Big 12 Football Week 10 in Review: SB Nation Whiparound

Time to check in around the Nation and see what’s going on in Big 12 football.

Oklahoma 34 @ Iowa State 24

The Sooners went up to Ames on a Thursday night and... well they didn’t escape with a victory, but it was closer than many expected, including Crimson and Cream Machine:

The Sooners won their Thursday night contest in Ames 34-24, but nobody seemed particularly happy about it.

But when you add everything up—the personal foul penalties, the sacks, the missed tackles, the blown assignments and the big plays—you get the picture of a team that can’t win three straight games against the Big 12’s best. Which, starting next weekend, is exactly what the Sooners have to do.

Over at WRNL, they are getting tired of the moral victory thing, but hey, at least they aren’t Kansas.

I know, I know. We’re all tired of trying to find the bright side after a loss. Moral victories suck. But I genuinely think we’ve seen progress, even in the last few weeks, and that’s a positive.

Overall, the crowd was better than expected for a Thursday night game, and for the sixth time in seven games, ISU has covered the spread. That tells me this Cyclone team isn’t letting go of the season, even though they’re winless in the conference, and have played well against top competition.

Iowa State has steadily been improving all season:

We knew this year was going to be rough, but I don’t think anyone envisioned this many close losses to good teams. As a fan, it’s frustrating. The team we saw last night is clearly better than the team that lined up against UNI and Iowa at the beginning of the season. However, the wins haven’t arrived yet.

Texas 45 @ Texas Tech 37

The Longhorns found themselves down 23-14 with Texas Tech on offense, and things were looking bleak. But the newly resilient Texas defense held Tech scoreless for the next 23:50 of game time, and UT pulled away. Burnt Orange Nation called it a turning point, and I assume they don’t just mean in the game:

A young group of ‘Horns showed tremendous maturity when faced with adversity and the opportunity for another “Here we go again” moment.

Is Charlie Strong’s seat getting any more comfortable?

If wins and losses are all that matters, the ‘Horns got the job done.

Right now, the bottom line is that the team is showing more toughness, an improved defense, and an offense that is difficult to stop with the heroics of D’Onta Foreman.

This is a better football team than it was two weeks ago at Kansas State, so we can all take another big step further away from the edge of the abyss.

As for Viva the Matadors, they lament missed opportunities in this one:

Give credit to Texas for making adjustments, but from the end of the 1st on, Tech’s offense looked completely contained. It’s been an ongoing problem for Tech the last few years that when the defense does make stops, the offense can’t capitalize. Tech has to find away to turn at least one of those stops into points. Tech had several chances in the 2nd quarter to extend the lead to 30-14 but stalled after a defensive stop and ended up going into halftime down 24-23. Tech had another opportunity in the 4th, but were forced to punt after a 3 & out.

TCU 62 @ Baylor 22

Wow, talk about your eye-opening scores. The Frogs jumped all over TCU and never let up. Frogs O’ War knew everyone was rooting for them:

For a day, TCU was America’s Team, as they traveled to Waco to take on a Baylor team coming off their first loss of the season and freshly mired in more controversy.

The big win felt really, really good.

It was an excellent game for Frog fans from start to finish, and though this should go without saying, let’s celebrate here and not venture over to other boards to gloat, brag, or be self-righteous. Yes, this game seemed to mean a little more, not only to the TCU faithful, but college football fans nationwide, in light of everything surrounding Waco and its football team. So for that, we will revel in victory through the bye week.

Our Daily Bears is handling it about as well as could be expected. For one, they seem to be outraged that the #CAB movement has as much support as it does.

To wear a t-shirt with the letters #CAB is ludicrous. To fly a flag with his letters on it during a game is embarrassing. He is not the coach of this team. 17 players had 19 incidents of sexual or domestic assault while he coached the team. Regardless of anything else, that is unacceptable. The people wearing these shirts have nothing to prove he’s innocent and did not deserve to be fired.

As for the rest of the season:

Many questions will remain for this team. A week ago they controlled their own destiny for a spot in the Sugar Bowl and looked like a possible playoff contender. Now they will face questions everywhere. In a game where a star running back pushed a coach and many others questioned the play calling of coaches, the fire on this team will be intense. How they hold up remains to be seen.

Oklahoma State 43 @ Kansas State 37

K-State was up 13-0 early, then 30-21, then 37-28 in the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys just would not go away. According to Cowboys Ride For Free, the atmosphere was amazing for what turned out (for them) to be a great college football game:

After the final whistle blew yesterday, I turned to my Dad and said, “That’s one of the single best football games I’ve ever watched live.” This morning, I’m doubling down on that. Manhattan was incredible. Bill Snyder Family Stadium was rocking. The Pokes were rolling the dice. Jesse Ertz was the second-coming of Collin Klein. This game had everything.

And now, Oklahoma State controls its own destiny in the Big 12.

With TCU’s vaporization of Baylor yesterday (thank you, Frogs), Oklahoma State now controls their destiny. Win out, and you’re the champion. That road [through Norman] begins this week against Texas Tech on Senior Day in Boone Pickens Stadium. Show up, get loud, and let’s keep this momentum rolling.

Now over at Bring on the Cats, they’re starting to question not only the playcalling, but the focus of the team as a whole.

There were some great plays today. Don't let's lose sight of this. But there were also some howlers, and they weren't just a case of guys getting beat. Oklahoma State scored a touchdown on a play where not one but two defensive backs bit on a pump-fake, and both abandoned the eventual receiver to go after two different targets. They still play too far off the receivers, which of course is a coaching matter.

Focus is an issue. It needs to be addressed.

Kansas 21 @ West Virginia 48

Did you know Kansas had a game on Saturday? It was even on TV! I KNOW, RIGHT? RCT is pretty much done with QB Montell Cozart:

Cozart threw an interception on KU’s first drive of the game; according to the radio broadcast, the receiver may have run the wrong route, for whatever that is worth. However, Cozart’s game was marred by overthrown balls and the willingness to shy away from contact, which cost his team multiple first downs in this game. This is all stuff we have seen from Cozart in the past, so none of it is a surprise. In addition, out of the 10 times Cozart led the KU offense onto the field, the Jayhawks went 3-and-out four times.

The backup QB is all too often the most popular guy on, and off, campus.

As for Smoking Musket, I think they expected a big win, and there’s only so much you can take from a game like this.

I think Dana left the starters in way too long. Personally, given that we play Texas, in Austin, at noon, next Saturday, I would pulled the guys earlier.

They did have some kind words regarding their opponent:

Carter Stanley looked impressive during his brief time. Steven Sims Jr showcased speed during his time. So David Beatty has some pieces coming. The job he took over is an extremely tough one. For the conference, I hope Beatty can turn it around.