With the second weekend of games in the books, not many questions have been answered that surrounded some of the Big XII teams. In fact, more were created because of the weekend, mainly focusing on Texas and the future of head coach, Mack Brown.
On the field, teams either carried momentum from last week (Texas Tech), returned to regular offensive form (Oklahoma State), or still left much to be desired (West Virginia).
Here are the recaps of last weekend’s Big XII games.
Oklahoma State: 56
UT- San Antonio: 35
Oklahoma State returned to their offensive form against the Roadrunners, after only scoring 21 points against Mississippi State last week. The Cowboys totaled over 600 yards of total offense, including 518 passing yards.
After being tied 7-7 until near the end of the first quarter, Oklahoma State scored five straight touchdowns, giving them a 42-7 lead after the 3rd quarter, allowing the Cowboys to bring in their backups for the 4th, giving them the ability to prevent their starters from getting hurt.
J.W. Walsh put on a show, completing 24 of his 27 passes and finishing the game with 326 passing yards and four touchdowns, and added on a touchdown on the ground. Receiver Josh Stewart caught five passes for 97 yards and was one of six Oklahoma State receivers to catch a touchdown pass.
Quarterback Eric Soza was the player of the game for UT-San Antonio, also passing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Texas: 21
BYU: 40
BYU ran all over the Longhorns. Literally. The Cougars finished the game with 550 rushing yards, including a near record-setting 259 from quarterback, Taysom Hill. Hill’s rushing yard mark was good for 2nd in the last 10 years by a quarterback in the NCAA (Vince Young- 267) and was the second most for a single game in BYU history (Eldon Fortie- 272). Running back Jamaal Williams also ran for 182 yards.
For Texas, the game brought a lot of backlash to the program, as many began to question the job security of head coach Mack Brown and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. One of these questions was answered, as Diaz was relieved of his duties on Sunday, as the Longhorns defense struggled as a unit throughout the entire, failing to make tackles, clog running lanes, and being in proper position to make plays.
It will be interesting to see how the Longhorns defense changes as the year goes on, because they have some talented players on the unit, including defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat and former high school Butkus Award winner, Jordan Hicks.
West Virginia: 7
Oklahoma: 16
In the first conference game of the Big XII season, the offenses disappointed on the scoreboard.
The teams combined totaled over 800 total offensive yards, but struggled to put points on the board. The biggest problem? The Sooners and Mountaineers combined to go 8-30 on 3rd down, leading to a lot of promising drives ending.
Both quarterbacks struggled as well in this game. Oklahoma freshman Trevor Knight only completed 50-percent of his passes (10-20) and only threw for 119 yards and an interception. West Virginia quarterback Paul Millard completed 21 of his 41 attempts (51 percent) and only threw for 218 yards and an interception.
The bright spot in the game was the Oklahoma running game, as Brennan Clay ran for 170 yards and Damien Williams ran for another 95.
Buffalo: 13
Baylor: 70
As expected, high-powered Baylor rolled over Buffalo. The Bears were firing on all cylinders, totaling 781 yards. Quarterback Bryce Petty only needed to complete 13 of his 16 passes to throw for 338 yards and two touchdowns.
Superstar running back Lache Seastrunk ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 8.8 yards each time he touched the ball.
Receivers Tevin Reese and Antwan Goodley each had four receptions and a touchdown, and had 130 and 124 receiving yards respectively.
After an impressive performance against Ohio State, Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack was a no-show against Baylor, only accumulating four total tackles.
SE Louisiana: 17
TCU: 38
TCU rebounded nicely after their loss to LSU last week, beating SE Louisiana by three touchdowns. However, the Horned Frogs suffered a setback, as quarterback Casey Pachall injured his arm in the first half.
However, Trevone Boykin filled in well for Pachall, passing for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Running back B.J. Catalon led TCU with 59 rushing yards and a score, and Waymon James also added a score on the ground.
TCU’s pass defense was stout once again, only allowing the Lions to throw for 132 yards.
Stephen F. Austin: 13
Texas Tech: 61
Walk-on freshman quarterback Baker Mayfield continued his hot start, passing for 367 yards and three touchdowns, and rushing for another 66 yards, as the Red Raiders trumped Stephen F. Austin on the scoreboard, 61-13, and in total yardage, 731-356.
Mayfield led the team to an incredibly hot start, putting Texas Tech ahead 28-7 after the 1st-quarter, and 45-7 by halftime.
Other notable performers for Texas Tech were running back Kenny Williams, who scored two of the Red Raiders 1st-quarter touchdowns, and tight end Jace Amaro, in his first full game back after missing last week’s 1st half due to suspension, caught eight passes for 142 yards and a score.
South Dakota: 14
Kansas: 31
In their first game of the season, Kansas struggled early against South Dakota, falling behind 7-0 after the 1st quarter. However, the offense seemed to finally get rolling, and the Jayhawks rattled off 24 straight points, until eventually winning, 31-14
It was to be expected for the Jayhawks to start slow, as quarterback Jake Heaps was starting his first game since transferring from BYU. He did not have a great performance, only completing 10 of his 20 passes for 110 yards, but he did a good job spreading the ball around and not turning the ball over.
The focal point of the Jayhawk offense was running back James Sims, who rushed for 94 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
The Jayhawk defense showed some good signs, only allowing 67 passing yards. However, they allowed 216 yards on the ground, as three different South Dakota players gained over 50 yards carrying the ball.
Louisiana- Lafayette: 27
Kansas State: 48
After losing to FCS opponent, North Dakota State, last week, Kansas State did a good job coming back on Saturday and notching their first win of the season.
While quarterback Jake Waters threw for 278 yards and completed 71-percent of his passes, he turned the ball over twice on interceptions. Therefore, most of the scoring was done on the ground for the Wildcats, as they scored four rushing touchdowns during the game, including two from starting running back, John Hubert.
Tyler Lockett had a great game as a receiver for the Wildcats, catching eight passes for 111 yards.