Crooked scores dominate Big 12 scoreboards in Week 4
While Arizona State was enjoying an early bye week after returning from London, 7 of the Sun Devils' 8 remaining conference opponents were in action on Saturday, giving fans plenty to watch and prepare for the rest of the season.
No. 11 Texas Tech 49 | Sam Houston 14
Defense told the story of this one, at least the first half. Linebacker Austin Romaine returned interceptions for touchdown on consecutive passes early in the second quarter from Landyn Locke, becoming the first player to accomplish this feat since Duke's DaVon Edwards against North Carolina State in 2013. The Bearkats flexed their defensive muscles immediately after, picking off Will Hammond on three straight drives and converting one for touchdown to take a one-score game to the halftime break. It was the Red Raiders Show the rest of the way, putting the game away with four unanswered scores in the second half behind 219 team rushing yards.
No. 15 Utah 31 | Iowa State 17
This game was never in doubt as the Utes rolled out to a 24-3 halftime lead in Ames, adding a late touchdown before the last two-minute time out to put it on ice. Wayshawn Parker had a career day on the ground with 174 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding another receiving touchdown as Devon Dampier kept the ball moving through the air with 206 passing yards. Utah's defense had the answer for Cyclones running back Aiden Flora, stuffing him for just 54 yards after his 194 yard performance a week ago vs. Bowling Green. The Utes have made their case that the Big 12 is a three team race, keeping pace with Texas Tech and idle BYU in the early going.
No. 25 Houston 42 | Georgia Southern 28
Conner Weigman was responsible for all six scores for the Cougars as Houston bounced back from last week's tough loss at Texas Tech, taking down the Eagles of Georgia Southern in their final non-conference game of the season. Houston forced a fumble on the first drive of the game, setting the tone and taking a 14-0 lead before Georgia Southern double dipped with back-to-back touchdowns, aided by an onside kick early in the second quarter. From there on out the teams traded touchdowns, Houston never allowing the Eagles any closer than two scores after the halftime break.
Baylor 23 | Colorado 13
Ugly wins still count the same in the win column, and that's exactly what Dave Aranda's team got in DJ Lagway's return to the lineup. Lagway was efficient, throwing for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns, while three Rhett Armstrong field goals kept the game in hand for the Bears. The story to watch for the Buffaloes the rest of the season is the possible revival of the revolving door at quarterback. Three different quarterbacks got starts last season as Colorado struggled to a 3-9 record, and this season looks no different with the benching of Julian Lewis at halftime. Isaac Wilson performed well, completing just under 50% of his passes for 156 yards and Colorado's only touchdown of the game.
UCF 21 | TCU 13
Speaking of ugly wins, it's hard to get much uglier than the result coming from Orlando on Saturday. Jaden Craig threw for over 300 yards for the third consecutive game, but two interceptions and four sacks cramped the impact of those yards. Ed Small fumbled two times to give UCF the edge in the turnover battle, but the Knights only turned one of TCU's four turnovers into points on the afternoon. Luckily for UCF, Keyone Jenkins' two fumbles didn't cause any damage as the Knights held on for dear life in their conference-opening win.
Cincinnati 31 | Kansas State 26
It was a tale of two halves from Nippert Stadium on Saturday. Kansas State made their mark early, taking a 17-10 lead into halftime and receiving the opening kick of the second half, but a fumble by Derrick Salley Jr. turned the tide in the Bearcats favor, converting the turnover into the tying score and taking the lead for good on their very next possession. The two-headed monster of Gi'Bran Payne and Cole Tabb did the majority of the offensive damage, combining for 250 rushing yards and producing three touchdowns for Tabb, giving him 6 touchdowns on the season to rank second in the conference.
Oklahoma State 41 | West Virginia 24
Is it too alarmist to say that Oklahoma State is back? 609 total yards of offense, 389 through the air from Drew Mestemaker and a career-high 180 on the ground from Caleb Hawkins as the Cowboys rode in to Morgantown and left with a convincing conference-opening win. The only crack in the armor appeared to the Oklahoma State's third down defense, allowing the Mountaineers to convert 9 of their 17 third down attempts, helped in large part by the feet of quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. The defense made their stands when it mattered, forcing three turnovers on downs in the span of four drives, converting two into field goals and killing the clock on the final one.
Arizona 34 | Washington 24
Noah Fifita kept slinging the ball to the tune of 297 yards and 4 touchdowns, a pair of touchdown passes and 129 yards by way of Tre Spivey, as the Wildcats survived an early 14-0 deficit to pull away in the second half in Pullman. Washington State's inefficiency on offense in the third quarter derailed their promising start, ending the Cougars' four game home winning streak.
Week 5 at a glance
13 teams will be back in action next Saturday, with only one non-conference game on the schedule. All times listed in Arizona Time.
UCF (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) at No. 25 Houston (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) | 9am | ESPN2
Middle Tennessee (2-2) at Kansas (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) | 9am | ESPNU
West Virginia (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) at Iowa State (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) | 9am | TNT
No. 9 BYU (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) at TCU (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) | 4pm | ESPN
No. 11 Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at Colorado (2-0, 0-1 Big 12) | 4:30pm | FOX
Baylor (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) at Arizona State (2-1, 1-0 Big 12) | 7:30pm | ESPN
Cincinnati (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at Arizona (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) | 8pm | FOX
Byes: Kansas State, UCF, Utah
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