Game of the Week Oklahoma @ Baylor

The Big XII Week 11 Review starts with the Baylor Bears ending the Oklahoma Sooners’ 17 game winning streak. A shock 27-14 win in Waco. Lincoln Riley’s playoff hopes may have just died with the Sooners falling to #13. Behind programmes like Ole Miss and Baylor who both have two losses. However, if they win out they’ll be in the conversation.

As predicted in the preview for this game, Baylor’s run game was key to their win.

Quarterback Gerry Bohanon had a breakout game in which he ran for 107 yards and two scores on just 9 carries. His passing was secondary to the game plan, doing enough to keep the Sooners’ defence honest with 12/31 attempts for 117 yards, one touchdown and one pick. Abram Smith also did considerable damage on the ground with 20 carries for 148 yards.

The Bears defence deserves as much credit for the win as the offence. They sacked the Oklahoma quarterbacks (Spencer Rattler got some time on the field due to Caleb Williams struggling) five times and had nine tackles for loss (TFL).

Very un-Oklahoma Indeed

The Sooners didn’t have an answer as Baylor pulled away in the fourth quarter, demonstrating the fact that this Oklahoma offence is not the unstoppable unit they’ve been in years past. Williams had the one score on the ground, but through the air he was poor. He completed just 9/18 for 142 yards and two picks. Not only that but the Bears did enough to limit the Sooners run game. Kenedy Brooks had just 14 carries for 55 yards and one score, whilst none of the receivers had over 55 yards.

It was the first underdog statement win for Dave Aranda as head coach of Baylor. With the amount of head coaching opportunities that are already open, Baylor will likely offer him an extension ASAP. The Sooners still have it all to play for, however they will need other teams to take losses to achieve their goal of another playoff berth.

 

Big XII Week 11 Review – Kansas 57-56 Texas

Oh dear, Texas. Oh dear.

The Kansas Jayhawks won on the road against Texas for the first time ever with a walk-off two point conversion, stunning the college football world.

Texas was a 31 point favourite at kick-off. Ouch.

Lance Leipold, of whom the Kansas fans are probably building a statue off as I type this, just catapulted himself into the annuls of Kansas lore. Not only did his team beat the Longhorns but the led for most of the game. They broke out to a 14-0 lead and at half time led 35-14, capped by a pick-six by cornerback Jacobee Bryant.

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for three touchdowns, adding 45 yards and one score on the ground. Running back Devin Neal had 143 rushing yards with three scores. The Jayhawks rushed for 218 yards as a team and won the turnover battle, 4–0, an incredible achievement.

Kansas just scored their biggest recruiting win of the season, moving to 2-8 and smashing their pre-season win expectancy. Things went from bad to worse for Texas as star running back Bijan Robinson was ruled out for the rest of the season. The Longhorns slipped to 4-6 and Sark might already be looking over his shoulder. If you think the Texas boosters aren’t crazy enough to raise the buyout money after just one season, you don’t know Texas football.

Big XII Week 11 Review – Iowa State 38-41 Texas Tech

In the third BIG XII upset last weekend, Texas Tech stunned the Iowa State Cyclones with a walk off field-goal in Lubbock to record Joey McGuire’s first win as head coach of the Red Raiders.

Iowa State nearly achieved another brilliant comeback after being down 17 at half time. Raiders quarterback Donovan Smith had a breakout game, completing 25/32 passes for 332 yards, 2 scores and one pick. His connection with Miles Price, who had 9 receptions for 175 yards and a touchdown proved unstoppable for the Cyclones defence.

Brock Purdy had a good game, but his second half explosion wasn’t enough to secure the win. Key to the Cyclones struggles was the Raiders defence limiting running back Breece Hall to just 51 yards on 18 carries. He grabbed two scores but was devoid of explosive plays.

The loss now puts the Cyclones firmly behind Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the race for the BIG XII title game as they fall to 6-4 (4-3 conf) on the season. For Texas Tech, this heavy dose of optimism couldn’t have come at a better time. As other teams scramble to jump on the coaching carousel, Tech fans will feel the grabbed an absolute steal in McGuire. He clearly already has them running through walls. The Red Raiders secure their bowl appearance and move to 6-4 (3-4 conf).

 

Big XII Week 11 Review – TCU 17-63 Oklahoma State

Earlier this year I called Oklahoma State the most fraudulent team in the BIG XII. Since then, the Cowboys have kept getting better and better and now look like one of the best teams in the country. TCU, on the other hand, have looked even worse than they did under now fired coach Gary Patterson.

It could not have been more fitting for Gundy’s team to rush for 450 yards on a night where they honoured legendary running back, Barry Sanders. Spencer Sanders took a back seat to the run game. Nonetheless played well completing 17/25 passes for 235 yards and a score. The running backs of Jaylen Warren, Dominic Richardson and Dezmon Jackson combined for eight rushing touchdowns. They dominated a TCU defence that in the absence of Patterson, has struggled even further.

The Cowboys defence joined the offence in having a field day. They recorded seven sacks and held TCU to 2-13 on third down. Without former-five-star running back Zach Evans, Emari Demercado stepped up and was the only bright spot for the TCU offence. He rushed 14 times for 90 yards and a score.

The Cowboys move to 9-1 and sit in join-pole-position with their in-state rivals to make the BIG XII title game. TCU slip to 4-5 overall and 2-6 in conference in a season they will just want to be over with so they can start fresh with a new head coach.

 

Big XII Week 11 Review – Kansas State 34-17 West Virginia

Chris Kleiman’s Kansas State Wildcats won their fourth game on the bounce in a run that has completely transformed their season. Yet again, the boys from Manhattan played stout red-zone defence, limiting West Virginia to just three first half points.

Deuce Vaughn was again the focal point of the offence, rushing 25 times for 121 yards and one score. Skylar Thompson yet again deferred to the run game but did enough when asked. He completed 14/19 passes for 138 yards and one score. The K-State defence forced Doege into two interceptions and sacked him three times throughout the game.

West Virginia moved the ball well, but just couldn’t score. Quarterback Jarrett Doege had another one of his typical up and down games, completing 27/45 passes for 268 yards, two interceptions and two scores. Leddie Brown, the Mountaineers star running back, was limited to just 80 yards and no score on 20 carries.

The Wildcats move to 7-3, an impressive record given their Vegas win total was just 5.5. Neal Brown’s team slip to 4-6. Their remaining games are against Kansas and Texas and they need to win both to go bowling. It’s unlikely but not impossible.

Written by Jake @dynastybrit