The Big 12 Weekend Wrap

Longhorns’ Upset Bid Falls Short in Red River Showdown

The Texas Longhorns (2-3 0-2) entered Saturday’s Red River Showdown needing a win to quiet growing speculation on the future of head coach Charlie Strong. In an effort to improve the Longhorns’ struggling defense, Strong took over defensive play-calling duties this week after demoting defensive coordinator Vance Bedford from his position following last week’s lopsided 49-31 loss to Oklahoma State. For a half, the change seemed to be doing some good as the Longhorn defense limited #20 Oklahoma (3-2 2-0) to 14 points with the help of several key turnovers. But in the second half, the Sooner offense exploded for several big plays to outlast the Longhorns 45-40.

Dede Westbrook was the big playmaker for Oklahoma in what was, for the most part, a back-and-forth game. The senior wide receiver caught three Baker Mayfield thrown touchdown passes from 71, 42, and 47 yards out on his way to setting a school record 232 yards on 10 receptions. Mayfield overcame two early interceptions thrown to Longhorn safety Dylan Haines to finish the day 22 of 31 for a total of 390 yards.

In addition to the explosive passing attack, Oklahoma was also effective moving the ball on the ground. Semaje Perine collected 214 yards and two TDs on 35 carries for the Sooners.

In the end, Texas simply wasn’t able to match Oklahoma when it came to big plays. Still, freshman quarterback Shane Buechele was able to throw two big touchdown passes to Devin Duverna from 63 yards out and Dorian Leonard from 45 yards out to give the Longhorns the lead at two different points of the third quarter. D’Onta Foreman had a big day on the ground for Texas carrying the ball 25 times for 159 yards and two TDs.

Texas will try to get back on track next week when they host Iowa State.

TCU 24 Kansas 23

TCU (4-2 2-1) survived an upset scare from Kansas after Jayhawk kicker Matthew Wyman missed a 54-yard field goal with only seconds remaining on the clock to keep the Horned Frogs’ 24-23 advantage intact. Kansas (1-4 0-2) led TCU 23-14 after a 21-yard touchdown run from quarterback Ryan Willis in the final minute of the third quarter. TCU responded with 10 unanswered fourth-quarter points, including a 34-yard field goal from Brandon Hatfield with 1:21 remaining, to go ahead for good.

Willis and TCU quarterback Kenny Hill both struggled in the passing game with three interceptions apiece. Kyle Hicks had a good day on the ground for the TCU running for 104 yards on 18 carries.

Oklahoma State 38 Iowa State 31

Oklahoma State (4-2 2-1) also needed a late second-half surge to survive an upset bid from Iowa State (1-5 0-3). The Cowboys scored the final 24 points of the game, including a three-yard TD pass from Mason Rudolph to James Washington with 3:40 remaining, to finish off the Cyclones. Iowa State had stretched its lead to 31-14 with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter after an 18-yard touchdown pass from Joel Lanning to Allen Lazard.

Lanning finished the day 19 of 32 for 190 yards and two TD passes. Rudolph was 26 of 44 for 51 yards with four TD passes. Neither quarterback threw an interception. Washington had a big receiving day for the Cowboys with eight catches for 152 yards.

Kansas State 44 Texas Tech 38

After giving up four touchdowns in the first half, the Kansas State (3-2 1-1) defense found a way to slow down the Texas Tech (3-2 1-1)offense in the second half to give the Wildcats a 44-38 victory at home. The game was tied at 31-31 after the third quarter. Kansas State scored 13 consecutive fourth-quarter points to put the game out of reach.

Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II threw the ball for 504 yards on 62 attempts. Charles Jones had a big day on the ground for Kansas State carrying the ball for 128 yards on 19 carries and one TD.