Big 12 SB Nation Whiparound: Week 5

Texas 7 @ #4 TCU 50

This game was over in the first quarter.  No, seriously, it was.  TCU led 30-0 going into the second quarter of play.  The Longhorns even had a player retweet at halftime a tweet asking him to transfer to Texas A&M.  Since blaming the refs was met with raucous laughter across the nation last weekend, UT fans are now turning their angst toward head coach Charlie Strong:

Worst of all, circumstances like the firestom Boyd created with his halftime re-tweet makes it look like Strong doesn't have control of his program, an accusation that opposing coaches are surely going to pump into the ears of recruits in the coming days. Early playing time might sell to some extent, but this season is rapidly becoming a worst-case scenario for results on the recruiting trail in what will be a defining 2016 class for Strong.

Frogs O War, not surprisingly, was extremely pleased and couldn't find anything to complain about from Saturday's event:

Yeah, it's Texas, and yeah, their offense isn't good - but this was as complete game we have seen from the Frogs in 2015. To win it all, you have to be able to win ugly, but you have to be able to dominate your opponents in all phases of the game, too. That's what TCU did on Saturday. They were better on offense. They were better on defense. They were better on Special Teams. And they were better than they were a week ago.

Texas Tech 35 @ #5 Baylor 63

The Red Raiders lasted a little bit longer than the Longhorns did, but not much longer, as this game was over before halftime, as Baylor took a 49-21 lead into the break.  Viva the Matadors realizes that this game was over fast, and that it could have been much worse:

They could've easily scored a hundred on us, and they didn't. I don't think our defense is as bad as last years, I just think that Baylor's offense is better than last years.

Our Daily Bears was obviously happy with the big victory, and each week I get even more and more upset at Charlie Weis regarding Seth Russell:

Seth Russell keeps getting better and better, and we continue to see some of what makes him so different from Bryce Petty.  Three or four times a game, he makes a pass that Bryce never would have attempted, and though those kinds of passes might haunt us at some point, it also brings a dimension to our offense that we simply haven't had.  For this game, I'm talking about two of the TD passes to K.D. Cannon and Corey Coleman, specifically, as well as another that should have been caught to Cannon before the one he actually did catch.  The timing/placement on those throws was just perfect.

One other comment from ODB that caught my eye:

Baylor has gotten better in offensive output in the first half of each game this season.  There's obviously a limit to that since you only have so many possessions, but it's fairly incredible to see laid out that way.  Here's our total yardage in the first half of our first four games: 274, 395, 444, 499.  Sucks to be Kansas right now.

Yikes.  I'll be at Memorial Next weekend to see if Baylor can break Georgia Tech's single game points record.

#23 West Virginia 24 @ #15 Oklahoma 44

In what was WVU's chance to show everyone across the country that it's time to take them seriously, the Mountaineers... well, they did the opposite.  Smoking Musket took note:

We saw the return of "Bad Case Of Nerves" Skyler and it hurt us dearly. Howard went 17/32 for only 173 yards. But much worse than Howard throwing nearly every pass too high is the fact that he showed no pocket awareness. Howard was sacked 7 times, threw 3 interceptions and fumbled twice, one of which was picked up and returned for an Oklahoma touchdown.

Cornerback Daryl Worley was beat badly numerous times in possibly his worst performance as a Mountaineer, giving up at least one Oklahoma touchdown. On the other side, Terrell Chestnut bit hard on a double move by Sterling Shepherd that allowed 14-7 in the second quarter, and it was all downhill from there.

Crimson and Cream Machine was on the other end of this one:

The Sooners controlled the game in the first half, but a third quarter blunder looked like the Mountaineers might come back and win. But a 71 yard touchdown from Mayfield to Durron Neal extended the Sooners lead once again to kill the momentum. Killing the opposing teams momentum was the Sooners main problem in the first three quarters against Tennesee and the second half against Tulsa.

Kansas State 34 @ #20 Oklahoma State 36

Did K-State get screwed? Bring On The Cats, while obviously not thrilled with the officiating, was still encouraged by what they saw on the field anyway:

When Joe Hubener went down early in the game, it was clear this game was going to be an uphill struggle. But then Kody Cook turned expectation on its head, and suddenly, a win in Stillwater--with a fifth string quarterback no less--seemed not only possible but highly probable.

