Welcome to the Heartland College Sports Big 12 Football mailbag. This mailbag is for all you football junkies out there who root for a Big 12 school and not only have questions about your team but other teams in the conference as well.
So, join me, grab a can, bottle, or glass of your favorite beverage, and relax as I answer all your Big 12 questions. I want to thank each one of you who submitted a question this week on Twitter and our message boards! As for tonight’s drink of choice, take a look for yourself. Cheers!
@tracks182 asks: Why is everyone so high on Utah and just ignoring the fact that without Rising they’re slightly more interesting Iowa on offense?
Duke: They may not have the most exciting offense without Cam Rising but did you see their defense? They completely dominated Oklahoma State for 95% of the game and didn’t give up anything until late. Coming into the season, I knew that this defense was going to be one of the best defenses in the Big 12 but they may have one of the best defenses in all of college football. That is what makes this team so darn good. Of course, having a healthy Cam Rising puts this team into a completely different category. They are a playoff contender with him at quarterback. Is Isaac Wilson going to pass for 400 yards and four touchdowns in a game? No but all he has to do is be a game manager and this team will be fine.
@simonwilson24 asks: How good is BYU? Is Kansas State worse than we thought or is BYU better than we thought? Or both?
Duke: As much as I liked that win for BYU, I am not completely sold on the Cougars just yet. There were a lot of strange things that happened in that game and Kansas State certainly didn’t help themselves with all of their mistakes. The Wildcats had a 10-6 lead late in the second quarter and then Avery Johnson fumbled the ball and on the very next drive threw an interception. That fumble of his costed six points and his interception eventually turned into points as well.
Later in the game, BYU’s Parker Kingston had an epic punt return for a score and then the route was one. The Cougars scored 31 out their 38 points in less than seven minutes of actual game time. We may never see a stat like that again. I think it was one of those times where everything went wrong for Kansas State, and everything went right for BYU. It’s probably a little bit of both but let’s see a few more games before we label either team permanently.
@Big12Clone asks: Utah State moved the ball against the Utes, but the Cowboys did not, why?
Duke: I gave Utah a pass against Utah State a couple of weeks ago. It’s a rivalry game on the road and the Utes were having to start backup quarterback Isaac Wilson. Utah had some special teams miscues and gave up a couple of big plays in that game. It also didn’t help that Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn on Saturday. Bowman played awful and Utah’s outstanding defense made him pay for it. It was a combination of Bowman playing bad and Utah’s defense just being that good.
@DawsRoy asks: How do you feel about Jeff Grimes? He had one good year at Baylor and now with Kansas the offense has taken a wrong turn. How big of a part has he had in that?
Duke: He has had a big enough role to the point where people are already wanting him out of Lawrence, and he’s barely been there for a few months. I wasn’t a fan of the hire to begin with and when you look at the way Jalon Daniels is playing right now, fans have every right to be upset with him and Lance Leipold for hiring him. Right now, the Jayhawks have the second worst passing offense in the Big 12 and the third worst scoring offense. I am not sure how that is possible with a guy as talented as Jalon Daniels at quarterback. If this continues then there is no way Grimes comes back to Kansas next season.
@savagefund asks: Is the loser of the Oklahoma State/Kansas State game out of the Big 12 title race?
Duke: No. They’re not. Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State is important because the loser will start conference play 0-2 which is not an ideal path to get to Arlington. However, this conference race is still fairly wide open, and we aren’t even in the month of October yet. Utah obviously looks like a shoe in to make it to Jerry World, but someone has to meet them there. With that said, I wouldn’t be shocked if a team with two conference losses sneaks into the Big 12 championship game because this conference will chew you up and spit you right out. While the loser may not be completely out of the title picture, they would likely have to win seven-straight conference games, which is not easy to do.
