The college football world didn’t exactly get turned on its head like it did last weekend, but it did provide a few surprises in just how solid the ranks of some Top 10 teams really are, especially within the Big 12. We’ll start at the top:
The (1) Oklahoma Sooners did nothing to warrant an uprising against their pole position on Saturday, holding Baylor’s star QB Robert Griffin to only 177 total yards (he had 217 yards rushing against Washington State earlier this year). They won handily in a predicable 49-17 game, extending their record to 18-0 against the Bears. Sam Bradford (left) posted more Heisman-worthy numbers in Waco: 372 through the air to 10 different receivers and two touchdowns. Even with all the excitement that many (including me) got wrapped up in, Baylor is still at the bottom of the Big 12, though they should be happy Griffin has three more years to help them reach a bowl.
(4) Missouri ended its 15-game losing streak in Lincoln Saturday by bowling over Nebraska’s supposedly-improved defense. The result was almost identical to the OU-Baylor game (52-17), and about as entertaining as watching one of those robot vacuum cleaners do their work - it’s fun to watch for a little bit, but you really don’t need to watch it clean the entire house, and Memorial Stadium was looking pretty spotless by halftime. Chase Daniel proved that Nebraska is far from returning to the Top 25, let alone the upper echelon of college football (or even of the Big 12). The Tigers are by far the best team in the Big 12 North, and it’s hard to imagine Daniel and his 76.3% completion percentage would be left out of the Heisman finals.
Colt McCoy and the (5) Texas Longhorns did not get overzealous and look too far forward to next week’s Game of the Week against top-ranked Oklahoma (see above). My hopes for a Big 12 North victory by the up-and-coming Colorado Buffaloes were quickly dashed by McCoy’s incredibly heads-up (if questionably scrimmage line-crossing) shovel pass that went 65 yards for the TD just minutes into the game. Boulder’s father-son Hawkins combo couldn’t come back, and the result was an easy 38-14 victory.
(7) Texas Tech often gets overlooked, especially with a high-profile rivalry like Texas/Oklahoma taking the Big 12 South title 10 of 12 years. For years the Red Raiders’ incredibly high-powered, air-heavy offense has been the source of many passing yards and many points. Unfortunately, the gains were not always enough to win the game. This year, it’s safe to say that the trend has been to the contrary. Graham Harrell has averaged over 400 yards passing each game, has 18 TDs and only 3 interceptions, and has led his team to an average victory of nearly 30 points. The 58-28 win over Kansas State in Manhattan is just another example of demonstrative domination.
The Big 12 is a conference with a tiered power system. The above four teams outscored their opponents this week 197-76, a 30-point win on average. The four top teams should not have any losses dealt to them by teams other than each other, barring an Oklahoma State upset, and there are plenty of amazing games to come.
Right now, there are two big questions in Big 12 country: 1) Who will play against Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game? and 2) Can anybody escape the conference undefeated? I cannot stand to see another USC/Ohio State BCS Championship when there’s so much talent in the SEC and Big 12. Unfortunately, I am halfway convinced that one – if not more – of the above teams will get dealt a bad hand by the BCS Selection Committee come December.
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Hahahaha… well said with the comparison of watching the Mizzou-Nebraska game to watching the robot cleaner