Week 9 of the college football season is officially in the books, as it was another big weekend for the Big 12. The action started in Lawrence and ended Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
Here are the good, bad, and ugly from Week 9 in the Big 12.
The Good
Kansas State
I have been waiting all season long for this Kansas State team to show up, and it only took them eight games to do it. Avery Johnson managed the game well and didn’t turn the ball over. While the offense was able to move the ball well, it was the defense that stole the show. The Wildcats forced four turnovers and got to Jalon Daniels time and time again. Plus, they even had a special teams touchdown thanks to a blocked punt. With the win, it makes it 17 straight against Kansas, and the Wildcats may just be the best 4-4 team in the country.
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders didn’t play their best offensively despite winning 42-0 because it was their defense that stole the show against Oklahoma State. They held the Cowboys scoreless and under 200 total yards. Other than that, I don’t have a lot to take away after playing a bad team like Oklahoma State.
TCU
It was honestly a bit of a sloppy game for the Horned Frogs in Morgantown. Offensively, Josh Hoover struggled, and they were never able to establish a true run game. However, their defense did an excellent job shutting down West Virginia’s rushing attack and was able to get key stops on third down. But hey, a win is a win.
BYU
Here we are again, late October, and BYU is undefeated. Despite being down early on, the Cougars fought back thanks to the offense led by none other than Bear Bachmeier, who threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing yet again with 49 yards and a score. Meanwhile, Parker Kingston and Chase Roberts both had big games as well. It was nice to see that even when the defense didn’t play its best, the offense was able to go out and win a tough game on the road.
Cincinnati
Say hello to the best Big 12 team that nobody is talking about. After taking a commanding 24-0 lead, the Bearcats let Baylor climb back into it late but ended up pulling away once again. Brendan Sorsby wasn’t at his best, but he still was able to make plays with his legs. But where Cincinnati really impressed me was on defense. They did a great job shutting down a good Baylor offense.
Houston
If you aren’t paying attention to Houston, then now is the time. The Cougars were up 24-0 heading into the fourth quarter, and they did it with their run game. Houston held the ball for over 37 minutes and squeezed Arizona State’s defense. Connor Weigman was an absolute gamer yet again, and they were able to stay on the field and control the clock. Defensively, they were excellent for three quarters and didn’t allow Arizona State to run the football at all. This Houston team is now a serious Big 12 title contender.
Utah
Utah had one of the most dominating first halves of football I have ever seen. They were up by over forty points, had 400 yards of offense, and held Colorado to -18 yards. The Utes finished with over 400 rushing yards and completely dominated the game from start to finish. I felt like they could have won 100-0 if they wanted to.
The Bad
West Virginia
The one thing I can say is that at least they aren’t in the ugly section this week. Scotty Fox Jr. had his best game as a passer, throwing for over 300 yards, but the problem was that the offense couldn’t stay on the field. West Virginia went 3 of 14 on third down and 2 of 7 on fourth down.
Iowa State
At one point, Iowa State was up 24-10 with less than two minutes left in the first half. The offense was rolling, and the defense was playing great. But it all went downhill after that as Iowa State was outscored 31-3 in the final 31 minutes of the game. Rocco Becht threw three interceptions, and the defense struggled to stop BYU’s passing attack. To make matters worse, Iowa State made some bad plays on special teams as well.
Baylor
While Baylor made things interesting in the fourth quarter, they were once down 24-0 in this game. The defense couldn’t stop Cincinnati at all, and Baylor’s offense struggled to move the football as Sawyer Robertson had his lowest passing total of the season. The two turnovers certainly didn’t help either. At this point, Baylor is out of the Big 12 title picture completely, and it’s just a matter of time when it comes to Dave Aranda’s job.
Arizona State
I don’t like to make excuses for a team, but being without Jordyn Tyson hurt the offense, and when Sam Leavitt went down, that was it for Arizona State. This team looked physically and emotionally exhausted on Saturday, and rightfully so after that win against Texas Tech last weekend. Houston absolutely took it to them for 60 minutes, and by the time Arizona State woke up, it was too late.
The Ugly
Kansas
Not much went right for the Jayhawks in their 42-17 loss to Kansas State at home. The weather wasn’t ideal, but there are no excuses for Kansas. Jalon Daniels played poorly, and the defense didn’t play much better. Plus, the Jayhawks turned the ball over four times in this game, including a special teams touchdown on a blocked punt. Despite being a close game at halftime, Kansas was outscored 21 to 3 in the second half. Now sitting at 4-4, making a bowl game isn’t going to be easy for this team with their remaining schedule.
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys live in the ugly section of my weekly column, and here they are once again after a 42-0 loss to Texas Tech. Oklahoma State had another sub-200 day offensively and gave up over 40 points. They are just a bad football team, and it’s now been over 700 days since Oklahoma State won a Big 12 game.
Colorado
I have been covering Big 12 football for nearly a decade now, and I don’t think I have seen a worse first half of football than Colorado had against Utah on Saturday night. Down 43-0, -18 yards, and gave up 400 yards of offense. Colorado didn’t stand a chance against Utah in Salt Lake City. I wish there were a category worse than ugly because Colorado belongs there.
