Texas gets blown out again by BYU
In the words of rapper Ace Hood: ”
.” Most people thought this game would be closer. Maybe some Longhorns fans were hoping more than expecting that significant improvements would happen? They didn’t in the 3rd quarter of the game and reality sunk the hopes and dreams of Longhorns fans. Now the burnt orange faithful are hoping a lifeboat comes and saves them from their misery.
Oklahoma and Baylor blow out weaker opponents
Oklahoma made the short drive to Tulsa to play the Golden Hurricanes and they did not disappoint their Tulsa fans. They won 52-7 on the strength of a huge game from Trevor Knight.
Baylor on the other hand proved the theory that it really doesn’t matter who their quarterback is, they will put up points. KD Cannon (who never truly considered the Longhorns) had 6 catches for 223 yards against Northwestern State. Yes, it’s Northwestern State but that’s one heck of a performance.
Kansas State struggles but beats Iowa State
Ames is normally a tough place to play. Combine that fact with the home team being motivated by a blowout loss and sometimes they are able to rally the troops and play hard against a superior opponent. That’s what Iowa State did last Saturday against Kansas State.
They ultimately lost the game – that result can be something to build on or it can be debilitating. The coming weeks will give us the answer but for now, it gets Iowa State out of the cellar.
Texas Tech slips pass UTEP in a late night showdown in El Paso
The Red Raiders weren’t in El Paso to
– they were there to play a very good UTEP football team. The Miners did what most people expected them to do, which is run the ball (277 rushing yards) and control the clock (39:00 TOP for UTEP). However, the skill level and up-tempo style of Texas Tech was enough to squeak out a victory against UTEP.
This is a game where you have to look deeper into the box score to understand the flow of the game. UTEP controlled the ball for 65% of the game….you can’t score if you don’t have the ball.
Chris Flanagan’s Big 12 Rankings for Week 3
1. Oklahoma
2. Baylor
3. Oklahoma State
4. West Virginia
5. Kansas State
6. Texas Tech
7. TCU
8. Texas
9. Iowa State
10. Kansas
Analysis
Oklahoma and Baylor are clearly the two best teams in the Big 12. After them, it’s a convulted mess from 3-8. I put TCU ahead of Texas because of the blowout loss to BYU. BYU might be a great team by season’s end but as of now, it’s a bad loss. Iowa State and Kansas are going to be switching back and forth between 9th and 10th all season long.
Big 12 Game(s) of the Week (Time (CST), TV, Location)
UCLA v. Texas (7:00pm, FOX, Arlington, TX)
Arkansas v. Texas Tech (2:30pm, ABC, Lubbock, TX)
Why are these games important?
As with previous Big 12 games listed in this section, it’s the out of conference opponents that these Big 12 teams are facing that makes the games important. UCLA had high expectations heading into the season but they haven’t performed well at all. Texas is looking for any momentum after the BYU beatdown. Someone is going to have their bubble completely burst on Saturday and the perception of the entire season will go down with it.
Texas Tech is going against a weaker SEC team but a formidable one in Arkansas. Bret Bielema had a rough first year in Fayetteville but his Razorbacks should be better than last year. All Big 12 teams except Oklahoma State will be playing teams from Power 5 conferences. This will be a crucial weekend for the Big 12 to show that it is a power to be reckoned with.
Other Big 12 games (Time (CST), TV, Location)
West Virginia vs Maryland (11:00am, Big 10 Network, College Park, MD)
Iowa State vs. Iowa (2:30pm, ABC, Iowa City, IA)
Kansas vs. Duke (2:30pm, ESPN3, Durham, NC)
Minnesota vs. TCU (3:00pm, Fox Sports 1, Fort Worth, TX)
UTSA vs. Oklahoma State (6:00pm, FSN, Stillwater, OK)
Tennessee vs. Oklahoma (7:00pm, ABC, Norman, OK)
