Big 12: No looking ahead: Big boys roll on

The Big 12 handled its big shot status in the polls with confirmation, not the consternation that had struck many of college football’s ranked teams and conferences this season.

In an odd occurrence in the schedule, the Big 12’s six ranked teams were all paired against the league’s unranked on the opening weekend of conference play.

The favorites didn’t disappoint, coming through on every count.

And most rolled, with only Kansas involved in a fourth-quarter game, eventually rallying from a 20-0 hole to survive Iowa State’s upset bid 35-33.

Now it gets serious for the Big 12’s big boys. Major matchups are on tap for the coming weekend:

Oklahoma-Texas.

Missouri-Oklahoma State.

Two unbeaten tags will be broken, while two national contender campaigns will gain more clout. At some point, the elimination rounds of the league schedule will take its toll.

Yet, for now, the Big 12 reigns supreme, at least among the voting crowd.

Consider this, Big 12 teams occupy six of the top 17 slots – 35 percent – in the AP poll.

No. 1 Oklahoma.
No. 3 Missouri.
No. 5 Texas.
No. 7 Texas Tech
No. 16 Kansas
No. 17 Oklahoma State.

Those teams’ combined record: 29-1.

Oklahoma extended its record streak for the most weeks at No. 1 — now at 97 — but for this group of Sooners, top dog status is brand new, although not unexpected.

“We haven’t been No. 1 in the polls,” said OU senior wide receiver Manny Johnson, “but we feel like we should be No. 1 every year.”

And they are... for the bulk of another week, at least.

Scoreboard

Oklahoma 49, Baylor 17
Texas 38, Colorado 14
Texas Tech 58, Kansas State 28
Kansas 35, Iowa State 33
Oklahoma State 56, Texas A&M 28
Missouri 52, Nebraska 17

Team of the Week: Missouri Tigers

Mizzou ended three-decades of disappointment in Lincoln. And enjoyed it.

“That wasn’t just about the 2008 team,” Tigers coach Gary Pinkel said, “it’s about 30 years of fans from around the world and a lot of former Missouri players.

“It’s pretty good to get a win at one of the toughest places in the country to play.”

It had been 30 years, dating back to 1978, since the Tigers had won in Lincoln.

After Mizzou scored on its first drive, the Cornhuskers tied it at 7-7 on their first possession. But the Tigers kept scoring, getting points on their first four series. And when Brock Christopher returned an interception for a touchdown late in the second quarter, it was 31-7.

Tigers quarterback Chase Daniel threw for three touchdowns and Derrick Washington ran for 139 yards and three scores.

Missouri added a bit more history to the verdict, with the 35-point whipping Nebraska’s worst at home in 53 years and the fifth-worst in 119 years of Husker football.

During the week, Nebraska first-year coach Bo Pelini suggested he wasn’t interested in a wild scoring affair with Mizzou, instead saying that his team was out for a shutout.

“I’m not used to losing,” Pelini said. “I’m not used to getting beat soundly. It’s my fault.

“Damn right, yes, I’m embarrassed. I apologized to the team. I apologize to the state of Nebraska. I apologize to everyone associated with Nebraska football.”

Disappointment of the Week: Kansas State Wildcats

The season is beginning to turn ugly for the Wildcats.

K-State suffered its worst home loss in a dozen years against Texas Tech, which became the third team in a row to pile up 500-plus yards on the Cats. The Red Raiders rolled up 626 yards and scored on all eight trips inside the K-State 20-yard line.

The game was tied at 14-14, but the Cats couldn’t keep pace.

“This drives me crazy,” K-State quarterback Josh Freeman told reporters after the game. “We looked at this as a challenge. We were excited.

“After the first drive, it felt good. Second drive, it felt good. It went down from there.”

Just like this season. After a 2-0 start, K-State has gone 1-2, surrendering a whopping 1,712 combined yards to Louisville, Louisiana-Lafayette and Tech.

“This is a very challenging time for all of us,” said Cats coach Ron Prince. “We will fight and compete to get this thing turned around.”

