Big 12 Roundup and Recap: Oklahoma Is Scary Good

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes 40, #15 TCU Horned Frogs (2-1, 0-0) 28

Now down 26-21, TCU tried a trick play on the ensuing kickoff. Turpin’s pass back to Jalen Reagor would have been a touchdown, had it not been an illegal forward pass. So, instead of going up 28-26, TCU found themselves starting from their own 4 yardline. Another three and out led to a TCU punt. Nunez would drop the snap, the punt would be blocked, and Ohio State started with the ball on TCU’s 25. Two plays later they were back in the endzone, this time on a 24-yard pass to KJ Hill, putting Ohio State up 33-21.

#4 Oklahoma Sooners (3-0, 1-0) 37, Iowa St. Cyclones (0-2, 0-1)

In his first career road start for the Oklahoma Sooners, Kyler Murray put on what was undoubtedly his best performance to date. The first-round MLB First-Year Player Draft pick completed 21 of 29 passes, threw for 348 yards, three touchdowns, and added 77 yards on 15 carries to boot. In total, he was responsible for 425 of OU’s 519 yards. As impressive as that is, he not only stuffed the stat sheet — he was incredibly timely.

#24 Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0, 0-0) 44, #17 Boise State Broncos 21

Who would have thought that special teams would make a difference for Oklahoma State in a good way? This game did not go as fans, as well as the media, were expecting it to. And boy are they (at least the fans) grateful. Oklahoma State passed their first test with flying colors in a 44-21 win against Boise State.

Texas Longhorns (2-1, 0-0) 37, #22 USC Trojans 14

That was essentially the extent of the Trojans’ success on Saturday night, though, and the next 34 points put on the scoreboard belonged to the Longhorns as a slow drip became an all-out burnt orange downpour. The first bit of momentum came courtesy of a 47-yard pitch and catch from Ehlinger to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who handled the heavy lifting in shaking a would-be tackler and cruising into the end zone to pull Texas back within one score.

Kansas Jayhawks (2-1,0-0) 55, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 14

All that said, this didn’t have the same flavor as last week’s blowout, where the turnovers really drove the team’s success. Even when they weren’t giving the ball away, Rutgers still couldn’t get anything going against KU’s defense, which looks like it may be legitimately respectable. Kansas’ running game was also nearly unstoppable against a decent Rutgers defense. KU gained a whopping 544 yards (7.6 per play) to Rutgers’ 274 (4.3 per play).

Duke Blue Devils 40, Baylor Bears (2-1, 0-0) 27

The first half started poorly. John Lovett fumbled, and Duke proceeded to score on 3rd and 7. The Bears had only three down defensive linemen and nobody defending the “B” gap on that play. The Blue Devils ran right through it for a touchdown.The first half didn’t get any better. Jalen Hurd—really the only guy who could consistently get open in the first half—had too many drops. He missed three targets. Jalan McClendon came in on the third drive and later left the game with an ankle injury. He returned in the third quarter.

Kansas State Wildcats (2-1, 0-0) 41, UTSA 17

Skylar Thompson ended the first half with 213 yards passing and two touchdowns, a 42-yarder to Dalton Schoen and a 23-yard toss to Isaiah Zuber. That was all he had on the day, and all K-State really needed. In the third quarter, Thompson saw a little action, adding the fourth Wildcat touchdown on a 27-yard scamper (which followed a 24-yard run earlier in the same drive), before giving way to Alex Delton for the duration.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-1, 0-0) 63, Houston Cougars 49

Alan Bowman - Clearly, he’s our starting quarterback. And, you’ve gotta feel for McLane Carterbecause he didn’t deserve to lose his job. But, You can’t bench the kid who threw for 600+ on a good Houston defense. Also, zero turnovers...which, is all we could ask for and more.