Weekend War Zone: Baker Backs It Up

It was a big week for the Big 12, who had the main stage in both the SEC and the Big 10, and more than delivered with impressive wins.

Baylor 10, UTSA 17

It’s amazing what a massive dose of humility will do for a fanbase when it comes to national perception, and I am pretty sure we will all agree in a couple weeks when we are done laughing at BayLOL. I respect Matt Rhule, and understand he walked in to a near impossible situation, but that’s back to back Ls for a Bears program that was being heralded as returning “back to their rightful place in the Big 12”. After a 17-10 loss to UTSA Saturday night, AT HOME, they’ve done just that, looking like a cellar-dweller for at least 2017. The real question is, where does Baylor’s first win come from? Our Daily Bears simply states the obvious: The Bears are 0-2.

Iowa State 41, Iowa 44

This one hurts. The Cyclones have been perennial up-and-comers it seems, always on the cusp of turning the corner, especially under Matt Campbell. They have some legitimate talent on both sides of the ball, led by future pro Allen Lazard at WR. They had the chance to get a statement win Saturday at home over rival Iowa, and were in prime position to do it. But an early lead ended with overtime heartbreak, and the always excellent Wide Right, Natty Lite wants to talk to you about getting kicked in sensitive parts.

Kansas 27, Central Michigan 45

Same old Kansas. Yes, CMU is the same team that won that controversial game against Oklahoma State a season ago, and is a good program. But if you want to stop being the laughingstock of the Big 12 football programs, you can’t lose games by those margins to lesser division teams at home. Or you can just point people to Baylor box scores, I suppose. The Jayhawks were held to just six points in the first half, despite the excitement they felt a week ago for new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham (sour grapes that, Jayhawk fans), and looked pretty inept on both sides of the ball. David Beatty might have KU heading in the right direction, but it’s not happening any time soon. Rock Talk Chalk seems, resigned, as they write about the total domination by the Chippewas. But oh hey look at Baylor.

Kansas State 55, Charlotte 7

Nothing to see here, just the Wildcats beating the snot out of a well-overmatched team. Oklahoma is out here getting the big headlines, Oklahoma State is lighting up scoreboards, and TCU has people asking if Gary Patterson has a vintage GP defense, K State is quietly looking like the most solid team in the conference, in all three facets. Watch out for the Wizard, he’s not done yet. Bring on the Cats has the recap in cruise control.

Oklahoma 31, Ohio State 16

The Sooners have the chance to make a big leap in the polls, as they took down #2 Ohio State in dominating fashion, 31-16 in Columbus. The Oklahoma defense looked legit, and the Buckeyes - certainly a little overrated, but still - had no answer for Baker Mayfield. Lincoln Riley’s QB spent most of his time on the sideline yapping with drunk OSU fans and finished the night by planting the OU flag at midfield (or trying to at least), certifying him as a total DB, but the mercurial passer once again backed up his mouth with his play. Crimson and Cream Machine has lots of good content up today already, including the game recap celebration.

Oklahoma State 44, South Alabama 7

The most notable thing about this game was that it was played on the road, as OSU went to USA for the Friday night tilt. Mason Rudolph and James Washington did their thing, the Cowboy defense dominated an overmatched team, and Mike Gundy’s mullet won the day once again. The run defense was especially impressive, holding the Jaguars to 41 total yards, and all in all, they did what they had to do all over the field. CRFF is happy to have entered a tricky game with a resounding victory.

TCU 28, Arkansas 7

The Horned Frog defense was rock solid after an early Razorback score, making Austin Allen look more than human as they pin-balled him around the field (9-23, ick), and controlling the vaunted Arky rushing attack to the point they couldn’t control the pace of the game. The offense was... well... old school, as four players combined to rack up nearly 200 yards on the ground, led by sophomore Darius Anderson’s 100 yard game and Sewo Olonilua batting 100 as he went two touches for two scores. A couple of late scores stretched the deficit, but was more indicative of how TCU played overall. Hawk handled the recap from Down Under, reminding Frog fans how nice it is to run the damn ball.

Texas 56, San Jose State 0

Shane Buechele sat this one out, and in the process, true freshman Sam Ehlinger may have Wally Pipp’ed him. The Texas debut of the heralded QB couldn’t have gone any better for Tom Herman’s Longhorns, who ran for over 400 yards in backing up their young gunslinger - who had over 200 yards and a couple scores of his own. Herman got his first win as the head man at UT, the Spartans are willing foil in Austin for his fairy dust, and Burnt Orange Nation is impressed with how their young gun looked overall.

Texas Tech 0, Bye Week 0

You can’t give up any scores if you don’t play! Good job, Red Raider defense!

West Virginia 56, East Carolina 20

Will Grier continues to impress, as the Mountaineer QB had another great game, albeit against a far less impressive opponent than week one. A good bounce back win for WVU after the heartbreak of week one, as the Eer offense got up and rolling early and often against a Pirates team that is generally pretty solid. The 49 first half points were the most scored by West Virginia, and Dana Holgorsen continued his undefeated streak in home openers. A clever headline from our friends at The Smoking Musket, who are happy to even the season score at 1-1.