Player of the Week: Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech

Harrell was responsible for much of K-State’s misery. Breaking the Tech record for career passing yards, Harrell tied his school record with six touchdown passes. He finished 38-of-51 passing for 454 yards and found 10 different receivers.

The three-year starter pushed his career passing total to 12,709 yards, besting Kliff Kingsbury’s mark of 12,429 yards set at Tech from 1999-02.

Five of Harrell’s TD tosses came in the first half.

His big day came in perhaps the Red Raiders’ best game of the season.

“It’s a great honor,” Harrell said. “As an offense, this is the best we’ve played.”

Freshman of the Week: Travis Lewis, LB, OU

It wasn’t a great day for rookies around the league. Still, Lewis maintained his status as the Sooners’ leading tackler, finishing with eight stops and splitting a sack of Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin.

Travis and the rest of the OU linebackers kept the athletic Griffin mostly in check, applying pressure and letting him take off on a big run only once.

No looking back

The Sooners were reminded all week about their lackluster performance at Colorado a year ago, resulting in a loss (Texas tumbled, too) that took the luster off the Red River Rivalry. This time, with the Longhorns on deck, the Sooners were focused. They led 28-0 in the first quarter, removing any and all drama, real or imagined.

“I think everybody wanted us to look ahead to Texas,” said OU’s Johnson. “But we’ve seen plenty of No. 1 teams get beat by looking ahead to the next game, so we understand that if we want to have a great season, we have to do the little things.”

The Sooners did the little things. And plenty of big things.

Quarterback Sam Bradford hit on 23-of-31 passes for 372 yards and Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias caught long touchdown grabs. Overall the Sooners piled up 594 yards and 32 first downs.

On to Texas.

No looking back, Part II

As noted above, the Longhorns were upset victims in their pre-Red River showdown game last year, losing at home to Kansas State. This time, going to Colorado, where the Sooners had slipped, the warnings came easy.

And like OU at Baylor, Texas took control, surging to a 21-0 halftime lead that ballooned to 35-7 through three quarters.

Running back Chris Ogbonnaya jumpstarted the Horns, taking in a short pass and bolting 65 yards for a touchdown on UT’s third offensive snap. He added a second-quarter touchdown run, producing one of his best overall days as a Longhorn.

Ogbonnaya finished with 116 receiving yards and 71 rushing yards.

The attention quickly turned to the Sooners, with fans who made the trip from Austin chanting the familiar: “Beat OU, Beat OU.”

“Can we celebrate this game?” Texas tackle Roy Miller wondered afterward.

Then Miller gave up, shifting focus to the Sooners all the emotions of the annual brawl in the Cotton Bowl.

“No. 1, it’s a rivalry,” Miller said. “And No. 2, they’re No. 1.”

On to Oklahoma.

Rush to judgment

Kansas rediscovered its running game, rediscovering Jake Sharp in the process.

And just in time.

Sharp had but one carry at the half, when the sputtering Jayhawks trailed 20-0 to find themselves on the verge of an upset in Ames.

But KU turned to Sharp in the second half and he responded, producing 186 total yards and two touchdowns as the Jayhawks rallied and hung on to edge Iowa State.
“We had to win,” Sharp told reporters after the game. “That was the battle cry. ‘We’ve got to win.’”

Todd Reesing hit Sharp on a 67-yard touchdown pass to get things started, pointing the Jayhawks on the board. They kept coming.

Dazzling Dez

Tech’s Michael Crabtree and Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin draw most of the wide receiver praise in the Big 12. Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant may be having a better year than both.

The ball found Bryant’s hands eight times against Texas A&M. He turned his opportunities into 216 yards and four touchdowns.

Bryant returned a punt 78 yards for a score and added TD catches of 29, 23 and 21 yards, helping the Cowboys beat A&M for the first time in five years.

“We had to calm him down,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said jokingly, alluding to the fact that Bryant wants the ball frequently.

“But the crowd’s yelling, ‘Throw it to Dez!’ So I think a lot of people agree with him.”

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