Big 12 Roundup and Power Rankings: Texas Hog-tied

TCU 34, Cal 32

Max Duggan summarized this game perfectly in the post-game presser: “You don’t want it to be sloppy, but you want to win and that’s what we got done today against a great opponent like Cal.

Arkansas 40, #15 Texas 21

In front of the first sellout crowd at Donald W. Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium in years, new head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team didn’t appear ready for the environment, much less a full SEC schedule. The Horns struggled offensively in the first half, especially along the offensive line, and then struggled defensively in the second half as the Razorbacks ran for 187 yards on 7.2 yards per carry in opening up a 33-7 lead late in the third quarter.

Kansas State 30, Southern Illinois 23

Without turnovers, K-State would have won this game 31-9, so it wasn’t the fundamental disaster it may have felt like. K-State committed four of them, their most in years. They got two of them back, but neither resulted in points; the first was the Pickle interception which was immediately followed by Thompson throwing one himself, and the second was the fumble which resulted in Winkel’s missed field goal.

#17 Coastal Carolina 49, Kansas 22

Even though the game was not close in the end (and they even failed to cover the spread) this Kansas team looked more organized and confident than they did in squeaking by FCS South Dakota last week. There’s still a very long way to go before this team is competitive at a Power-5 level, but the improvement was visible between weeks one and two, so there’s something to be happy with coming out of this loss.

#10 Iowa 27, #9 Iowa State 17

Iowa State was dominated by Iowa, falling by a final score of 27-17. Dominated is probably not the correct word choice, but when Iowa State cannot get out of their own way, there is really no alternative that is more fitting. The Cyclones outgained Iowa 339-175, but it did not matter.

Baylor 66, Texas Southern 7

Baylor (2-0) blew out Texas Southern (0-2) 66-7. The Bears open Big 12 play against Kansas at 2:30 next Saturday in Lawrence. This one was never close. The Bears led 42-0 at halftime. The starters played a bit in the third quarter, but didn’t see much more time. The talent gap was just overwhelming.

Oklahoma State 28, Tulsa 23

Last year, Oklahoma State defeated Tulsa 16-7 with a true freshman Shane Illingworth coming in relief in the second half of that game after Spencer Sanders got hurt. Now, nearly a year later, some fans chanting “We want Shane” after Spencer Sander’s “less than ideal” performance. Even Spencer knows he didn’t play that well.

Oklahoma 76, Western Carolina 0

The Sooners scored on all seven of their possessions in the first half, six of which ended in touchdowns. Kicker Gabe Brkic booted his fourth field goal of 50-plus yards for the season on OU’s second drive of the game. The Sooners punted once all night. OU outgained the Catamounts in total yardage for the game by a margin of 624 to 178. The Sooners allowed 2.8 yards per play on defense and took the ball away from WCU three times.

Texas Tech 28, Stephen F. Austin 22

Power Rankings

1. Oklahoma (LW: 5) - demolished an overmatched opponent.
2. Baylor (LW: 8) See above.
3. West Virginia (LW: 10) See above.
4. TCU (LW: 4) Beat Cal.
5. Oklahoma State (LW: 7) Struggled with a lesser school but won.
6. Texas Tech (LW: 2) See above.
7. Kansas State (LW: 3) Struggled with a top FCS school
8. Iowa State (LW: 9) Beat themselves then lost to Iowa
9. Kansas (LW: 6) Beaten by better foe.
10. Texas (LW: 1) ... “momma said if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say nothing at all”