Around the Big 12: Week 5
Week 4 of College Football has officially wrapped up and left us with some teams who proved their worth and others who have made us question their rankings.
The Big 12 had an eventful week with some key matchups that have shaken up the conference standings.
No. 4 ranked Oklahoma struggled for the second week in a row against a tough West Virginia team, but managed to scrape out a victory with a game-winning field goal as time expired.
The Sooners never held the lead until the field goal at the end of the game and left the decision makers to seriously consider how legit this team really is. They move to 4-0 on the season but have dropped to No. 6 in this week’s AP rankings. This week they face a tough matchup in Kansas State who upset the Sooners last season.
No. 14 ranked Iowa State traveled to Texas to take on the Baylor Bears. Breece Hall continued to show his dominance rushing for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and added a clutch receiving touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, Hall’s third touchdown would not be enough as they failed to convert the 2-point conversion and Baylor hung on to win 31-29.
This loss drops the Cyclones out of the Top 25 and pushes a 4-0 Baylor team to No. 21 in this week’s rankings. Iowa State aims to regain their momentum in a matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks.
The other ranked team in the conference, Kansas State, faced off against Oklahoma State in a battle of two undefeated teams. The Cowboys came out firing scoring 31 points in the first half. The Oklahoma State offense went cold in the second half scoring zero points, but luckily its defense was able to hold off the Wildcats.
Spencer Sanders led the charge with 22 completions for 344 yards and two touchdowns. Sanders also scored on a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Jaylen Warren also had a big day for the Cowboys as he totaled 27 carries for 123 yards and four receptions for 81 yards.
This upset pushes Oklahoma State to 4-0 on the season and boosts them to No. 19 in this week’s rankings. Conversely, Kansas State drops to 3-1 and gets bumped out of the Top 25. Kansas State will look to bounce back in a pivotal matchup against Oklahoma.
Elsewhere in the Big 12, TCU lost to a now 4-0 SMU. Texas hung 70 points on Texas Tech’s defense with Casey Thompson throwing for 303 yards and five touchdowns on only 18 completions. Lastly, Kansas lost to Duke by a score of 52-33 as Blue Devils quarterback Gunnar Holmberg rushed for four touchdowns.
Several teams in the Big 12 look to regain their momentum as others look to continue theirs.
Week 5 brings some highly anticipated matchups, including a rematch of last year’s upset involving Kansas State and Oklahoma and a Top 25 matchup between No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 21 Baylor. Both matchups could shake up the AP rankings and the Big 12 standings so Big 12 fans should get prepared for an exciting Saturday of College Football.
Thomas English is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at tfe5082@psu.edu
