Week 12 of the college football season is officially in the books, as it was another big weekend for the Big 12. The action started early in Cincinnati and ended Saturday night in Provo.
Here are the good, bad, and ugly from Week 12 in the Big 12.
The Good
Arizona
What a win for Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats! The new Arizona all-time passing touchdown leader, Noah Fifita, threw for nearly 300 yards on the road, and the offense ran for 181 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, the defense was able to force a pair of turnovers and held Cincinnati’s high-powered offense to just 3 for 12 on third down. Last week I said that the path for Arizona to win out is there and after this game, I feel a whole lot better about that prediction.
Kansas State
If I could, I would put Kansas State on my ugly list, but if you win, you stay in my good graces. However, it was one ugly win to say the least. Avery Johnson struggled; the offense couldn’t run the ball and looked asleep at the wheel at times. If not for their defense getting stops and forcing five turnovers, then Kansas State may not have been so lucky in Stillwater. This team definitely played down to its competition on Saturday.
Arizona State
Despite not having Sam Leavitt or Jordyn Tyson out there, this Arizona State team just finds ways to keep winning football games. Jeff Sims put on yet another great performance, finishing the day leading the team in rushing and passing. Sims threw three touchdown passes and also ran for 81 yards against West Virginia. For a backup quarterback, he has been able to keep Arizona State’s Big 12 hopes alive, and the defense still has enough talent to win games.
Texas Tech
Was there ever a doubt that Texas Tech would beat UCF by 20 or more? The answer is no. Tech ran for over 200 yards against a respectable Knights defense, and Behren Morton managed the game well. The game was so out of hand early that Morton didn’t even need to play in the second half. It also helped that Tech’s defense made UCF’s offense look pedestrian. They held UCF to just 9 points 9 (2 that came from a safety) and 230 yards. Plus, they were able to force a pair of turnovers as well. The Texas Tech train just keeps on rolling, and good luck to anyone trying to stop them.
Utah
If you go to Waco, you may find Utah still running all over Baylor’s defense at this very moment. The Utes ran for a whopping 380 yards on Saturday night, led by Byrd Ficklin, who had two monster touchdown runs. Utah completed just eight passes in this one, but when you run the ball that well, you don’t need to throw the ball at all. The physical team won in Waco, and it wasn’t even close.
BYU
The Cougars had no letdown against TCU after a tough loss to Tech the week before. BYU’s offense controlled the clock all game long, and Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin led the way on the ground. The defense was even better as they held TCU to just 13 points and only gave up one third-down attempt on the evening. I smell a rematch coming in Arlington.
The Bad
Cincinnati
After coming off a bye week, I thought the Bearcats would have looked better than they did against Arizona. In fact, they looked a bit sloppy between several key drops on offense and missed tackles on defense. Brendan Sorsby had one of his worst performances for the second straight game as he went 15/28 for 154 and two picks. It seemed like the offense could never get rolling, and the defense had no answer for Arizona in the second half. With the loss, Cincinnati no longer controls its own destiny in the Big 12 title race.
Oklahoma State
For the first time in forever, the Cowboys didn’t make my ugly section of my Sunday column. The only reason that Oklahoma State hung around is because of its defense. They did a good job of shutting Kansas State’s run game down and held them to under 300 yards, which may be the first time they have done that in conference play. Unfortunately, their offense couldn’t punch it in at all and turned the ball over five times. It’s now been over 720 days since Oklahoma State has won a conference game.
West Virginia
After winning back-to-back games, West Virginia finally came back to earth a little against Arizona State. Scotty Fox Jr. threw for a ton of yards but didn’t play his best game by any means. To make matters worse, he didn’t have much help in the run game as they averaged just 1.7 yards per carry. The defense played well enough to win the game, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities.
The Ugly
UCF
Anytime you play Texas Tech, it’s not uncommon to find yourself in the ugly portion of the column. UCF had no answer for Texas Tech’s high-powered offense, and they didn’t score a single point in the first half on offense because the two points came from a safety. UCF was outmanned and outmatched from the first snap, and this game was never close. Tech could have played their third-string quarterback for the entire game, and they still would have lost by 30.
Baylor
Baylor’s defense has been bad, but it hit rock bottom on Saturday night. They let Utah run for nearly 400 yards, including three touchdown runs that were over 50 yards. The Bears were outmatched up front, and it showed. To make matters worse, the offense wasn’t much better as Sawyer Robertson had to throw the ball 58 times, and despite throwing for a ton of yards, they were garbage yards. Plus, he threw a pick-six and almost threw another. Between the Mack Rhoades news and this loss, now is the time to cut bait with Dave Aranda.
TCU
Another week and it’s another ugly performance by TCU, who pulled a no-show in Provo. Josh Hoover threw two picks and completed less than 40% of his passes as the Horned Frogs put up just 13 points. The lack of offense kept TCU’s defense on the field for over 36 minutes, and it didn’t end well for them either. This team is heading in the wrong direction, and it’s not going to end well with their remaining schedule.
