Big 12 Week 7 Recap: Baylor Is so, so Good

The seventh week of action in the Big 12 conference saw eight teams hit the field, and the end results featured a few surprises and more of the same fans have been seeing all season. Let’s take a closer look at each matchup.

Kansas State-Oklahoma

Beginning with what was undoubtedly the most one-sided game of the weekend, the No. 19 ranked Oklahoma Sooners traveled to Manhattan to face the Kansas State Wildcats. To say this game was embarrassing for the Wildcats would be an understatement.

After suffering a stunning loss to Texas last week, it was obvious that Bob Stoops and his team were on a mission to make a statement against K-State. And make a statement they did, as they shutout out the Wildcats on their home turf by a score of 55-0.

Overall, there wasn’t much to see here except an unstoppable Oklahoma offense and lots of K-State fans piling out of the stadium by halftime. After delivering close game scares to Top 25 teams the last two weeks, the Wildcats looked utterly useless against the Sooners as they fell to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12. The Sooners improved to 5-1 and 2-1 respectively.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 20 of his 27 pass attempts for 282 yards and five touchdowns. He threw all five in the first half, and his team carried a 35-0 lead into the halftime break. Sterling Shepard caught two of those touchdowns and led the team with 83 receiving yards.

Not only did the Sooners blowout their opponent, but they did so incredibly quickly. Their opening drive resulted in a touchdown that took only one minute and four seconds, and the tempo didn’t slow down for the Sooners until the second half.

K-State quarterback Joe Hubener couldn’t get anything going, as he only completed 4 of 14 pass attempts for 39 yards and two interceptions. He was eventually benched for Kody Cook, who didn’t help his team much. He proceeded to throw an interception to Zack Sanchez that was returned 38 yards for a touchdown to make the score 42-0.

Pick-6 Alert! Zach Sanchez takes it 38 yards. See ya. #Big12FB on ABC http://t.co/PGSmWpDkaO

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 17, 2015

Bakyer Mayfield was quoted saying that nothing could have distracted the team all week from redeeming themselves after their Red River Showdown defeat. They got their credibility back easily, as they prevented K-State from scoring for the first time in 234 games. This was also the first time K-State had been shut out at home since 1991. Woof. The Sooners will play host to Texas Tech this upcoming Saturday, and Kansas State will head down south to face the Texas Longhorns.

Baylor-West Virginia

The No. 2 ranked Baylor Bears hosted the West Virginia Mountaineers in Waco, and as per usual, their unstoppable offense handed their opponent a hefty loss by a score of 62-38.   Baylor scoring upwards of 60 points has now come to be expected each week, along with their star players putting up amazing numbers. Nothing can seem to stop Art Briles’ offense, let alone even have a hope of slowing it down.   

Quarterback Seth Russell became the first Baylor quarterback since Robert Griffin III to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game, which Griffin III did back in 2011 (the year he won the Heisman). Russell threw five touchdowns and rushed for another.

Does anybody expect Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman to go one game this season without scoring? He hasn’t yet, and Coleman was once again nearly unstoppable as he caught three touchdowns to break the Bears single-season school record, which was set by Kendall Wright in 2011. Wright caught 14 touchdowns that year.  Coleman leads the nation with 16 touchdown receptions, and it only took him six games to break Wright’s record. He finished the day with 10 catches for 199 yards.

West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen called Coleman “the best player in college football.” He then proceeded to say “You can put me on the record for that.” The only regular-season loss the Bears suffered last season came at the hands of the Mountaineers in Morgantown, falling 41-27. It’s safe to say that the Bears got their revenge, and have now won 19 straight home games, which is the best in the FBS.

Coleman may not be the only player on this Baylor team to break a record set in 2011 by the end of the year, as quarterback Seth Russell leads the FBS with 27 touchdown passes. Griffin III threw 37 in 2011, which is well in range for Russell if he keeps this pace up.

3 quarters. 6 total #Touchdowns for Seth Russell! @BUFootball up 48-24 heading to the 4th Q. http://t.co/FmmRBvnj9D — Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 17, 2015

The Bears remain undefeated overall and in the conference, and will host the Iowa State Cyclones this upcoming Saturday. West Virginia falls to 3-3 and 0-3, and will not have any chance to rest or recover as they prepare to go on the road to take on TCU.

