1) So, let’s start with the jackass of the week: Texas DB Kris Boyd. In case you missed it, Boyd retweeted a tweet from a fan asking him to transfer to Texas A&M. But, not only did he retweet this, he retweeted it at halftime of their game against TCU that the Longhorns were losing 37-0. Is this kid serious? I’ll tell you what, I hate calling college athletes ‘kids’. I never thought it was fair. But in Boyd’s case, he’s a child.
I’m sure the excuse from Boyd will be that he was scrolling through his mentions and accidentally hit the retweet button. Also, why he was he on twitter at halftime anyway? You would think, down 37-0, there would be a few things to go over. I hope Charlie Strong takes strong action with this.
2) Speaking of Charlie Strong … I still have 100% faith he can be the man to turn things around in Austin. Mack Brown sits in his cozy booth/studio with ESPN, acting like none of this is his fault. But, it is. It’s also the administration’s fault who kept Brown around a year or two too long. I am giving strong until the end of 2017, a full recruiting cycle, to figure out this disaster. Any fan who thought this was a quick rebuild in Austin wasn’t paying attention towards the end of the Brown regime.
3) As for the team that smoked Texas … TCU, I’m not convinced the defense is “back”. Texas still racked up nearly 200 yards on the ground. Plus, where the Horned Frogs appeared to be most vulnerable against Texas Tech the week prior was in their passing defense. Unfortunately, Jerrod Heard and Tyrone Swoopes do not present the difficult passing game that TCU’s D will have to deal with against Oklahoma, Baylor, and others. Let’s take a wait and see approach on this one…
4) That brings me to Oklahoma State. Are Cowboys fans taking a wait and see approach? Or, thanks to a pair of lucky wins, do they think that this is a “team of destiny”? They really shouldn’t. Oklahoma State has slipped by, and frankly should’ve lost, both games against Texas and Kansas State. By the way, the Longhorns and Wildcats aren’t all that good this season.
Oklahoma State was my pick to be the dark horse team in the Big 12. But, from what I’ve seen, this team doesn’t stand a chance against TCU, Baylor, and OU.
5) Sticking with the OSU – KSU game … check out this blown call by Big 12 officials. I saw this in real time and thought it was strange. But, to be honest, I had returned from calling my game at Wagner College, and was a bit out of it and didn’t think twice. In fairness, I don’t recall the announcers bringing it up either. But, this is just as piss poor a job as it gets. Makes you realize why the Big 12 officials get so much crap. It’s well deserved.
6) So, need any more proof of SEC Bias? SportsCenter tweeted the new AP Poll and they called it the “Top 11”. Why? Because the 11th team was an SEC school, of course. There were a couple of great responses on twitter. These guys get our “co-tweeters” of the week.
7) The best team I saw all weekend was the Baylor Bears. Sure, they got to go to work on an emotionally drained Texas Tech team, but, nonetheless it was an impressive performance on both sides of the ball. QB Seth Russell looked exactly like what we expected before the season began. The defense was opportunistic. I’m sticking to the Baylor Bears as the team to beat in the conference.
8) Patrick Mahomes, even with a bum ankle, is such a stud. If you missed it, the Red Raiders second TD of the game came on a 4th and 6, Mahomes scrambled out of a ton of trouble before hooking up with Cameron Batson for the 37-yard score. It was a thing of beauty. And it totally confirmed why Kliff Kingsbury wants Mahomes staring with a bum ankle over a healthy Davis Webb.
But, Tech was just too worn out. After two straight weeks with an emotionally draining win (Arkansas) and then an emotionally draining loss (TCU), I should not have been shocked by the result. No wonder that line was Baylor -17. I’m a sucker… more on that later.
9) Remember we talked in this week’s picks about not believing any stats throughout the first month of the season? Well, West Virginia just proved why. I do believe the Mountaineers defense is much improved, but the idea that they were somehow a top defense in the country because they were only allowing 7 points per game was always ludicrous. When you play Georgia Southern, Liberty, and Maryland, those are the kind of numbers you end up with.
10) As for Oklahoma, each and every week they continue to make me a believer. Baker Mayfield just has that “it” factor that the top quarterbacks need to have. Bob and Mike Stoops appear to have come to accept that in today’s game, and especially in the Big 12, having a ‘bend but don’t break’ defense can win you conference titles. I’m still not 100% sold, simply because I’ve been fooled one too many times by Stoops’ coached teams in recent years. But, if there were ever a year …
11) In general, the College Football Playoff landscape appears to be wide open. Alabama has a loss, then crushes Georgia, #3 Ole Miss was wrecked by Florida, #6 Notre Dame went down, etc… this season has a strange feeling to me. Still, for a Big 12 team to make the playoff, undefeated is the best route. In a year where I expect several one-loss teams to be in the discussion, and maybe even a 2-loss team, expect a thrilling next two months!
12) As for the picks, I was feeling fantastic at about 3:30 ET on Saturday. My picks were off to a resounding 3-0 start. Then, I lost KSU-OSU and Baylor-Tech. My one thought against picking Tech was the idea that they were worn down after two exhausting games. I talked myself out of it… that happens. Oklahoma State is just the most overrated team in the Big 12 right now. I won’t let ‘em fool me again..! At least not until next week.
For the season, I’m now 16-11-2.
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