Big XII Conference Recap- Week 1

Oklahoma State 24 Central Michigan 13

Oklahoma State had a tricky game to start their season against the pesky Chippewas of Central Michigan, and true to form, OSU found themselves trailing in the third quarter. Quarterback Mason Rudolph completed 22 of 32 passes for 266 yards and touchdown as the Cowboys became only the fifth Power Five conference team to ever play at Central Michigan. Next week: the Cowboys face UCLA.

Baylor 56 SMU 21

Baylor is at it again. They piled up 723 total yards in offense on their way to a rout against local rival SMU. Sure, the Mustangs tried to keep it close, trailing only 28-21 at the half, but a 28-0 second half fueled the Bears to an easy win. Next up: another blowout win against Lamar.

TCU 23 Minnesota 17

Sometimes you’ve just got to get it done on the road, and TCU did just that as they got their season started on Thursday night. The Horned Frogs went up to Minnesota (who they beat handily last year) and found the game tougher than expected. But, championship quality sides have to find a way to win when everything isn’t clicking, and TCU proved that it could do just that. Next week: The Horned Frogs host Stephen F. Austin.

Texas Tech 59 Sam Houston State 45

I’m not sure what this result means, but I’m pretty sure that it signifies that Texas Tech has a terrible defense. Texas Tech gave up 637 yards of total offense to the Bearkats. Sam Houston State scored 31 points in the first half but was shut out in the third quarter and couldn’t make up the difference. On the plus side for Tech, quarterback Patrick Maholmes threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns on 33/53 passing. Next week: The Red Raiders host UTEP.

Oklahoma 41 Akron 3

Oklahoma relied heavily on the passing game in their rout over Akron. Baker Mayfield completed 23 of 33 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns. The aerial highlights of the game was Joe Mixon’s 76 yard catch and touchdown and Dede Westbrook’s one handed snare for a TD. Things promise to be a little more difficult next week when the Sooners travel to #25 Tennessee.

Kansas State 34 South Dakota 0

We all know about the hijinks that the K-State band performed at halftime, but did you know that there was also a football game played? Yep, there was, and the Wildcats beat South Dakota 34-0 in it. Most of the plays that the K-State team ran were intentional, but I’m guessing that the incomplete passes, the penalties, and the runs for losses were not planned by the head football coach. Sometimes things just don’t go as they were planned.

Notre Dame 38 Texas 3

Remember when Texas head coach Charlie Strong told us that we wouldn’t be seeing any more five-loss Texas teams? He was probably right. They went on to lose seven games last year and judging by their performance against Notre Dame and the teams still remaining on their schedule, we could easily see a six loss Texas team in 2015. That’ll be fun. Texas hosts Rice next week.

Iowa State 31 Northern Iowa 7

Amazingly, 61,500 people went to see Iowa State play a football game against Northern Iowa. They won that game, but not before going down 7-0 to their in-state rivals. I wonder how much noise 61,500 booing fans make? It doesn’t matter because the Cyclones went on to score the next 35 points much to the delight of everyone involved. Next up for ISU is another rival- Iowa.

West Virginia 44 Georgia Southern 0

Sure, quarterback each of Skyler Howard’s completed passes netted the Mountaineers 14.4 yards on average, but the real star of the game was senior safety Karl Joseph who picked off three Georgia Southern passes in the rout. Next week West Virginia takes on Turner Gill and Liberty.

Up-to-date Big XII Standings:

Baylor 1-0

Iowa State 1-0

Kansas State 1-0

Oklahoma 1-0

Oklahoma State 1-0

TCU 1-0

Texas Tech 1-0

West Virginia 1-0

Kansas 0-1

Texas 0-1