— By Dave Weekley
CHARLESTON, W.Va. —Believe it or not, we’ve started the second half of the Big 12 football season.
It always goes faster than you think.
Coming off the second straight week of a full slate of conference games, if you thought the separation between the haves and the have nots would begin to be more pronounced as we begin November, guess again.
If the turmoil at the top of the Big 12 continues deep into this month, the possibility exists that six of the ten teams in the conference might enjoy at least one week of Tier One status in our Big 12 Snapshot. And while no one is claiming that the Big 12 is the best conference in the country this year, you would be hard pressed to find one that’s more competitive.
So, let’s take a look at how things are shaping up in the Big 12 heading into the first Saturday in November. Another quick reminder, our weekly Big 12 Snapshot uses a fantasy football-style tier format, not conference standings or traditional power ratings.
TIER ONE — (Serious Big 12 title contenders.)
OKLAHOMA STATE
As an example of how crazy this Big 12 season has already been, Oklahoma State was a loser at home to Texas, but still merits Tier One status with us. Spencer Sanders threw for 400 yards. Tylan Wallace had 11 grabs for 187 yards and a pair of scores. While the Pokes were piling up 530 total yards, the OSU defense held the Longhorns to only 287 yards, including just two-of-15 on third down. But you throw in five turnovers, some critical (and some might say questionable) penalties and some patented fourth-down Ehlinger magic and it adds up to a stunning OT loss. So despite the current Big 12 standings, we still see Oklahoma State as the best team in the Big 12.
IOWA STATE
ISU bounced back after a tough loss to Oklahoma State with a romp at Kansas. Do wins over KU at this point really mean much? This victory for the Cyclones felt a bit like the first time you are back in your car after it comes back from the repair shop. Is everything working correctly? Brock Purdy threw for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns — check. Breece Hall remains a beast; 185 yards on 21 carries (8.8 ypc), including a fourth quarter, 58-yard run for a score — check. Iowa State special teams allowed a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown — well, your mileage may vary. But still, you should never take a conference road win for granted. WVU’s trip to Lubbock taught us that.
TIER TWO —- (Likely bowl teams, but still conference title underdogs.)
OKLAHOMA
While watching Oklahoma dismantle Texas Tech, all I could think about was how did WVU manage to lose to the Red Raiders? We will check in on TTU further down in this column. OU could have named the score in this one after building a 48-14 halftime lead. Spencer Rattler’s first half benching against Texas seems like a distant memory now. Oklahoma rushed for six touchdowns, three by Rhamondre Stevenson, who was making his season debut, averaging 6.7 ypg en route to a very solid day. Oklahoma’s defense forced three turnovers and while the Sooners still give up yards in big chunks, OU’s momentum as a team in undeniable and their schedule outside of Bedlam on 11/21 looks very favorable.
TEXAS
We noted last week in this space that a Texas’ win at Oklahoma State could dramatically change our perception of the Longhorns going forward and that’s exactly what’s happened. While he may not be Heisman quality, Sam Ehlinger is certainly a gamer. After Texas sputtered for most of the afternoon against a stout Oklahoma State defense, Ehlinger ran for big yards late when he needed them and his fourth down TD pass to Jake Smith was another signature moment in a college career certainly marked by more highs than lows. It’s true that Texas allowed Spencer Sanders to throw for 400 yards, but they also forced him into four of the five OSU turnovers and held the Cowboys’ ground game to just 2.5 yards per attempt. On special teams, D’Shawn Jamison had a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter that got Texas right back into a game that seemed to be slipping away. Texas is going to be a tough out the rest of the way.
WEST VIRGINIA
So, will the real WVU football team please stand up? A week after seeing the Mountaineers drop lots of passes at Texas Tech and watching one of the worst defenses in the Big 12 shutdown Leddie Brown in the second half, West Virginia rebounded with easily its best overall game of the year, beating No. 16 Kansas State. Jarret Doege threw for 301 passing yards and a pair of scores. Brown and Sinkfield were both effective rushing the football and WVU went 9-of-18 on third down. K-State had just 230 total yards and gained only 41 yards rushing (1.8 ypa). WVU lost kicker Evan Staley for the year with a knee injury, but Casey Legg stepped up and made a paid of field goals in the win over K-State. After six games, WVU is right about where we expected them to be at this point, 4-2 and in the middle of Tier Two of our Big 12 Snapshot.
KANSAS STATE
K-State drops out of Tier One status this week in our Big 12 Snapshot after the Wildcats’ trip to Morgantown. Kansas State was not sharp, while the Mountaineers played their best game of the season. KSU’s Will Howard threw three interceptions, including a pick-six and Deuce Vaughn was held to just 22 yards on nine carries and wasn’t a factor in the passing game. West Virginia scored touchdowns on three straight possessions to put this one away early and honestly, the 37-10 final score wasn’t really an indicator of how lopsided this game really was. With K-State looking down the barrel of hosting Oklahoma State this week and then traveling to Iowa State following an off week, we may have seen the last of K-State in Tier One of our Big 12 Snapshot.
TCU
We have been trying to figure out what home field advantage is worth in college football right now, with limited fans in the stands. TCU’s win at Baylor is a good example. If the stadium in Waco had been sold out, would there have been anyway the Frogs could have built a 30-0 first half lead before coasting to a relatively easy victory? We will never know the answer to that question. In any case, for a week at least, TCU looked somewhat solid. Darwin Barlow rushed for 117 yards and a score for an offense that somehow managed to control the game, despite going just 2-for-13 on third down — weird. Part of solving that riddle was the fact that Frogs held the Bears to just 3-of-16 on third down. TCU hosts TTU this week, while WVU visits Texas. There’s a good chance both teams will be 3-3 in conference play when the meet in Morgantown on 11/14.
BAYLOR
At this point, it’s a fair assumption that Baylor is a bad football team. The question then becomes, how bad are they? Are they Tier Three bad? For this week anyway, they are a bottom of Tier Two-style bad. It’s true, they played a little better in the second half of their home loss to TCU, but we aren’t grading on a curve here. The BU offensive line is still a sieve that allows defenders to pour through with regularity. Charlie Brewer was sacked five times by TCU’s defense and hit multiple other times. Baylor’s signature defense was nowhere to be found. Baylor’s trip to TTU on 11/14 might be their last legit chance to win another game this season.
TEXAS TECH
Perhaps my view of Texas Tech is still clouded a bit by their win over West Virginia. Honestly, was there anyone who expected the Red Raiders to compete with Oklahoma? Predictably, they didn’t, as OU dominated TTU. Henry Columbi had a rough night against the Sooners’ defense; 15-of-28, just 227 yards, two interceptions and two scores, both of which came long after OU’s first team defenders were chilling on the bench. At 2-4, Texas Tech still has games with the likes of TCU, Baylor and Kansas. If TTU wins those games, they likely finish 5-5 and Matt Wells is safe, right? If not, is TTU looking at another rebuild, just two years after Coach Cool split for the Arizona Cardinals?
TIER THREE —- (Where the worst Big 12 teams dwell.)
KANSAS
Kansas football; lather, rinse, repeat. OK, perhaps that’s a little harsh. Looking for something good right now at KU? Well, how about true freshman quarterback Jalon Daniels? We didn’t get to see him against WVU because of a leg injury. Daniels threw an interception and fumbled against Iowa State, but he’s one of a host of very young players learning on the job at Kansas at the moment. The question for Les Miles is; is Daniels his quarterback of the future, or just a stop gap? In any case, Daniels’ toughness is one of the very few bright spots at Kansas right now.
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