Football:
TCU DE Mat Boesen selected as Walter Camp player of the week | Sports Day
An awesome national honor for TCU’s senior star.
Boesen played an incredible game last Friday in TCU's 45-22 win over Baylor. He tallied 5.5 sacks on the day, which set new TCU and Big 12 single-game records. He fell half a sack short of tying the NCAA record.
He also forced a fumble and had a career-high 10 tackles against the Bears.
College football rewind: TCU and Oklahoma set for rematch | Chron.com
Two hot QBs will square off Saturday with plenty at stake for both teams and the conference. We all know the B12 wants OU to win, but leave your conspiracy theories at the gate.
The Sooners come into the game at 11-1 after a 59-31 win over West Virginia. Oklahoma was without quarterback Mayfield for two plays after he was benched for the first series as punishment for his antics against Kansas the week before. Mayfield also didn't get to be a captain although his teammates took his jersey to midfield for the coin toss.
Mayfield completed his first eight passes and finished with 281 yards and three touchdowns as remained the Heisman favorite.
If the Big 12 wants a team in the playoff — the conference reinistated its title game to give the champion an extra data point for the selection committee — the best hopes ride with the Sooners, who were No. 4 in last week's rankings but should move up after losses by No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Miami.
No. 10 TCU needs to contain 2nd-ranked Oklahoma’s offense | Fox Sports
It’s a tougher task with a decimated secondary.
If the Horned Frogs can contain the Sooners in the first half, they should be in good shape. TCU has allowed just six points total and no touchdowns in the second half of its past seven games. TCU’s defense ranks eighth nationally in yards allowed, second in rushing defense and eighth in scoring defense.
Patterson said the key has been the ability to match up with opponents so the Horned Frogs don’t have to gamble.
”It helps when you don’t have to blitz to stop people,” Patterson said. ”Our guys are big enough up front to hold up without having to blitz and we can play the plays the offense gives us. If you have to take chances and put guys in one-on-one situations, then you give up scores. We haven’t had to do that.”
OU football: An early look at TCU (rematch edition) | OU Sports Extra
It will take wholesale changes by the Frogs on both sides of the ball to beat OU in round two.
What went wrong last time: TCU was called for a personal foul on the game’s opening snap, and it all went downhill from there. The Frogs had no answers for Baker Mayfield or Rodney Anderson in the first half. OU outplayed TCU in all phases of the game early, and though TCU played a formidable second half, it was too little, too late.
Numbers to know: TCU has gone seven consecutive games, including its loss to OU, without allowing a second-half touchdown.
Tale of the tape: Hard to figure out what TCU could have done to slow down OU throughout much of their previous meeting. The Sooners’ offensive line played maybe its best game of the year, and Rodney Anderson was near-impossible to tackle.
What kind of path does TCU have to College Football Playoff? | The Star-Telegram
It’s convoluted, to say the least.
One potential roadblock for the Frogs and other hopefuls was removed when Notre Dame lost to Stanford on Saturday night. But the Frogs’ task will be made tougher with the suspension of safety Nick Orr for the first half against OU, announced by the Big 12 on Sunday.
So assuming a TCU victory on Saturday, its competition for that last spot could come from any of these teams or a combination:
An 11-2 SEC runner-up Georgia with losses only to Auburn.
A 10-3 SEC runner-up Auburn that defeated the No. 1 team a week earlier.
An 11-1 Alabama with only a top-10 road loss, although not even a division winner in the SEC.
A 10-2 ACC runner-up Miami with losses in two out of three weeks.
A 12-1 Big Ten runner-up Wisconsin with its only loss in the title game.
A 10-3 Big Ten runner-up Ohio State with a home loss to the Big 12 runner-up.
An 11-2 Big 12 runner-up Oklahoma, which would have split with the Frogs.
An 11-2 Pac-12 champion USC, which would have won five straight.
A 10-3 Pac-12 champion Stanford, which would be 9-1 in its past 10 games.
The best combination for the Frogs’ sake? Who can say, except that it has to start with a victory over Oklahoma.
After that, the path will narrow or widen on its own.
Year 1 proves why Big 12 conference needed return of championship game | Heartland College Sports
I am not sure I agree with this. There is a lot more that can go wrong than right in playing a team twice annually.
So the majority of Big 12 teams have to realize that to reach the College Football Playoff in today’s environment, the Big 12 championship game is a must. It’s good for you. If, for sake of argument, West Virginia goes 11-1 next season and is #4, but loses to two-loss Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, Mountaineers fans will scream that the Big 12 championship game is an awful idea.
It’s not. Because the committee would’ve possibly bumped you out of that #4 spot in Selection Sunday anyway. This gives a team another chance to beat a highly-ranked opponent in a tough championship game environment.
No the rules aren’t fair and they’re not the same across the board. But it’s the system we have in place and there’s no reason to sugarcoat the reality of what is going on here.
The Big 12 needs this championship game. It might have adverse affects in some years. But as we approach the return of the conference title game for the first time in nearly a decade, it’s clear as could be that this is a must for the conference.