Five Big 12 teams are tied at the top with two others right behind as the regular season comes to a close.
The Big 12 Championship is just over a month away, and Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Texas won in week 9 to keep a 4-1 conference record, while the Sooners fell for the first time this season. West Virginia and Kansas improved to 3-2 this week to keep their championship aspirations alive.
While only the schools with the two best conference records will play on December 2nd, the entire conference still remains in the hunt for bowl eligibility. The bottom half of the conference, however, found themselves falling behind in the Big 12 this week, which was filled with significant scoring margins.
Oklahoma vs. Kansas: Jayhawks beat Sooners for first time since the 1990s
Neither team had all too great of a showing in one of the week’s most talked about matchups, but the only thing that really mattered in the end was the result. For the first time since 1997, the Kansas Jayhawks took down the Oklahoma Sooners, who held an 18-game winning streak in the series, 38-33. To make matters more interesting, Oklahoma was ranked sixth in the AP’s top 25 poll ahead of the game with an undefeated record while the Jayhawks have struggled as of late against other top contenders in the conference. With the win, though, Kansas has re-entered Big 12 Championship discussions despite a one win disadvantage to the top five teams, and Oklahoma’s status as the front-runners may be called into question going forward.
The game was the second straight that Oklahoma struggled offensively, as the team nearly fell last weekend to the UCF Knights. The injury to wide receiver Andrel Anthony proved increasingly glaring in the loss, as senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel found himself without a solid go-to target. This resulted in Gabriel finishing with just 19 throws for 14 completions, 171 passing yards, and an interception. These numbers kept Oklahoma stagnant offensively despite Kansas’s struggles. The Jayhawks’ senior quarterback, Jason Bean, had plenty of personal struggles in the game, as he too finished with no touchdowns in 32 attempts for 15 completions, 218 yards, and two interceptions. Both quarterbacks made up for their throwing struggles with solid rushing performances, as Gabriel ran for three touchdowns and 64 yards in 14 carries while Bean scored a touchdown in his four carries for 62 yards. The leading rushers of the game, in terms of yardage, were Oklahoma’s Tawee Walker, who carried the ball 23 times for 146 yards and a touchdown, and Kansas’s Devin Neal, who carried the ball 25 times for 112 yards and a touchdown.
With both offenses struggling and the defenses taking on a huge role in the game, the Jayhawks came out with the win simply because of their ability to convert missed touchdown opportunities into two field goals, edging out the Sooners, who had none. Both teams will test their abilities against top competition next week, as the Sooners play the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Jayhawks take on the Iowa State Cyclones.
Oklahoma State vs. Cincinnati: Cowboys continue championship campaign and grab bowl eligibility
A 45-13 victory over the Bearcats gave Oklahoma State their fourth conference victory and bowl eligibility as they continue to fight for a place in the Big 12 Championship. Sophomore running back Ollie Gordon continued to shine with a dominant 271 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. He nearly matched Cincinnati’s 277-yard production from rushing by himself, despite this being the primary way the Bearcats moved down the field in the game.
While Gordon and the Cowboys scored at a high rate, Cincinnati kept up for the most part offensively but were unable to convert this production to scoring. The teams were even with a 6/16 third down efficiency, and OSU only finished with 38 more rushing yards than the Bearcats, but where the Cowboys rushed into the endzone four times, Cincinnati only did so once. This highlighted the disparity of the passing game between OSU’s Alan Bowman and Cincinnati’s Emory Jones and Brady Lichtenberg, who split the quarterback duties in the game. Oklahoma State finished with a 286-to-165 advantage in passing yards, and Allen finished with two touchdowns compared to Cincinnati’s one. Leon Johnson III led the charge in receiving for Oklahoma State, grabbing five receptions for 149 yards.
The Cowboys’ versatile offense makes them a massive threat as the season comes to a close. The team has major offensive threats in Gordon, Johnson, and Bowman while also possessing a tough defense. Their only conference loss this season was to Iowa State, and their only other loss in the year was to South Alabama the week before. OSU will take on the Sooners at home next weekend to see how their new-look team will stand against the mighty top team in the Big 12.
WVU vs. UCF: Big 12 Championship and bowl eligibility remain possibilities for Mountaineers
After two tough losses, West Virginia bounced back this week with a 41-28 victory in Orlando over the Knights. This was the fifth win of the season for the team, putting them one win short of bowl eligibility, but the team may be able to fight for more within the top half of the conference.
