Around The Big 12, Week Three: So, Kansas, Huh?

It might not feel like it, but there were some amazing results in the Big 12 this week.

Kansas beat Boston College by multiple touchdowns! West Virginia did the same to NC State! Iowa State....well, we’ll get to you in a minute, Cyclones.

All in all it was a good week for the conference. The Big 12 went 5-2 against other P5 conferences, and the losses weren’t too terrible.

I don’t really have anything else to say, so let’s get to the recaps!

THE GOOD

Kansas 48, Boston College 24: Where in the world did that come from, Jayhawks? One week after losing to Coastal Carolina, Kansas put up 567 yards of total offense on the road against BC. Per sports-reference.com, that’s the most yards for the Jayhawks since the first game of the 2016 season and the most against a P5 team since 2007.

Carter Stanley looked like a justified starter, going 20-27 for 238 yards and three scores. Two Kansas rushers went over 100 yards on the ground and the Jayhawks’ defense shut out Boston College in the second half. (BC, this might be time to check for termites in your foundation.)

Kansas is now 2-1 and will travel to West Virginia next week to start Big 12 play.

Oklahoma 48, UCLA 14: Look, I could give you the full box score rundown here, or I could just tell you this — after one drive, Jalen Hurts had 99 rushing yards on four attempts and one touchdown. Get the picture?

Oklahoma (3-0) gets a bye before hosting Texas Tech to start conference play on Sept. 28.

Texas 48, Rice 13: This went exactly as you thought it would — Texas led 38-0 through three quarters, and Same Ehlinger went 23-27 for 279 yards and three touchdowns. The Longhorns even had a coup de grace, returning a kickoff for a touchdown in the final minute of the game.

Texas (2-1) gets Oklahoma State next week.

Kansas State 31, Mississippi State 24: It turns out hiring the head coach of a dominant FCS dynasty is...a good idea?

Chris Klieman’s Wildcats are 3-0 and turned in a very Kansas State-esque performance against MSU, scoring 31 points despite amassing only 269 yards of offense and fumbling three times. Looking at the box score, I have no idea how the Wildcats won this game — they did pick up some bonus points with a 100-yard kickoff return TD, but still.

Kansas State travels to Oklahoma State next week to start the Big 12 slate.

West Virginia 44, NC State 27: One week after losing 38-7 to Missouri, West Virginia outscored NC State 23-6 in the second half and brought some validation to the Neal Brown era. Austin Kendall was 27-40 with three touchdowns, the Mountaineers put together 173 yards on just 28 rushing attempts and WVU earned a crucial win. (I have an aunt that graduated from NC State and now works there in administration, so I will refrain from making too many negative statements about the Pack.)

The Mountaineers travel to a (white hot?) Kansas next week.

Oklahoma State 40, Tulsa 21: The Cowboys started off shaky, trailing Tulsa 21-20 at the half. But the defense rallied to shut out the Golden Hurricanes in the second half, and Chuba Hubbard took over, rushing for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer Sanders wasn’t great at quarterback, going 12-22 for 169 yards, a score and a pick, but he didn’t lose OSU the game, and he did add 59 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

I don’t know what to make of the Cowboys at this point — they haven’t beaten anyone good, but they’ve also handled their business. Sanders hasn’t been a world-beater, but Hubbard might be enough to cover his flaws.

Something tells me we’ll figure out just how good OSU actually is next week, when the Cowboys go on the road to play Texas.

THE BAD

Iowa 18, Iowa State 17: In perhaps the most El Assico game of all time, the Cyclones lost when two players ran into each other on a punt return, leading to a fumble that Iowa recovered. That sentence doesn’t capture just how dumb the play was, so please check out the video:

Perfect. Simply perfect.

The Cyclones are 1-1 now, with a 29-26 triple-overtime win over Northern Iowa in the first game and that incredible loss to Iowa. I still think Iowa State is a good team, but we haven’t seen many signs of that so far this year.

The ‘Clones get Louisiana-Monroe next week.

THE UGLY

Arizona 28, Texas Tech 14: Yikes, Red Raiders!

Alan Bowman threw 55 passes in this game. He completed just 30 of them, for 507 yards, one score and two picks. Tech was inefficient on offense and unable to keep up with Arizona’s running game, giving up an 84-yard rushing TD to quarterback Khalil Tate and allowing 314 total yards on the ground.

The Matt Wells Era in Lubbock does deserve some leeway at the start, and Tech did look good against its first two (non-P5) opponents. But in the Red Raiders’ first test against equal competition, they looked outmatched.

And, uh, after a bye next week they have to go to Oklahoma on Sept. 28. That’s not going to be good.