1. I will never understand why Gary Patterson went for it on 4th&3 from the Baylor 45 with the game tied and 1:11 remaining. Yes, you can say I am Peter King-ing it (cheesy Monday Morning Quarterback joke), but seriously. Patterson has made a living off his defense. While Baylor’s offense was red hot, having scored 21 points in less than seven minutes, Patterson should have used the clock, and field position, as his friend. Instead, giving Bryce Petty the ball at the 45 was a recipe for disaster.
2. Yes, the pass interference call against TCU on Baylor’s final possession was total BS. Especially considering the same call wasn’t given to TCU on the previous drive. Home field cooking? You decide.
3. The team that showed the most improvement in week 7? The Texas Longhorns. Yes, they still had special teams miscues and too many penalties. But, QB Tyrone Swoopes played his best game to date. Rather than bailing to run after his first option wasn’t open, he went through his progressions, kept his eyes up field, and found the open man. The inexperienced and youthful UT offensive line, was as cohesive as they’ve ever been, helping UT to 148 rushing yards.
4. It’s no wonder the Sooners desperately wanted to clear WR Dorial Green-Beckham to play this season. Despite his dismissal from Missouri, and many off field issues, the Sooners are in dire need of playmakers at wide receiver. Sterling Shepard is the only reliable option; and at 5’10’’, 195 lbs, he’s more suited to be a slot guy. Green-Beckham stands 6’6’’, 225, and would’ve been an ideal weapon for struggling QB Trevor Knight. Teams will now copy the Longhorn formula going forward: let’s stop the run, make Trevor Knight beat us.
5. Even though they lost, Texas Tech fans should feel better about their team. Coach Kliff Kingsbury seemed to finally understand it really is OK to run the ball. The last two weeks against Oklahoma State and then K-State, Tech had a pass/run ratio of 60/30 and then 50/14. This week was much more balanced at 46/30. I still believe in Kingsbury.
6. How did supposed quarterback guru Charlie Weis bypass Michael Cummings for all the other clowns he played under center at Kansas: Dayne Crist, Jake Heaps, and Montell Cozart. Cummings was recruited by Turner Gill, but has played the best QB of anybody in Lawrence since pre-Weis. It’s only a game and a half, but a first quarter 51-yard strike from Cummings to Nick Harwell, showed more than I ever saw, or could envision seeing, from Montell Cozart.
7. Love Kansas interim HC Clint Bowen going for it on 4th&2 at the Oklahoma State 40-yard line, down 3 points with 8 minutes to play. Bowen is coaching to try and remove the interim tag and “win” his dream job. By replacing the starting quarterback last week, and going for the first down in such a situation, he is showing faith in his players, and himself. If he doesn’t get the job, it won’t be any fault of his own. The Jayhawks have shown more fight for Bowen in the past two games, than they showed for Weis in the past two seasons.
8. Oklahoma State is not the 15th best team in the country (their new AP Poll ranking). They’re 5-1, and have beaten the three weakest teams in the Big 12, combined with Missouri State and UTSA. Yes, their lone loss, 37-31 to Florida State, is impressive. But, I don’t think the Seminoles are close to as good, or as motivated, as they were last season. Let’s see what the Cowboys accomplish in the next month.
9. While, as I mentioned, I don’t love Oklahoma State’s team, and believe they are being overvalued… half of the Big 12 Conference is ranked in the top 15. No other conference in the country can make that claim. The Big 12 Conference won’t expand, going for quality over quantity, and playing a round robin schedule.
10. It’s a big what if… but “what if” the Big 12 ends with three teams having 1 loss (i.e. Big 12 South in 2008). Will one of them get into the College Football Playoff? They definitely should. But the debate as to which one will be intense… can’t wait!
11. We usually do our pro-big 12/anti-sec tweet of this week. I guess this one will just be called the anti-SEC tweet of the week:
12. Since I have recently taken this last bullet point to note the recent success in my picks against the spread, I need to be fair, and point out it was my first losing week this season, going 2-3 on Saturday. Thinking back on it, I have gotten the OU-TX game wrong (Vs. the Spread) each of the past 4 years. Next year, I will choose the opposite of whatever I really believe.
