The Big XII is starting to get interesting on and off the field. On the field, teams are starting to head into conference play, with a few already having played their first conference game, so the competition for a spot in a BCS game is starting to heat up. Also, a couple of new names made a major impact, namely Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell and West Virginia quarterback Ford Childress. Off the field, Texas is battling rumors of Mack Brown being fired after the season, even after defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has been relieved of his duties. Oklahoma State is also having problems, as Sports Illustrated is almost done releasing a five-part series that uncovers potentially major recruiting and academic violations, some dating back to when Les Miles was the head coach for the Cowboys. So overall, the plot is definitely starting to thicken within the conference, and who will come out on top?
Here is a recap of the Big XII games from the past week.
Conference Games
#24 TCU- 10
Texas Tech- 20
The lone game played on Thursday night was not necessarily exciting, but it was definitely a nail-biter. Texas Tech, who came in to the game averaging over 40 points a game, were shut down offensively for most of the game by the TCU defense. Walk-on freshman quarterback Baker Mayfield, who had played incredibly well prior to this point, ended up being benched after completing barely above 50% of his passes and throwing three interceptions.
However, backup quarterback Davis Webb was able to rescue the Red Raiders. Less than three minutes after TCU tied the game at 10 more than halfway through the 4th-quarter, Webb threw a touchdown pass to receiver Bradley Marquez to put Texas Tech ahead for good.
This was a big win for Texas Tech to start conference play, however, they will need to fix some problems with their offense before they get deeper into conference play and have to face teams like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Specifically, they will need to find a way to get star receiver Eric Ward the ball, as he was shut down by TCU corner Jason Verrett.
Non-conference games
Lamar- 3
#12 Oklahoma State- 59
No surprises here, as Oklahoma State walked all over FCS opponent, Lamar. The offense was led by running back Jeremy Smith, who scored three times on the ground for the Cowboys. J.W. Walsh also threw for 181 yards and a touchdown.
However, this was a big game for Oklahoma State, as they are currently battling alleged recruiting and academic violations, written in a five-part series by Sports Illustrated. This performance showed that the team is still focused on moving forward with this season and blocking out all distractions.
Tulsa- 20
#14 Oklahoma- 51
With redshirt freshman Trevor Knight out for the game with an injury, Blake Bell had an opportunity to impress the coaching staff, and he did not disappoint. Known for being the goal line quarterback the past two years for the Sooners, Bell came out and threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns in his first start of the season. Bell did a great job spreading the ball around, completing passes to 10 different receivers. His favorite target for the game was Sterling Shepard, who caught eight passes for 123 yards and found the endzone twice.
It will be interesting to see if Coach Stoops continues with Bell, who has certainly earned another start.
#25 Ole Miss- 44
Texas- 23
Once again, a team runs all over the Longhorns defense. This time, it was SEC opponent Ole Miss. After giving up 550 yards on the ground to BYU last week, Texas gave up another 272 to the Rebels, led by talented back Jeff Scott, who ran for 164 and a score.
The Texas offense, playing without the injured David Ash, were led on the ground by sophomore running back Jonathan Gray, who ran for 91 yards and one touchdown, and receiver Mike Davis, who caught seven passes 46 yards and the lone touchdown pass from backup quarterback Case McCoy.
Mack Brown, already on the hot seat, claimed in his press conference after the game, that their poor start can be fixed by winning the Big XII championship, starting their quest next week against Kansas State.
Georgia State- 7
West Virginia- 41
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ford Childress went from backing up Paul Millard and Clint Trickett last week, to the starter this week, and dominated in his first career start. Childress completed 25 of his 41 pass attempts and threw for 359 yards and three scores. Running back Charles Sims also impressed, rushing for 116 and a score.
While Childress impressed, the defense did not. The Mountaineers gave up 118 yards to Georgia State back Travis Evans, as he averaged 9.8 yards per carry. With how talented the offenses are in the Big XII, West Virginia will need to shore up their defense if they want to be competitive.
Iowa- 27
Iowa State- 21
For the first time sine 2010, the Hawkeyes won the Cy-Hawk trophy, defeating Iowa State. Iowa dominated the Cyclones on the ground, running for 218 yards, with 145 coming from running back Mark Weisman.
Iowa State showed they have a strong passing game, especially the connection between quarterback Sam Richardson and receiver Quenton Bundrage, who connected for three passing touchdowns. Richardson threw for over 300 yards and kept the Cyclones in the game. Unfortunately, they were unable to come away with a victory at home.
UMass- 7
Kansas State- 37
Kansas State has now won back-to-back games after opening their season with a loss to North Dakota State. The offensive attack was led by the running game, as the Wildcats ran for 329 yards.
John Hubert was the focal point of the WIldcats offense, running for 118 yards. Backup quarterback Daniel Sams also ran for 77 yards and completed both of his pass attempts.
Kansas State begins conference play next week against a sputtering Texas team. If they can run the ball as well as they did on Saturday, they should have no problem taking care of business.
Kansas- 14
Rice- 23
After opening their season with a win, the Jayhawks fell on Saturday to Rice. Quarterback Jake Heaps struggled, completing less than half his passes for 157 yards and threw two interceptions.
James Sims continues to be a workhorse for the Jayhawks, carrying the ball 19 times for 109 yards. However, he was outperformed by Rice running back Charles Ross, who ran for 157 yards and a score, tearing apart a Jayhawks defense that gained 100 more yards than Kansas.