Big 12 rewind, Oct. 25

Another weekend of amazing results…

KANSAS STATE

Beat Colorado 20-6, at Oklahoma on Saturday

The defense was outstanding. Safety Emmanuel Lamur is becoming a special player and end Jeffrey Fitzgerald is coming on strong. The special teams were very good against the Buffs, and Daniel Thomas (145 yards) ran hard against a defense that limited Kansas running backs to 32 yards the previous weekend. Now it’s a race to five victories in the North, and the Wildcats are the first to three.

KANSAS

Lost 35-13 to Oklahoma, at Texas Tech on Saturday

The retrospective on Todd Reesing’s career will be as positive as any for a Kansas player, but he took a hit for the performance against the Sooners. Three first-half interceptions, including an 85-yard pick-six severely damaged the Jayhawks’ hopes in this credibility game.

MISSOURI

Lost 41-7 at Texas, at Colorado on Saturday

Forget about it. Move on.

COLORADO

Lost at Kansas State 20-6, Missouri at home Saturday

If you have two quarterbacks you have none, the saying goes. Dan Hawkins said he didn’t know who would start this week after demoted Cody Hawkins moved the Buffs the length of the field in the fourth quarter. Tyler Hansen didn’t get it done after leading the team’s first-possession scoring drive.

OKLAHOMA

Won at Kansas 35-13, Kansas State at home on Saturday

The Sooners love the big defensive challenge. You can bet all week defenders were fed plenty about how good Reesing, Briscoe and Meier were and how they put up 31 on OU last season. The Sooners turned in a defensive masterpiece. And those two second half drives that broke open the game should improve quarterback Landry Jones’ confidence, and OU’s confidence in him.

TEXAS

Won at Missouri 41-7, at Oklahoma State on Saturday

Two down, one to go in the Longhorns’ toughest stretch and this one likely will turn out to be the easiest. The most positive development is Colt McCoy played like the Colt McCoy of last year. Jordan Shipley spent most of the game in the slot where he's most comfortable and caught two touchdowns. With Florida and Alabama struggling on Wednesday, Texas made the best impression among the top three.

OKLAHOMA STATE

Won 34-7 at Baylor, Texas on Saturday

A good job by the Cowboys of not looking ahead. Zac Robinson was locked in, setting a school record for completion percentage (23 of 27) as Oklahoma State cruised. The Cowboys can take control of the South race by defending home turf against Texas. With five straight victories, this is a confident team that’s getting it done without Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant. Hunter looks like he’s close to playing. He went through warm ups at Waco, but Mike Gundy wisely didn’t use him in the blow out.

TEXAS A&M

Won at Texas A&M 52-30, Iowa State at home on Saturday

Coaches get off the hot seat after games like this. A week ago, I had Mike Sherman’s bags packed. But winning in Lubbock for the first time since 1993 is about as satisfying as it gets for the Aggies. For a team playing 18 true freshmen to pick up a victory like this, a week after getting rolled at Kansas State is an incredible boost. Rushing for 321 yards against a defense that has been solid against the run was one of many high points, along with forcing five turnovers and a pair of Tech fourth-down failures. Can the Aggies find two more victories and qualify for a bowl game?

IOWA STATE

Won 9-7 at Nebraska, at Texas A&M on Saturday

Was Saturday the greatest day in college football history for the state of Iowa? The Hawkeyes’ final play dramatics, and this, an improbable Cyclones’ triumph engineered by a reserve quarterback, without the star running back (both injured) and in a stadium where they hadn’t won since 1977. Nebraska’s eight turnovers defined the game, but it was important that Iowa State, with Jerome Tiller at quarterback, and Jeremiah Schwartz at running back, had zero oskies. And Iowa State must have seen something in scouting the Cornhuskers that allowed them to go aggressively for the ball to help force the mistakes. The Cyclones are one victory away from bowl eligibility in Paul Rhoads’ first season and are in the thick of the North Division race. Amazing.

BAYLOR

Lost 34-7 to Oklahoma State, Nebraska on Saturday

Same old, same old for the Bears since the Robert Griffin injury. Coach Art Briles summed it up on Sunday. “We feel like we are starting over each week. We are just having a difficult time finding a rhythm and that is very important in football. You have to have a little consistent confidence in what you are doing and what you are going to get out of what you are doing.”

NEBRASKA

Lost 9-7 to Iowa State, at Baylor on Saturday

The defense was outstanding, except it couldn’t get an early enough stop on the Cyclones’ final, time-chewing possession. A leader needs to emerge on offense and it’s not quarterback Zac Lee. The faith is in a free fall after a second straight home loss. Will Cody Green start at Baylor? Eight turnovers was a school record, but Nebraska still could have won had its stopped a fake punt that led to the Cyclones’ touchdown.

TEXAS TECH

Lost to Texas A&M 52-30, Kansas at home on Saturday

Let’s go straight to the press room and get Coach Leach’s thoughts:
“Well, the biggest thing is we fell in the same pitfall that, you know, a couple of other teams did. And it's disappointing because it's one of those things that you see it, you describe it, you focus on it, and, you know, biggest thing is we didn't coach well enough to beat A&M, and we
didn't play well enough to beat A&M. I thought A&M had better tempo than we did. I thought their pads were better than ours. I thought they had better technique than we did. And you know what happened. We pound on Kansas State, so A&M looks at the film all week. They strut around and laugh. And, you know, ho-ho-ho, ha-ha-ha, and they listen to their fat little old girlfriend, and, then pretty soon they – you know, what happens in Manhattan (62-14 A&M loss to the Wildcats) happens.
“Then, well, the first thing that we do is we go in our meeting and we talk about, you know, we're not going to -- we're going to respect everyone. We're going to fear no one. We're going to -- we're not going to compare scores and we're not going to listen to our fat little girlfriends.
You know, in the -- like I said, it starts with the coaching staff. But in the back of our minds as
coaches, and in the back of on our minds as players, well, ha-ha-ha, he-he-he, we pounded
Kansas State. Kansas State pounded A&M. So therefore, we're really going to pound Texas A&M. You know, I would like to have a dollar for everybody -- for every time somebody
said something about, you know, how many points we were going to score or how bad we were going to beat them, you know, how great we are, and how good everything looks. Well, it's all a bunch of crap.
“Here's the thing -- and, of course don't get me wrong, this isn't a rip on the media. But I freely
rip on the media, as you guys well know, if I feel like it. But certainly the important thing about
media is it generates all kinds of attention, support, makes it exciting for a broader faction of people than just players and coaches. So I think it's a critical role and a very important role and fun and exciting role for everybody. But I'll tell you if you're a football team, and a guy 18 to 20 years old trying to reach your maximum potential, and you don't have the discipline to keep your nose out of the newspaper and have one eye looking -- and as coaches, too --how good you are, and this and that, it's just, it makes your efforts toxic, and it's unfortunate we didn't have the discipline to do that, that's the part that's most disappointing.”