Week 9 of the college football season is officially in the books, as it was another monumental weekend for the Big 12. The action started in Orlando and ended late Saturday night in Boulder.
Here are the good, bad, and ugly from Week 9 in the Big 12.
The Good
Staying Undefeated
With their win over UCF on Saturday, BYU is the only 8-0 team in the Big 12. The Cougars offense was electric as they ran 255 yards on the ground led by LJ Martin who finished with 101 yards and a score. Meanwhile, quarterback Jake Retzlaff did an excellent job tossing two touchdown passes and didn’t turn the ball over. The defense did their part too because this game was much more of a blowout than the score indicated as the Knights got a pair of cheap touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
The Streak Continues
Things were a little rocky for Kansas State in their rivalry game against Kansas, but they got the win, and that’s all that matters. Their defense gave up a few plays, but when it mattered most, they were able to come up with a late game-changing turnover and the winning stop there at the end. This game could have gone either way, but give credit to the Wildcats for finding a way to get it done. Kansas State has now won 16 straight games against Kansas.
Related: Three Biggest Takeaways From Kansas State’s 29-27 Win Over Kansas
TCU’s Comeback
While TCU went up 14-3 in the first quarter, Texas Tech went on to score 28 unanswered points as the Horned Frogs found themselves down 31-14 in the third quarter. But suddenly, TCU’s offense woke up and Josh Hoover went on a tear as he picked apart Texas Tech’s defense. In the final 18 minutes of the game, TCU outscored Texas Tech 21 to 3, and even their defense had a couple of key stops late in that game. What a win and what a comeback by TCU.
Powerful Rushing Attacks
Nobody and I mean nobody had a better day on the ground than the Baylor Bears on Saturday. Sure, Sawyer Robertson tossed three touchdown passes for Baylor, but it was all about the run game. The Bears ran for 345 yards against Oklahoma State led by Dawson Pendergrass who carried the ball just six times but had 142 yards and a score. Also, Baylor’s win over Oklahoma State was their first Big 12 win at home in two years.
We saw another powerful rushing attack in Tucson thanks to West Virginia. The Mountaineers controlled the game on the ground as they ran for over 200 yards as Jahiem White made his triumphant return averaging nearly eight yards per carry. Even with starting quarterback Garrett Greene out, this offense found a way with Nicco Marchiol and found a way to get a nice road win.
Travis Hunter
Football is a team game, but what I saw from Travis Hunter against Cincinnati on Saturday night was special. Defensively, he finished with 3 pass breakups and a few tackles. But was made his performance special was what he did offensively. Travis caught a team-high nine catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, I will give credit to Sanders for playing a good game and the offensive line for opening up some holes, but what we are witnessing from Travis Hunter is pure greatness. Also, with the win Colorado is bowl eligible for the first time sine 2016. But this team isn’t done yet because they are still in the mix for a Big 12 title.
Related: Shedeur Sanders Makes it Clear Who He Wants to Win the Heisman Trophy
Houston
Who had Houston beating Utah before the season started? Certainly not me. Look, it wasn’t pretty by any means. In fact, it was ugly but sometimes that’s what winning looks like. Houston’s defense came up with a big turnover late in the game, and kicker Jack Martin capped it off with a game-winning 43-yard field goal to give the Cougars their first Big 12 win at home this season.
The Bad
Bad Defense
Despite Texas Tech starting quarterback Behren Morton going down with an injury, freshman quarterback Will Hammond came in and lit it up early. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough due to the fact that Texas Tech’s defense completely collapsed. At one point, the Red Raiders had a 31-14 lead late in the third quarter, and they blew it. Tech’s defense allowed TCU to score 21 points in the final 18 minutes of the game, and they gave up three long touchdown plays and, two of which were over 70 yards.
Meanwhile, in Orlando, UCF’s defense wasn’t much better. They let BYU run for over 250 yards on the day in a game that wasn’t all that close despite the Knights putting up a pair of late scores. With the loss, UCF now falls to 3-5 on the season.
Arizona
Even though Arizona lost the game, they showed some fight for the first time in weeks. The Wildcats have the second-worst scoring offense in the Big 12 and have struggled mightily on offense despite having two great players in Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. Against West Virginia, this team hung in there until the end and McMillan had a field day as he had over 200 yards receiving for the third time in his career. I know the run game and offensive lines still have some work to do, but Arizona’s 26 points against West Virginia was the most points they have put up in a game since their opening game against New Mexico, where they scored 61. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to win the game.
The Mistakes by Kansas
The Jayhawks could have easily won their game against Kansas State, but they just couldn’t get out of their own way. A special teams mistake cost the Jayhawks a safety in the second quarter and then back-to-back bad series made matters worse. Kansas had a one-point lead with less than four minutes left and Jalon Daniels coughed the football up to give Kansas State great field position to give the Wildcats a two-point lead. The Jayhawks would have one more opportunity to try and win the game on their final drive, but they couldn’t handle the pressure of Kansas State’s aggressive blitzing and eventually turned the ball over on downs. Kansas had multiple opportunities to win this game, but they could never capitalize.
Cincinnati
I am not going to give Cincinnati a ton of crap here because I thought they put up a good fight against a really tough Colorado team on the road. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby had trouble with his accuracy a little bit, but the run game helped keep the offense in the game. But the problem for the Bearcats was their defense. They let Colorado convert over half of their third down attempts and at times had trouble stopping the run. They also had no answer for slowing down Travis Hunter, which was a problem. Despite the loss, the Bearcats are still just a win away from becoming bowl-eligible.
The Ugly
Oklahoma State’s Defense
I had to put Oklahoma State’s defense into their own category because they were absolute garbage on Saturday afternoon in Waco. They let the Bears run for a whopping 345 yards, and the tackling was about as bad as it gets. To make matters worse, the Cowboys also had 12 penalties in this game. Just look at this pathetic effort when it comes to tackling. This sums up Oklahoma State’s defense in a nutshell.
Utah
Coming into the season, many folks, including myself, thought that Utah would be hoisting up the Big 12 championship trophy at the end of the season. Instead, the Utes are now 1-4 in conference play after their loss to Houston on Saturday night. I know Utah is without starting quarterback Cam Rising, but this offense stinks. They couldn’t run the ball, and neither Isaac Wilson nor Brandon Rose could keep the offense on the field. Forget about a Big 12 title. I am not sure if this team will even make a bowl game this year.
