Around the Big 12: Week 6 (Football)
When the new year kicked off, this week was set to feature a potential preview of the Big 12 conference championship game, as Texas and Oklahoma both started out the season ranked no lower than No. 14 in the polls. However, each team has now fallen out of the top 20 altogether.
With both teams coming off of losses last week, much of the hype for this game and the Big 12’s chances to be represented in the College Football Playoff have died down.
Texas and Oklahoma did come into the year both having big name quarterbacks. Sam Ehlinger of Texas looked like a Heisman contender after a five-touchdown performance against Texas Tech in Week 1. However, Ehlinger struggled, as did the rest of the team, in an upset loss to TCU.
Ehlinger failed to complete 50% of his passes, despite throwing four touchdown passes. Spencer Rattler for Oklahoma bursted onto the scene in his first start as a Sooner, throwing four touchdowns in a win over Missouri State.
The past two weeks, however, have been concerning for Oklahoma fans. After coming into the season ranked No. 3 in the country, the Sooners lost back-to-back games against Kansas State and Iowa State.
In the Iowa State game, Rattler played well, but the Sooners’ rushing attack failed to show up, with just 94 rushing yards aside from the 20 from Rattler himself.
With the top of the Big 12 up in shambles, it’s now Oklahoma State to take over as the team to beat. Currently ranked tenth in the country, the Cowboys recorded their biggest win of the season last week in a 47-7 domination over Kansas.
The Cowboy offense recorded nearly 600 total yards, with 295 of those being rushing yards. Chuba Hubbard and Dezmon Jackson combined for over 200 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Oklahoma State currently sits at 3-0 on the year, but has a loaded back half of its schedule. After this week's matchup against Baylor, the Cowboys will have back-to-back ranked matchups with Iowa State and Texas on the slate.
Even towards the end of the year, trap games versus Oklahoma and Texas Tech could cause some problems for Oklahoma State.
Speaking of Iowa State, it’s been a roller coaster of a year so far. Starting the season at No. 23 in the country, the Cyclones were badly upset by Louisiana, who basically took Iowa State’s spot in the rankings following the loss.
The Cyclones followed that up with back-to-back one-possession wins, first over TCU and then in an upset of their own against Oklahoma. The Cyclones got a big performance from Breece Hall, who had 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Hall had over 20 more rushing yards than all of Oklahoma combined. Now at No. 24 in the polls, Iowa State faces an interesting test against a pass heavy Texas Tech team that saw injury problems at the quarterback position a week ago.
Logan Bourandas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him email lxb5412@psu.edu.