1. I don’t believe TCU will drop out of the top-4 of the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night. It’s become apparent that the former coaches on the Committee are swaying many by using the “eye test”. If so, I believe the coaches on the panel will understand that TCU was coming off playing 5 ranked teams in their last 6 games, and understand that 18-22 year old young men can be due for a letdown game on the road against a desperate Kansas team with an interim coach. The formula was ideal for what transpired yesterday. It shouldn’t take away from what they’ve done all season long.
2. Interim Kansas coach Clint Bowen should have a contract on his desk tomorrow morning from AD Sheahon Zenger. After thumping Iowa State, and then nearly pulling off the upset over #4 TCU, this team is playing harder than they played in two plus years, combined, under Charlie Weis. I’d be excited to see what Bowen could do with the keys to the program.
3. IF TCU does make it to the playoff, no one is happier about playing in warm weather than QB Trevone Boykin. The semifinals are in Pasadena, CA and New Orleans, LA, followed by the Championship game in Arlington, TX. Boykin has struggled in his two roads games in bad weather, against West Virginia and Kansas.
4. Sooner QB Cody Thomas is Trevor Knight on steroids (hopefully not literally). Granted, Thomas only threw three passes in the second half, this after three interceptions in the first half, but he is a more powerful runner than Knight, and has a stronger arm. I’m very intrigued to see what his future holds in Norman.
5. Matt Millen was the color man for yesterday’s OU-Texas Tech game, and at one point in the second half, Millen said, “Oklahoma figured out at halftime what they had to do … Just pound the ball.” My question is: HOW did offensive coordinator Josh Heupel not figure this out before the game?! Tech’s run defense has been horrible all season long, the Sooners have a great run game, and have a QB getting his first start … they should’ve been pounding the ball all day long. In the first half OU’s Cody Thomas threw 17 passes and the team had 68 rushing yards. In the second half Thomas threw the ball three times, to go along with 316 rushing yards.
6. Our pro-Big 12/anti-SEC tweet of the week comes courtesy of Chris Wingate.
7. Following another 213 rushing yards yesterday, OU RB Samaje Perine continues to beast his way through his true freshman season. I feel bad that Perine has to play two more college seasons before the NFL draft. Had he been a redshirt, he would only need one to take one more season of pounding before heading to the NFL. As we’ve seen time and time again, these running backs only have so many carries and hits in their bodies, and Perine will waste some of those precious hits in college. At 19 years old, 5’11’’, 240, the man-child could take an NFL pounding tomorrow.
8. How secure is Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s job security? Let’s just say, on the off chance he’s still renting in Stillwater … I wouldn’t purchase real estate anytime soon.
9. The maturation of Texas QB Tyrone Swoopes can be seen in one play in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys. Oklahoma State scored for the first time in the 4th and had a little bit of momentum trailing 22-7. The Longhorns were facing a crucial 3rd and 6 deep at their own 13. Swoopes stepped up in the pocket, and stuck it to Marcus Johnson on a post route for a gain of 17 yards. The drive ended with a Swoopes 45-yard touchdown pass to Armanti Foreman to put the game away for good.
10. With the firing of Will Muschamp, who in the Big 12 will be discussed for the head coach opening at Florida? Bob Stoops? Mike Gundy? Gary Patterson? Frankly, Mike Gundy isn’t an attractive option to Florida, Sooner fans might help Stoops pack, and I don’t see Patterson leaving what he’s built in Fort Worth… at least not for Florida.
11. Making picks can be painful … Samaje Perine scored for the Sooners with 1:33 left to make it a 42-24 lead, with OU nearly a lock to cover the 12.5 spread. I tweeted how pumped I was about the score giving me the cover. I have since deleted the tweet, after it apparently brought me bad karma. Patrick Mahomes hit Dylan Cantrell for a 39 yard touchdown as time expired. 42-30 final. Just another reason to be annoyed with a horrible Sooner secondary!
12. … all that being said, picks were 2-1 on the weekend.