The game featured two trusted quarterbacks in WVU junior Garrett Greene and UCF senior John Rhys Plumlee. In the game’s end, though, West Virginia prevailed with more options than just their star quarterback. The Knights’ quarterback took on a much greater role, as he threw 36 attempts in the game for 25 completions, 274 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions, and 45 rushing yards. As Plumlee continues to return from injury, the Knights simply require more offensive options than just their quarterback and a brief dose of running back RJ Harvey, who ran for 100 yards in the game. UCF’s season is not over, as they started the season 3-0 to keep their hopes for bowl eligibility alive, but the Knights will need to win their first conference game very soon, potentially starting with one against Cincinnati next week. West Virginia will continue their up and down season with a home game against BYU in week 10.
Iowa State vs. Baylor: Cyclones come out with most to prove among top conference teams
Iowa State remains 4-1 in Big 12 games after extending their winning streak to three games in a 30-18 win over the Baylor Bears. Despite remaining at the top of the conference, the Cyclones are just 5-3 for the season, and their offensive capabilities seem lower than the other title contenders. Thanks to a strong defense, the team continues to win regardless, as evidenced by their ability to hold the Bears’ strong offense to just 306 total yards while forcing an interception and fumble in the process. Offensively, redshirt freshman quarterback Rocco Becht continued to grow as a leader, tallying 19 completions in 31 attempts for 238 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The team may need him to grow into a better running threat, as he finished with just two of the team’s 162 rushing yards in four carries, but, ultimately, Iowa State simply needs more options offensively.
Baylor’s lacking run game kept them behind Iowa State throughout. The team’s top rusher, Dawson Pendergrass finished with just 37 yards in eight carries, though he did fight for two of the team’s three touchdowns. This factor simply holds the Bears back offensively, as evidenced in their near-loss to Cincinnati last week. Otherwise, 3-5 Baylor could have the potential for bowl eligibility, especially considering their relatively tame conference schedule to close the season. Without more options than receiver Monaray Baldwin, who is sixth in the Big 12 in receiving yards, Baylor lacks the offensive machine necessary to get it done in the competitive Big 12 conference. Baylor will take on Houston at home next week while Iowa State will travel back to Ames for a game against the Kansas Jayhawks.
Texas vs. BYU: Longhorns stand out above championship contenders
The 5-3 BYU Cougars once again showed they were way behind the top of the conference as they lost their third conference game to the Texas Longhorns, 35-6. The team’s receivers made distance thanks to Kedon Slovis completing 24 of 39 pass attempts, but they never scored a touchdown and seemed to be a minimal threat despite this being the only real advantage the Cougars had over the Longhorns in the loss. Overall, the Cougars simply need to perform better against strong teams if they want to finish their campaign for bowl eligibility and win in that bowl game. They will travel to Morgantown on Saturday to play WVU.
Texas, ranked seventh in AP’s top 25, went back to what they do best: controlling the pace of the game. With just 354 total yards, the Longhorns did nothing offensively that the Cougars could not keep up with, but they simply did it in an efficient manner in terms of scoring. The team had five less plays and had possession six less minutes than BYU. With Texas’s defense once again showing how powerful of a force it is, the Longhorns may have regained the status of the best team in the Big 12 with Oklahoma’s loss. If they can control the pace while producing offensively against Kansas State’s red hot Wildcats next week, the Longhorns could be able to prove it.
Kansas State vs. Houston: Wildcats have no issues against Houston’s strong offense
After keeping it close with the Longhorns last week, the Houston Cougars were shut out by the Wildcats in Kansas, 41-0. Junior quarterback Donovan Smith completed 13 of his 28 pass attempts for just 88 yards with an interception. Smith has played well for the Cougars in recent weeks, as the team’s offense has hit new strides before traveling to Kansas State, but the Wildcats did a good job at making fans forget that. In the opposite approach of Texas this week, Kansas State made sure Houston had as few opportunities as possible, holding the team to 3.5 yards per play and 11 less plays than their own offense. Kansas State also retained possession for nine more minutes than the Cougars in the game.
Offensively, the Wildcats did what they could to capitalize on their defensive prowess as quickly as possible. The Wildcats scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to lead 28-0 at halftime, diminishing all hopes for the Cougars. The coaching staff continued to test both senior Will Howard and freshman Avery Johnson at quarterback, though Howard took the majority of the snaps. He finished 15/17 for 164 passing yards and two touchdowns. Johnson completed five of his six throws for 46 yards and a touchdown, but the biggest worry was that his running abilities that got him five rushing touchdowns in week 7 were completely nonexistent in the win. Nevertheless, they have issues to address offensively, but Kansas State came out of this week looking like one of the mightiest teams in the Big 12’s top five. With at least two of the conference’s 4-1 teams losing games next week, Kansas State will do what they can to not be one of them against the Texas Longhorns. If they can grab the victory and extend their winning streak to four games, the Wildcats could insert themselves as the new top team in the Big 12.
