Update Big 12 Predictions and Superlatives After Week Nine

KANSAS BEAT TCU IN FOOTBALL! What a wild week nine it was in the Big 12. The last undefeated team in conference fell from the ranks of the undefeated. At the bottom of the standings, Kansas and TCU are tied in conference play.....and Kansas owns the tiebreaker! Let’s dive into the recap of the craziness from last weekend and look ahead to the stretch run of conference play. (I’ll now be national rankings from the CFP committee in the standings as well as conference record).

Standings

1. #7 Oklahoma Sooners (7-1, 4-1)

2. #13 West Virginia Mountaineers (6-1, 4-1)

3. #17 Texas Longhorns (6-2, 4-1)

4. #24 Iowa State Cyclones (4-3, 3-2)

5. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-3, 3-2)

6. Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-3, 2-3)

7. Baylor Bears (4-4, 2-3)

8. Kansas State Wildcats (3-5, 1-4)

9. Kansas Jayhawks (3-5, 1-4)

10. TCU Horned Frogs (3-5, 1-4)

Texas and TCU fell in the rankings while OU reclaimed the top spot and Oklahoma State moved up three spots. TCU took Kansas’ spot in last place after the Jayhawks upset the Horned Frogs. Baylor got thrashed in West Virginia but was saved by the bottom three teams being so bad. Let’s take a look at where each team stands at this point in the season.

#7 Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma was ranked 7th by the CFP committee in their first rankings of the year. The Sooners lone loss was by three points to a Texas team that usually plays them close every year. Last weekend OU manhandled Kansas State at home in a game that was only played because it had to be. The outcome of this game was a foregone conclusion. Kyler Murray had another Heisman worthy day as the Sooners rolled Kansas State 51-14.

Oklahoma will travel to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech in what is always a fun and interesting game in the Big 12. Coincidentally, former Texas Tech and OU quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield will square off in the NFL this weekend as Mahomes’ Chiefs take on Mayfield’s Browns. Those two provided us with one of the most explosive games in college football history a few years back. Kyler Murray will look to put up a lot of points this weekend, and Alan Bowman will have to do so if he wants to keep the Red Raiders in the ballgame. Catch this game in primetime on ABC on Saturday night.

#13 West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia thrashed the Baylor Bears in Morgantown last weekend. This was a game that West Virginia needed to dominate in to get back on track after losing to Iowa State in Ames. West Virginia found themselves up 27-0 after Charlie Brewer threw three interceptions early in the game and the Mountaineers would roll on from there to a big 58-14 victory. Will Grier looked more like himself this week, throwing three touchdown passes and no interceptions. He may not win the Heisman, but he might still get an invite to New York.

West Virginia will travel to Austin to take on a reeling Texas team in their biggest game of the year so far. This game may very well decide who plays OU in the Big 12 Championship game. Both of these teams need to run the table for a shot at the CFP (Texas is really on thin ice) and only one of them will make it out of this weekend with their dreams still in tact. The 2:30 kickoff between these teams will be one of the better games to watch this weekend.

#17 Texas Longhorns

Texas looked uninspired during their loss at Oklahoma State last weekend. The Cowboys changed up their offensive playbook to better fit Taylor Cornelius’ skill set, however, that still isn’t an excuse for the formerly 6th ranked team to lose to an OSU team that had lost three of their last four. The Horns rally came up just short as they lost to OSU 38-35. Next week, the Longhorns defense has to play better if they want to beat West Virginia. The secondary has a lot to improve on, and they’ll likely be the key to a Texas win....or loss.

Texas will host West Virginia in what could be the tiebreaker game for 2nd place at the end of the season. West Virginia still has Texas and OU on the schedule, while Texas already beat OU. The Mountaineers lost to a surging Iowa State team that Texas beat before the Cyclones made their quarterback change. West Virginia has a tougher road ahead of them than the Longhorns do, however, it’s feasible that either one of these teams could run the table. Keep your TV locked on FOX at 2:30 on Saturday for this one.

#24 Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State fell behind early against Texas Tech but came back and won the game in the second half. Both teams played well for the most part, but were sloppy at times. That’s to be expected from Brock Purdy and Alan Bowman, both Freshman quarterbacks. Bowman threw three interceptions and Purdy lost a fumble. Bowman also took a safety which sealed the game for Texas Tech. Iowa State escaped with a 40-31 win.

The Cyclones debuted in the first CFP ranking after it looked like their season was left for dead when they started 1-3. Enter Brock Purdy. Now Iowa State is looking to win their fourth straight game, and will likely do so as they get Kansas this weekend. The game might be in Lawrence, but the Cyclones are favored by two touchdowns and that’s about how this game is going to go. Kansas might stick around, but this one won’t be close enough for Iowa State to sweat about anything.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

I know Alan Bowman tossed three interceptions against Iowa State last weekend, but Ames can be an unforgiving environment, especially for a Freshman. Tech still hung around to the very end and if Bowman doesn’t take a safety we might be talking about a different game. Either way, Tech had a gritty showing as has been the theme of their season. I didn’t want to penalize the Red Raiders too much for their 40-31 loss in Ames.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Red Raiders as they welcome in Oklahoma to Tortilla Town for a primetime matchup on ABC. Texas was favored over a struggling Oklahoma State squad and lost their primetime matchup with the Cowboys last weekend, so anything is possible. With that being said, Oklahoma is a little better than Texas, especially in big games. This one should be a great game to watch following the Texas- West Virginia matchup. Tune into this for all the yards and all the points.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State upset the 6th ranked Longhorns on Homecoming in Stillwater. Mike Gundy finally inserted a playbook revolving around Taylor Cornelius’ skill set and the offense looked much better than it has in past weeks. The defense improved but was still wildly inconsistent and gave up the big play too often. This could be a building block game for OSU as it now looks like the Cowboys could end up going bowling after all.

