Big 12 Football Week 7 in Review: SB Nation Whiparound

So the Big 12 followed up last week's slate of close games with four games that were, well, not so close.

Here's what went down.

Kansas State 17 @ Oklahoma 38

I think we mostly got what we were expecting in this one. K-State came in statistically as one of the best defenses in the conference, but Oklahoma put up over 500 yards in a romp of the Wildcats. KSU saw two QBs in action, with Ertz leaving with an injury early in the third quarter.

BOTC, how’s that QB situation looking?

Kansas State is now 115th in total offense, good for dead last in the Big 12. In the three losses so far, the Wildcats have averaged a measly 319 yards of offense. The offense—with or without Ertz—is shambolic.

BOTC may have some words of wisdom here for KU fans, too.

I’m so tired of the “Where’s Delton?” stuff. I’m sure he’s a great kid, and yes, he’s athletic, but we haven’t seen him throw and there might be a reason. Say what you will about these coaches, but assuming you know more than them when you haven’t even seen a kid play at this level is silly. Chill out. This isn’t fun. None of us are having fun. We don’t like losing. But if Delton was the savior, he’d be playing. The coaches aren’t going to put him on the field just to prove to you why they shouldn’t.

Meanwhile over at Crimson and Cream Machine:

The game was never really in doubt, and maybe that means no one should complain about Oklahoma’s performance. Frankly, though, this is a game Oklahoma should have dominated—if not to the extent of last year, at least something resembling that kind of overpowering. With all due respect to Bill Snyder’s squad, the Sooners were clearly the more talented team. The fact that the game wasn’t officially over until Baker Mayfield’s 88-yard bomb to Dede Westbrook with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter is a signal that Oklahoma hasn’t fixed some of the same problems that have haunted it all year.

Come on, CCM, tell us how you really feel.

I just want to see them put it all together. They didn’t need to do it today to come away with a comfortable win, but at some point they’ll need to play up to their potential to avoid disaster.

West Virginia 48 @ Texas Tech 17

Um. What? Can someone please tell me what happened here? I had the Over on this one, and while West Virginia held up their end of the deal, Texas Tech most certainly did not.

According the Viva The Matadors, a lot of the issues are coming from the offensive line:

There’s no reason to have a guy like Patrick Mahomes if you can’t protect him. He’s being pressured nearly every single play. He’s being hit a majority of those times. We can’t expect him to make plays if he doesn’t have any time.

Is Kliff Kingsbury’s seat getting warm in Lubbock?

He’s now officially on the hot seat, deserved or not. His teams have failed to get better with penalties and in key portions of the game they failed to execute.

If there was ever a time to circle the wagons in Kliff Kingsbury’s career, this is it. He needs to win, and he needs to win now. Nothing else will be good enough.

Meanwhile, over at Smoking Musket, they are ecstatic with the dominating performance they witnessed:

With this performance, it would be very easy to overreact. You could almost see the collective eyes of the Mountaineer faithful growing wider as the second half progressed. WVU is 5-0 and 2-0 in conference play. No one in the Big 12 looks unbeatable, and more than a couple look down right bad. This season looks to be WVU’s most promising chance to date to claim a Big 12 title.

I sense a “but” coming on…

Again, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It is easy to forget that WVU needed a last second miss two weeks ago to get past Kansas State, a team that may not be very good. The same thing goes for the last second interception needed to escape with a win against a driving BYU team. If they come out flat and lose to the horned frogs next week, all of these lofty dreams will look very foolish.

Kansas 7 @ Baylor 49

This one was over by the time the second quarter started, Kansas just didn’t know it yet. By the time halftime arrived, though, pretty much everyone had figured it out, as the Bears had dominated the Jayhawks and held a 42-0 lead at the break. Was Our Daily Bears impressed by what they saw?

Because of short fields provided by the defense and a little bit of sloppiness in the passing game, this one probably won't go into the offensive record books. It's important to note, however, that Kansas was coming off a near-upset of TCU that included a very strong defensive performance, so it's nothing to be ashamed of. When you start drives at the opponent 37, 19, and 4 in the first half, you can't really complain about yards, anyway.

That’s a good point, and something that Kansas fans are used to seeing.

… the Kansas offense continued its season-long ineptitude. Willis tossed two first half INTs, the offensive line kept getting beat by a three-man front, and KU averaged 1.6 yards per rush in the first half.

Ah. So turnovers seem to be an issue?

It’s hard to read anything into what happened in the second half, but it bears mentioning Willis threw another INT in KU’s first possession of the third quarter. That makes seven turnovers for Willis in two games. Unacceptable.

Yikes. Maybe things will get better next week!

Iowa State 6 @ Texas 27

Iowa State scored field goals on their second and third drives of the game, taking a 6-0 lead into the second quarter, but then they stopped moving the ball. It was a battle of punters in the first half with ISU leading 6-3 at the break before Texas erupted in the third quarter.

What happened, WRNL?

The first quarter was all about the Cyclones.

Right, we already established that.

How does one describe the second half of this football game... Bay of Pigs? World War II for France? Enron’s business management strategy?

Wow, that's... harsh!

I feel it necessary to describe just how bad the offensive line was tonight. Though the line wasn’t great before this drive, their pathetic play reared its head on this series. The offensive line resembled 5 turnstiles lined up in a row or a screen door trying to hold back a hurricane, and let Longhorn defenders through the line like crap through a goose.

They surrendered 8 sacks, and often gave the quarterbacks less than 2 seconds to get rid of the football. Not even Tom Brady can deliver an accurate pass with that kind of protection, folks.

This is the third blog to mention issues with the O-line play (Tech, KU).

Any final thoughts?

In reality, this game leaves the Cyclones with plenty of questions and few answers. How does an offense that had put up such great numbers in 3 consecutive weeks struggle so mightily against what is considered the WORST defense in the conference? Does the offensive line have a pulse (they’ve given up 15 sacks in 2 games)?

Burnt Orange Nation was pleased with the win, even if it was “only” Iowa State:

No, Iowa State isn’t Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, or California, who averaged 578 yards and 48 points per game against the Longhorns, but the Cyclones’ offense was certainly on the up-and-up. Despite the recent losses to Oklahoma State and Baylor, Iowa State’s offense has put up 472 yards and 39 points per game dating back to its win over San Jose State.

Everyone thought Texas was “back” after the Notre Dame game in Week 1. What about now?

If only the Longhorns didn’t love being their own worst enemy so often. On a night in which many expected yet another shootout, the Texas defense imposed its will from start to finish, but an offense stuck in neutral for the majority of the first half still presented the feeling that the ‘Horns may be headed for a fourth straight loss.

The reason? You guessed it—penalties (and a turnover).

I guess not.

Even amid a much-needed convincing victory, Texas still has room for improvement, but it’s hard not to marvel at the defensive showcase Strong’s unit displayed, allowing the offense time to get things together.