Chaotic week on national stage brings few surprises to Big 12 results
When 5 of the top 7 teams in the AP poll lose in a given week, the expectation is for there to be chaos across the board. Looking at the Big 12 in a microscope, most results went as expected, all but one featuring high scoring affairs.
No. 10 Texas Tech 53 | Arizona State 25
This game was a very forgettable performance for the Sun Devils. Mikey Keene saved face for the offense with 256 yards and 2 touchdown passes in the second half, though that admittedly came when already facing a 33 point halftime deficit. The big play explosiveness for the Red Raiders was front and center; running back J'Koby Williams averaged 15 yards per carry en route to 165 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Kenny Johnson had 7 catches for 120 yards, good for a 17.1 yard average. Head coach Kenny Dillingham will have a major decision to make for his signal caller heading in to next week's matchup at home against Kansas State.
No. 8 BYU 28 | No. 2 Notre Dame 24
Certainly the signature win of the season for the Big 12, BYU pulled off the massive upset in Notre Dame's first game in the Mountain Time Zone since their 55-31 loss to Arizona State in 2014. The finish didn't come without controversy, as questions will surround both the missed defensive pass interference call on the final play from scrimmage, as well as one second remaining on the clock when fans stormed the field. That still doesn't diminish the performance of the Cougars, and especially quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Responsible for all four touchdowns in the aftermath of the loss of LJ Martin, the Cougars are on a collision course for a Holy War matchup from Rice-Eccles Stadium in three weeks.
No. 11 Utah 27 | Colorado 24
Speaking of the other Holy War combatants, the Utes squeaked away from Folsom Field with a narrow win after a second half surge from Isaac Wilson and the Buffaloes. Devon Dampier played at his usual level with 278 yards and 3 touchdowns, but a very turnover filled middle 30 minutes found Colorado with a 4-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. Credit to the defense of the Utes for bending, but not breaking on the final drive of the game to hold on for the win.
No. 20 Houston 35 | No 18 Oklahoma State 32
The darlings of the Big 12 hit their stumbling block in a shootout between Drew Mestemaker and Conner Weigman. Mestemaker produced his 5th straight 300 yard passing game, but it was a career-tying 5 touchdown passes from Weigman that were the difference for the Cougars. Houston finds themselves on the outside looking in behind the undefeated likes of BYU, Utah, and Texas Tech, but find themselves poised to make a move to overtake the loser of November's Holy War.
West Virginia 45 | Cincinnati 42
There is certainly no love lost between these two schools, and Saturday's slugfest made it clear that neither team was willing to give an inch. Mike Hawkins Jr. exploded for a career-high 464 passing yards, leading a 24-point 4th quarter for the Mountaineers that culminated in a Jack Cassidy field goal as time ran out. For the Mountaineers, it was the 4th consecutive game in which both offenses combined for over 1,000 total yards.
Kansas State 35 | Kansas 24
It wasn't the prettiest of wins for the Wildcats, but Kansas State extended their winning streak in the Sunflower Showdown to 18 straight games, dating back to head coach Collin Klein's freshman year in Manhattan. It was the running game that dominated for the Wildcats, seeing 359 total ground yards behind 159 yards from running back Joe Jackson and 132 yards from quarterback Avery Johnson. Isaiah Jackson did his part for the Jayhawks with 151 yards through the air and 117 yards on the ground, but Kansas State's defense held strong in clutch time.
TCU 17 | Baylor 6
Possibly the ugliest game across the conference, it can easily say that Baylor lost this game rather than TCU winning it. DJ Lagway was less than impressive at quarterback, racking up 256 yards on an inefficient 22 of 53 passing, resulting in an anemic 4.8 yards per attempt. Jaden Craig made the most of his drives by finding the end zone twice, but missed opportunity after missed opportunity result in a hard crash to Earth for the Bears after a dominating win at Arizona State two weeks ago.
Week 8 At A Glance
All 16 teams in the Big 12 will be in action in a packed Week 8 slate next Saturday. All times listed in Mountain Standard Time, rankings reflect updated AP Poll released during this writing.
No. 8 Texas Tech at Cincinnati | 9:00am | FS1
West Virginia at TCU | 9:00am | ESPN2
Baylor at Kansas | 10:00am | TNT
No. 2 BYU at UCF | 12:30pm | FOX
Kansas State at Arizona State | 12:45pm | ESPN2
Colorado at Oklahoma State | 4:00pm | FS1
Iowa State at No. 25 Arizona | 4:30pm | ESPN2
No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah | 7:15pm | ESPN
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