Another week of college football has concluded, and fans were brought loads of excitement from this week’s slate. 

The Big 12 had a somewhat mediocre schedule for Week 8 but nonetheless, there were some close matchups and a huge upset. 

The best matchup in the Big 12 included the No. 8 Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Iowa State Cyclones. 

The Cowboys traveled to Ames, Iowa, to take on an Iowa State team who was looking to get back into the top 25 after dropping out in Week 5. 

In a game where the headline was set to be the rushing attacks for both sides, the quarterbacks were the ones to shine. 

Brock Purdy had an efficient day for the Cyclones as he completed 27 passes on 33 attempts for 307 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson. 

Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders also had a good game throwing for 225 yards on 15 completions and added three touchdowns. 

The game was tightly contested throughout and neither team could open the game up. 

After a touchdown pass from Sanders to Oklahoma State wide receiver Tay Martin in the fourth quarter, the Cyclones needed a big drive if they wanted to pull off the upset.

Iowa State was able to come out and do just that. The Cyclones drove the ball 85 yards on only six plays and capped it off with a Breece Hall 4-yard touchdown run. 

Hall had a relatively quiet game for the Cyclones rushing 21 times for 70 yards and the game-winning touchdown. 

Iowa State finished the game off with a huge fourth-down stop that halted the Cowboys attempt to tie or win the game. 

Iowa State came out victorious by a score of 24-21.

The Cyclones moved to 5-2 on the season and jumped back into the top 25 as the No. 22-ranked team in this week’s rankings. 

The Cowboys fell to 6-1 and dropped to No. 15 in the rankings.  

The No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners remained undefeated after a slow start against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Sooners found themselves trailing the Jayhawks 10-0 at halftime. 

Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams took over after halftime and led his team to outscore the Jayhawks 35-13 in the second half. 

He threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter, but Kansas continued to fight back as it held the lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Running back Kennedy Brooks found the endzone for the Sooners early in the fourth quarter and Caleb Williams added a 40-yard rushing score with 7:53 left in the game.  

The Jayhawks answered with a touchdown pass of their own and closed the gap to 28-23. 

Oklahoma sealed the game after a 4-yard touchdown run by Brooks late in the fourth quarter. 

The final score of the game ended 35-23 in favor of the Sooners. 

Williams ended the game with 15 completions for 178 yards and two touchdown passes, as well as a rushing touchdown, while Brooks finished with 24 carries for 79 yards and two scores. 

Oklahoma improved to 8-0 on the season but dropped to No. 4 in the rankings after an impressive performance by Alabama. 

Other games in the Big 12 included a matchup between Kansas State and Texas Tech and a game between West Virginia and TCU. 

Kansas State was able to hold off Texas Tech by a score of 25-24 behind Deuce Vaughn’s three touchdowns. 

West Virginia was able to beat TCU by a score of 29-17. The Mountaineers were led by running back Leddie Brown, who ran 24 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns. 

Week 9 for the Big 12 contains another quiet slate, but Big 12 fans can look forward to a matchup between previously ranked Texas and No. 16 Baylor. 

Thomas English is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.