SB Nation Big 12 Whiparound: Week 7

Texas and Oklahoma State had the week off.

West Virginia 38 @ #2 Baylor 62

I see in the box score that this game was relatively close at halftime, with the Bears holding a 27-17 lead.  But the Bears ran away from the Mountaineers in the second half.  How did it all go down?  Let's start with Smoking Musket:

WVU lost another football contest today largely because of an anemic Red Zone offense that couldn't produce touchdowns and keep up with Baylor - losing 62-38 to the Bears. WVU football in the Red Zone is almost as painful to watch as a Matthew McConaughey car commercial. Red Zone offensive failures at the end of the first half were the missed opportunities given to WVU by a great Baylor team.

But you have to give Baylor this: they don't turn the ball over, they have world-class offensive and defensive lines, and the best wide receiver in the nation in Corey Coleman.

For Our Daily Bears, the season just continues marching on:

Baylor finally played someone ... and it didn't matter.  They still dominated the game, particularly in the second half, and made someone look like no one (no offense intended, Mountaineers fans).

Baylor is so good on offense-- so dynamic-- that time of possession doesn't matter, field position doesn't matter, and when an opponent scores and starts to gain confidence, they can lose it immediately when we score in response.  It's an incredible machine to watch in motion, and I'm thankful it's our machine.

#3 TCU 45 @ Iowa State 21

Iowa State took a 21-14 lead into the second quarter, but then apparently TCU's defense finally got off the bus.  Frogs O War realizes that TCU is a much different team away from home:

Close wins at Minnesota, Texas Tech, and Kansas State (well pretty much every away game) exposed TCU's shortcomings when the Frogs aren't in the cozy Carter. Perhaps it's not necessarily the offense, but the defense that struggles the most on the road. The Frogs just couldn't seem to make tackles and stop deep passes, and the Cyclones kept rolling along like the Big 12 teams ranked high above them.

The Frogs can't rest in the same confidence they had in 2014. But hey, we're 7-0. Can't complain.

WRNL is getting tired of Paul Rhodes:

A strong first half effort from the players and coaches went for naught today, as ISU was outscored 31-0 after the first quarter. The second half was a full display of questionable play calling, regrettable coaching decisions, and poor tackling as the Cyclones never remotely threatened the Horned Frogs after the intermission.

#19 Oklahoma 55 @ Kansas State 0

I'm guessing that if you had to bet which game being played in the state of Kansas would be over at halftime, you would not have picked this one.  You would have lost said bet.  Bring on the Cats accused their team of quitting before halftime:

Oklahoma 35, K-State DNP: Against an opponent whose entire routine was destroyed yesterday, this team came out unprepared and listless. You can see the body language; they're cooked.

K-State was completely outplayed on both sides of the ball for the full 60 minutes. The coaching staff was completely outmatched. What few positives existed at the end of the third quarter all disappeared by the time there were ten minutes left.

The Wildcats had 30 yards of total offense in the second half.  It was K-State's first shutout since 1996 (at Colorado), and the first time they've been held scoreless in Manhattan since 1991 (vs Colorado).

Obviously, Crimson and Cream Machine was extremely pleased with what they called a "Complete Performance":

It was a, "come to Jesus" type week for Oklahoma, who had both their competence and mental toughness questioned following last week's loss to Texas, and the result was a focused and complete team effort that featured a few starting roster changes on both sides of the ball.

While fans are left asking, "where was this team last week," it's important to note that Oklahoma dominance came over a team that should have upended Oklahoma State in Stillwater two weeks ago and were on the cusp of knocking off TCU last week. You hate to emotionally define a team immediately after a game but I don't see how the Sooners can be out of the Big 12 title race...if they continue to play like this.

Texas Tech 30, @ Kansas 20

Meanwhile, at the other game in Kansas, the Red Raiders came out a barely overcame a lively bunch of Jayhawks who seemed to feed off their small, yet lively crowd.  Viva The Matadors was unimpressed with their squad:

We were not ready for the physicality of the Kansas Jayhawks.  I do not like this omen. This is not good. They got a considerable push on our veteran OL. I really hope this was just an off game and we aren't regressing to 2014.

Even other teams recognize that maybe Beaty should be going for it more:

Has there been any greater indicator of the terribleness of field goals than Kansas's kicking woes in the first half? Seriously Beaty, go for it. You ain't gonna hurt nothing.

Overall, VTM was just happy to get out of Oz with the win:

I'm not okay with this performance, but I'm happy with the win.  We played like crap and still won. We normally lose when we do that. I still believe that this is a good team that just didn't have their best day today.

For our part, Ryan Willis looks more and more every week like he's the quarterback this program can rely on for the next several years.  If only we could get that whole kicking thing figured out:

Special teams was amazing.  There's no other word for it.  They were absolutely amazing.... -ly AWFUL.  The Jayhawks missed three field goals and an extra point.  They may have found a punter in former placekicker Matthew Wyman, but KU missed field goals of 52, 22, and 34 yards, leaving a minimum of 10 points on the field.

This game was expected to be a blowout by most, and turned into a missed opportunity for David Beaty's boys.  Better special teams play, or even better offense (due to three turnovers) would have allowed KU to send the Red Raiders home with what would have been quite the embarrassing loss.