Big 12 Roundup & Power Rankings: A New #10

#1 Alabama 20, Texas 19

Just one missed play here or there ultimately made a the difference a 20-19 last-second loss and what could have been a building-block statement win over the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, but as least as far as the scoreboard is concerned, it’s an outcome the Texas Longhorns easily build from — especially in the confidence department.

#7 Oklahoma 33, Kent State 3

A suffocating defense bought time for the Oklahoma Sooners to find an offensive spark in a 33-3 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday night at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. OU limited Kent State’s uptempo offense to 295 total yards on 73 plays, an average of just four yards per snap. The Sooners tallied 14 tackles for loss in the game, including three sacks. OU’s defense also generated two takeaways from the Golden Flashes.

#21 BYU 26, #9 Baylor 20

A tough road environment, an even tougher team, and a long list of penalties doomed Baylor in their first loss of the 2022 season, falling 26-20 to BYU in Overtime. Baylor beat BYU by 14 in Waco last season, and the Cougars were looking to avenge that loss in front of a raucous home crowd. BYU came into this game without two of their key playmakers in Gunner Romney and Puka Nacua, but instead found production out of Freshman Chase Roberts, who gashed the Baylor defense with 8 receptions for 122 yards and touchdown. BYU QB Jaren Hall had a solid game as well, going 23-39 for 261 yards and TD, plus 28 yards rushing. The Cougars outgained Baylor 366 yards to 289.

#11 Oklahoma State 34, Arizona State 17

Spencer Sanders passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and No. 11 Oklahoma State defeated Arizona State 34-17 on a rainy Saturday night. Sanders passed for 268 yards and ran for 54, and Dominic Richardson ran for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 44 yards for the Cowboys (2-0).

Texas Tech 33, #25 Houston 30

Donovan Smith put Texas Tech at risk of losing with his arm. The sophomore quarterback rescued the Red Raiders with his legs. Smith ran 9 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime, lifting Texas Tech to a 33-30 victory over No. 25 Houston on Saturday.

Kansas State 40, Missouri 12

The Kansas State Wildcats (2-0) handily defeated former conference rivals, the Missouri Tigers, 40-12, on Saturday in their first meeting since the Tigers left the Big 12 for the greener pastures of the SEC.

Lightning delays both before the game and during the first half didn’t seem to affect the Wildcats, scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the game as running back Deuce Vaughn carried it in from the 1 yard line and on a 76-yard punt return by Phillip Brooks soon after the mid-game lightning delay.

Iowa State 10, Iowa 7

Hawkeye football with 38 ticks left from the 27 yard line. A 16 yard completion moves the ball for Iowa on their biggest play of the day. Petras intentially spikes it (hard to tell if it was on purpose) to stop the clock with 15 seconds left from their own 41. Petras fumbles and Will Mcdonald is on it! Cyclones win it! An offside and unsportsmanlike conduct gets Iowa in Iowa State’s territory. 9 seconds left. Iowa completes a pass to LaPorta to get Iowa in range for a 47 yarder. Kick on the way and it issssssss....NO GOOD! IOWA STATE WINS IT! IT’S A CYCLONE STATE! 10-7 CYCLONES! HAPPY TEARS AND HAPPY BEERS! Unbelievable. Iowa State gets over the hump. It was ugly, but man was it fun.

TCU 59, Tarleton 17

The TCU Horned Frogs put on a show for the home crowd in the first game in Amon G. Carter under Head Coach Sonny Dykes.

POWER RANKINGS

Reminder - power rankings are fluid and based off of numerous factors, one of which is how much I’ve drank before I put these together. Don’t take them too seriously.

1. Kansas (LW: 1) - 2-0 for the Jayhawks. Good for them.
2. Texas (LW: 6) - yeah they had a loss, but they took Bama to the brink, and maybe should have actually won.
3. Iowa State (LW: 10) - beat their in-state rival. Good for them.
4. Oklahoma (LW: 3) - overcame a slow first half to win handily. Don’t count out the Sooners.
5. Kansas State (LW: 7) - beat Missouri and it wasn’t close. Watch out for the Wildcats
6. Texas Tech (LW: 8) - beat Houston in overtime. Bet that felt good.
7. Baylor (LW: 2) - tough loss on the road to a top 25 foe.
8. Oklahoma State (LW: 5) - This was supposed to be the best defense in the Big 12. It may not be.
9. TCU (LW: 4) - yawn. At least you won unlike....
10. West Virginia (LW: 10) - No words. You are the only 0-2 team in the conference. Sit down and be quiet.

Future Conference Rivals

Louisville 20, UCF 14

Expectations were high after gaining 600 yards of offense against FCS opponent South Carolina State. What we saw tonight is more indicative of the offense UCF has. They can come to the line quickly and run a play, but this is a running team. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee completed 52.7% of his passes as a freshman and he settled back with some very pedestrian numbers tonight, going 16/34 for 131 yards and an interception. That’s 47%. While we can debate on how accurate the interception call was, the team should have never been in that position.

Cincinnati 63, Kennesaw State 10