in Norman next week.
Up Next: Texas vs Kansas, TCU @ OU
West Virginia Mountaineers beat the #15 Iowa St. Cyclones, 20-16
WVU opened this one up like they were going to run the Cyclones right out of Morgantown. WVU went up 20-0 before allowing a FG right before half time. They left points on the field, too. Justin Crawford, having been called out by the coaching staff throughout the week, ran hard and focused and had nearly 90 yards in the first half. Will Grier connected on multiple long balls and WVU was looking like a well oiled machine on both sides of the ball. The second half was a different story.
The Cyclones began to chip away at the lead and WVU was held scoreless in the second half. Tony Gibson’s defense stood out in the game. They managed to get stops when they really needed them and held Iowa State to 16 points. Will Grier was an efficient 20/25 and broke the 300 yard mark yet again. Kennedy McKoy provided a much needed spark in the running game in the second half when WVU needed to salt the game away and keep the clock running. It wasn’t pretty, and may have taken a toll on the collective cardiac health of the Mountaineer fan base, but WVU notched it’s second win against a ranked team this season and kept its hopes alive for a berth in the B12 Championship Rematch.
Up Next: WVU @ KSU, ISU vs. OSU
#5 Oklahoma Sooners beat #11 Oklahoma State Cowboys, 62-52
Bedlam made up for all the boring low scoring games in the Big 12 yesterday. OU and OSU combined for more than 1400 yards and 114 points. The O/U was 77, and the Sooners did their level best to hit the number on their own. Baker Mayfield threw for 598 yards and five touchdowns. Mason Rudolph only managed 448 and five scores of his own. The game was knotted at 38 at halftime, and the Sooners wrestled control of the game away from the Pokes with a 10-0 third quarter. The Cowboys got back within 3 multiple times in the fourth quarter, but Mayfield kept throwing haymakers.
Oklahoma is, once again, in the driver’s seat in the Big 12. It will be interesting to see if they leap frog Clemson in the CFB Playoff Rankings after getting their second monumental road win of the season. Even if they don’t, it doesn’t matter at all yet, as #1 UGA and #2 Bama are on a collision course that ends in Atlanta. It also bears mentioning that for all the unprecedented, sustained success that Mike Gundy has brought to Stillwater, he has still only managed to beat OU twice in 13 seasons. There’s, of course, still a chance that he’ll get another shot at them in December. Both teams need to get back to business quickly, as each has to play another contender in Week 11.
Up Next: OSU @ ISU, OU vs. TCU
Power Rankings
- Oklahoma
- TCU
- Oklahoma State
- WVU
- Iowa State
- Kansas State
- Texas
- Texas Tech
- Baylor
- Kansas
Baylor is no longer at the bottom, which is a bummer. Oklahoma reclaims the top spot, also a bummer. Iowa State falls precipitously, and all five teams in the top half of the conference are still alive for a spot in Dallas. Tune in next week as we get presumably closer to clarity.