Texas Tech-Kansas

The Texas Tech Red Raiders visited the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence on Saturday, and managed to hold off Kansas to win by a score of 30-20. For the first time all season, the Jayhawks found a way to make a game interesting.

The Red Raiders carried a safe 20-0 lead into the half, which is what most would have expected with a matchup against Kansas. However, the Jayhawks found a little spark in the fourth quarter, crawling back from a 23-6 deficit to make the score as close as 23-20 with 6:26 left in the final quarter.

Jayhawks quarterback Ryan Willis threw for a career-high 330 yards and two scores, including a 25-yard pass to Tre’ Parmalee in the fourth that helped their comeback attempt. Running back De’Andre Mann rushed the ball 15 times for 107 yards, but it was Taylor Cox that had a 1-yard dash for a score that pulled his team within three points.

Ultimately, it was the Texas Tech defense that ensured the victory, as Jah’Shawn Johnson picked off Willis and ran it back 27 yards for a touchdown. After that, Kansas was all but defeated and fell to 0-6 for the first time since 1988. The Jayhawks are stuck enduring a rough nine-game losing streak.

Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 359 yards and one touchdown, and De’Andre Washington carried the ball 22 times for 152 yards and a score. However, players and coaches expressed their disappointment with how the offense played. The 30 points Tech scored are the fewest they’ve put up all season.

A BEAUTIFUL 45-yard #Touchdown pass from Mahomes to Davis helps @TechAthletics beat the clock before the break. http://t.co/763bgUDRUR

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 17, 2015

Texas Tech moves up to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12, while Kansas continues to drop and is now 0-6 and 0-3. The Red Raiders must go to Norman to take on the Sooners next, and Kansas heads off to Stillwater to visit Oklahoma State.

TCU-Iowa State

Last but not least, the No. 3 ranked TCU Horned Frogs arrived in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday for their matchup against the Iowa State Cyclones. Just like always being able to count on Baylor putting up massive numbers, it seems as though you can always count on Trevone Boykin fueling his team to a victory. The quarterback threw for 436 yards and four touchdowns as the Horned Frogs beat the Cyclones 45-21.

Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman Josh Doctson up to something #Big12FB on ESPN2 http://t.co/BlOoMefGTZ

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 17, 2015

Boykin’s favorite receiving target Josh Doctson also had a big night, as he caught 10 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Doctson also set a new TCU record for touchdown receptions in a season, when he caught his 12th TD pass of the season on this strike from his quarterback.

Here’s a look at another record-setting #Touchdown for Josh Doctson. #BeatISU http://t.co/MFsRZIfoPT

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) October 18, 2015

Boykin was also the team’s leading rusher, tallying 74 yards on the ground and one more touchdown. Altogether, Boykin accounted for 510 of the total 621 offensive yards the Horned Frogs had on the night. Iowa State played well in the first half, even taking a 21-14 lead in the first quarter to make it seem as though they had a chance at the upset.

Quarterback Sam Richardson threw for 251 yards, and freshman running back Mike Warren had 78 yards rushing.   After the Cyclones got off to a very fast start with a 74-yard touchdown reception to Allen Lazard, TCU coach Gary Patterson said that he thinks his team might have the worst first quarter defense in college football.

But TCU started out on fire as well with two scores under their belt with seven minutes left in the first quarter, and turned their defense around. After another sluggish start on the road, TCU scored 31 unanswered points to close out the game. After they allowed the Cyclones to post 262 yards on them in the first quarter, they only allowed 199 yards the rest of the game. Overall, both teams combined for 617 yards in the first half.

617 combined total yards in the first half! @TCUFootball 24 – @CycloneFB 21 #Big12FB on ESPN2 http://t.co/IbV7L1XyWX

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 18, 2015

TCU stays undefeated and will travel back home to wait on the arrival of the West Virginia Mountaineers for their next challenge, and Iowa State falls to 2-4 and 1-2 and will have to prepare quickly as they must travel to Waco to face Baylor.