Oklahoma State gets Baylor this weekend in one of their two remaining games they’ll likely be favored in. TCU is looking like a game OSU could win, but the Pokes will want to get that last win needed to become bowl eligible out of the way this weekend. Now that we’ve entered the final four games of the season, or five with a bowl game, it’ll be interesting to see if Mike Gundy plays Dru Brown or Spencer Sanders at all. Both should get playing time as it won’t cost them their redshirt. Kickoff from Waco is at 11 a.m. as the Pokes go for their 6th win of the season.

Baylor Bears

Baylor should have fallen farther than they did, however, they were saved by TCU losing to Kansas and Kansas State doing Kansas State things in Norman. The Bears lost to West Virginia 58-14 and Charlie Brewer was benched after starting 1-8 with three interceptions. Nothing went right for a Baylor team that needs two more wins to become bowl eligible.

Baylor will welcome Oklahoma State to Waco this weekend in a game they’ll want to win to move within one win of bowl eligibility. Baylor beat Oklahoma State the last time the Cowboys visited Waco, but these are two very different programs now. Oklahoma State will be tough to beat, but Baylor will have to take care of the ball and convert big plays if they want to win. Expect OSU to win this one.

Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State lost to Oklahoma 51-14 as the passing game continues to struggle. The offense wasn’t able to do much of anything in Norman against the Sooner defense. Their offense is too one dimensional to be very effective against a team like OU.

Next weekend Kansas State will travel to TCU and attempt to grab win number four on the year. The pillow fight of the week in the Big 12 is a toss up, however, I personally think TCU will win this one. They just lost to Kansas, but Kansas State won’t score enough to win this one. If there’s a game remaining on the Kansas State schedule they should win, it’s this one. They still haven’t played Kansas, although, the Jayhawks will be upset minded behind their best team in years.

Kansas Jayhawks

KANSAS WON A BIG 12 FOOTBALL GAME. This has been a great year for football at Kansas despite their 3-5 record. David Beaty was on the hot seat to begin the year, but he might finally be building something at Kansas. The Jayhawks beat TCU at home last weekend 27-26. Pooka Williams wasn’t utilized as much on the ground, however, he had a big day receiving. This might be not be the last football game Kansas wins this year (looking at you, Kansas State) but they won’t win this upcoming weekend.

The Jayhawks welcome in a red hot Iowa State team that will more than likely win their fourth game in a row. Kansas won’t win this one, but a nice showing would be good as the Jayhawks gear up for their “bowl game” against rival Kansas State the following weekend.

TCU Horned Frogs

TCU suffered a loss at Kansas last weekend and fell to last place in my standings. Who would have thought? The Horned Frogs are struggling on both sides of the football. Shawn Robinson didn’t play in this one due to injury, and backup Michael Collins didn’t play great in his place. Jalen Reagor had a big day receiving once again, but he was about the only impressive performer for the Horned Frogs.

TCU will play Kansas State this weekend in a game they will have to win if they want to save their season. Getting swept by the state of Kansas in football is not something that happens often (or ever??) so the Horned Frogs need to win this game. Bowl eligibility might be out of the window as TCU gears up for next season.

Big 12 Championship Game:

Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas Longhorns

The winner of this weekends Texas- West Virginia game will probably decide who makes the Big 12 Championship game, but I’ll give a slight edge to Texas because they are playing at home. I still have OU by a touchdown or two in the Big 12 Championship game no matter who they play.

Offensive Player of the Year:

Kyler Murray: Oklahoma University

Kyler had another big day against Kansas State and continues to be at the top of the Heisman race. It’ll be tough for him to beat out Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama, but as far as the Big 12 goes, he has a comfortable lead over Will Grier.

Defensive Player of the Year:

Joe Dineen Jr: Kansas University

Joe Dineen led the Jayhawks in tackles with 13 total and nine solo tackles during their upset of TCU. He continues to be the leading force behind the Jayhawk defense and a leader in tackles in the Big 12 conference.

Big 12 Newcomer of the Year:

Brock Purdy: Iowa State University

Purdy led his team to a come-from-behind win over Texas Tech last weekend. He has the Cyclones in the CFP rankings at #24 after they won their third straight game. A win over Kansas this weekend would give Iowa State more momentum heading down the stretch.

Big 12 Freshman of the Year:

Caden Sterns: University of Texas

The younger Sterns brother recorded seven tackles in the Longhorns loss at Oklahoma State. He didn’t have a great game this weekend, but at least he didn’t get mossed like teammate Kris Boyd did. When Tylan Wallace is on the field, nobody is safe.

Coach of the Year:

Tom Herman: University of Texas

Just kidding. You all know who it is. Lincoln Riley had his team ready to play and dominated another doormat in the conference. Meanwhile Tom Herman made a fool of himself in Stillwater. Guess which one of these two coaches is the highest paid in the conference? Hint: it isn’t the one who went to the College Football Playoff last year.

Breakout Player of the Year:

Tylan Wallace: Oklahoma State University

Tylan Wallce caught 10 passes for 222 yards in the Cowboys upset win over Texas. Nobody else caught more than four passes from Taylor Cornelius on the night. This kid is absolutely incredible and he ended up on Randy Moss’ segment “You Got Mossed!” for his catch over Kris Boyd.