(Mr. Ed says: Um... so Ertz was the #1 QB out of fall camp, Hubener was the backup thrust into starting... what happened to the #3 and #4 QBs?  I digress - back to BOTC.)

If there's anything we can really take away from today it's that the first half was lots of fun. The second half was not.

...the coaches called the second-half game like they were scared to lose instead of calling it like they wanted to win...

Kody Cook played like he was just a kid having fun, and the rest of the offense played like they would take a bullet for him. I haven't seen that level of determination or heart from Kansas State since some guy named Collin Klein led to his team of walk-ons and second-chance stars to an improbable 10-win season in 2011.

Cowboys Ride For Free called the chain gang out for the mistake:

Not to be rude or anything, but the yellow line, which is right, isn't something the refs can see in the game, they have to go by the chain gang, who obviously screwed up. Now that we have that cleared up, does that mean OSU doesn't score on that drive? Maybe. But down by two scores when your defense can't stop a receiver turned quarterback and with Mason Rudolph finding his stride, who's to say OSU doesn't go for the what should be fourth down?

The first down shouldn't have happened, we'll all agree on that. But let's not act like we know that gives OSU the game (no one has actually said that to my knowledge, yet). If OSU does punt it, KSU may not score. Or they might score. Anything can happen but this isn't a game of what ifs, if it were, Oklahoma State may have been in a national championship game in 2011.

CRFF knows it wasn't pretty, but they'll take the win:

...I will say that a win is a win. OSU is 5-0 for the first time since 2011 and is finding ways to win. Could it be better? Yes. But the team is young so right now, they're doing as well as they could be doing and are one of the four undefeated teams in the conference. It'll also get better with experience.

How about a (mostly) unbiased view?  Our very own Warden (who has officiated college football) says:

The screen captures make a strong case that the refs screwed up.  The line to gain should have been the 34 and OSU made it to the 38. However, the only indication we have that they were awarded a 1st down is the graphic on the TV. In the video that's posted on Youtube, it doesn't show the referee signaling a 1st down and we can't see the chains on the next play. Although, the line judge does signal to stop the clock, something he only does if it's a 1st down. The only reason I'm not 100% sold on the screw up is that CBS, ESPN, and the NCAA play-by-play all show the next play as 4th-and-4. Not a single one shows the play as 1st-and-10 for the Cowboys.

I think it's also worth mentioning that Oklahoma State gained 25 yards on the next play, easily covering the original 1st down line. If the chains were moved and the 1st down was awarded (appears so, but I can't see it in any of the video or screen caps I've seen) maybe the play calling and defense is playing different than they would have on 4th. We don't know. We do know K-State didn't stop them at all on that drive and definitely didn't stop them on the 4th play of that series.

And then my question is, if OSU was indeed awarded a first down there, how did no one on the KSU sideline not notice?

Kansas 13 @ Iowa State 38

I'm going to start including our game recaps here as well, just so we can see what it looked like from the other side of the field.  And yes, I know, I probably should have done this all year.  ANYWAY...

From your very own RCT:

KU had a few good plays, of course, and you could see some potential, but once again, the bad more than outweighed the good.  Cozart hit Parmalee on a nice TD pass, and Marcquis Roberts had a really nice pick-6 for KU's other TD.  But penalties, missed assignments, and just an overall lack of talent doomed Kansas to their 35^th straight loss away from Memorial Stadium.

We finally got an extended look at Ryan Willis, and I'm guessing the calls for him to get more playing time will continue:

Give him credit, the kid isn't afraid of contact.  He has some pocket presence, and even showed off a nice, big arm on a deep 38-yard pass to Steven Sims.

While WRNL is cautiously hopeful for a bowl bid, I think they realize that's a bit of a longshot:

The Iowa State offense totaled 512 total yards, including 243 on the ground and 269 through the air, en route to a 38-13 demolishing of a Kansas Jayhawks team that will struggle to pick up a single win for the rest of the year. The performance was what ISU needed to do against a sub-par KU squad, and kept hopes of reaching bowl eligibility alive, for now.