Week Five Big 12 Roundup: Texas Falls Apart, Baylor is Unbelievable

Fans of the Big 12 were given a treat when all 10 teams faced an opponent within the conference for the first time this season. And nothing says Big 12 play like the offenses we saw on Saturday, so let’s take a closer look at the winners and losers.

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(23) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (15) Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners defeated the Mountaineers 44-24, moving to 1-0 in Big 12 play and 4-0 overall. The Mountaineers fell to 3-1 overall.

Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, and linebacker Eric Striker recorded a career-high 13 tackles including three for a loss and two sacks. Striker also forced a fumble that would be returned for a touchdown.

Striker led the comeback for an Oklahoma defense that allowed their last opponent to muster 603 yards of offense. Overall, the defense sacked West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard seven times and forced a total of five turnovers. The Oklahoma defense had only forced two turnovers all season heading into the game.

In contrast to Baker Mayfield’s three touchdown passes, Skyler Howard threw three interceptions and only one touchdown. He also lost two fumbles on the day, not making matters any better for his team.

The Mountaineers came in with a defense that had only allowed 7.7 points per game, the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense. They also had yet to surrender any points in the first half. However, the Sooners scored with 8:45 left in the first quarter and didn’t have much trouble finding the endzone after that.

Ultimately, it was West Virginia’s turnovers that cost them the game, with three of the five turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers had their impressive moments, but couldn’t keep up with the Sooners late.

Oklahoma will take on the Texas Longhorns in week six for the Red River Showdown, and the West Virginia Mountaineers will host the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Morgantown.

OU 44 | WVU: 24

Texas Longhorns vs. (4) TCU Horned Frogs

Moving down to Fort Worth, TCU continued their Big 12 title pursuit at home as they took on the sinking ship that is the Texas Longhorns.

For Texas, this game is one they would soon like to forget as the Horned Frogs routed them 50-7 and dropped them to 0-2 in the Big 12 and 1-4 overall. The Longhorns are officially off to the worst start they’ve had since 1956 when they began 1-9.

As expected, quarterback Trevone Boykin had an impressive performance with 332 yards passing and five touchdowns, all while sitting out the fourth quarter.

Both Boykin and star receiver Josh Doctson broke records in the first half, adding more salt to the wounds the Longhorns will be nursing on their way back to Austin. Boykin passed current Cincinnati Bengal quarterback Andy Dalton’s passing touchdown record of 71 as he now has 74 for his career. Doctson also broke a TCU record for career receiving touchdowns with his pair of scores for a total of 22. We predict a lot more for both before the season is over.

For the third-straight week, the Texas special teams suffered another costly and humiliating mistake as a high snap on a punt led to a safety. Two field goal attempts also went wide.

https://vine.co/v/e2aO1Q0EwPb

TCU has now beat Texas for consecutive years for the first time since 1958-59. This game was essentially over about 10 minutes in, and the Horned Frogs carried a 30-0 lead into the second half. Even though this TCU defense was missing mix starters due to injury, they still managed to contain Jerrod Heard and limit the Texas offense to only 313 yards of offense and seven points.

Things aren’t looking good for Texas, and don’t seem to be on the upside anytime soon. They have the tough task of taking on Oklahoma this Saturday, while TCU will go to Manhattan to face the Kansas State Wildcats.

TCU: 50 | Texas: 7

Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. (5) Baylor Bears

The offensive firepower that is the Baylor Bears met the Texas Tech Red Raiders at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and once again Baylor was firing on all cylinders.

The No. 5 Bears put it to Texas Tech, beating them 63-35 with a balanced attack both through the air and on the ground. Quarterback Seth Russell threw for 286 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Shock Linwood rushed for a career-high 221 yards along with two touchdowns. The Bears finished with 680 yards of offense, and have now scored 538 points in their last 10 games.

In case you missed the Baylor game, here's all you need to know. #TTUvsBAY https://t.co/Y7lAyAwR5a

— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) October 4, 2015

Baylor entered this game as the only FBS team ranked in the top 10 in both passing and rushing offense. Through four games, the Bears are averaging 63.8 points per game.

Only one week removed from playing TCU to the final minutes, Texas Tech did not look as impressive in week five. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns, but also had two interceptions. After going 3-0 in the non-conference, the Red Raiders are now 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12.

Even though the Bears ended up beating the Red Raiders by a 28-point margin, it was actually their smallest margin of victory yet this season. Tech managed to get 636 yard of offense on the day, but it didn’t matter much with the game of catch-up they were playing.

The Bears are now 4-0 for the third straight season, marking the first time that has happened since 1915-17. Baylor will have the easy task of visiting Lawrence to take on the Kansas Jayhawks this Saturday, while Texas Tech will try to get their first Big 12 win when they host Iowa State.

Baylor: 63 | Tech: 35

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Iowa State Cyclones

Lastly, in what was the least-exciting Big 12 game of the week, Iowa State hosted Kansas in Ames. Most could have predicted the result of this game before it started.

The Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks 38-13, dropping Kansas to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in the Big 12. The possibility that Kansas may go the entire season without winning a game seems more and more likely each week.

After Iowa State finally ended the streak of going 13 years with never winning a conference opener they are now 1-0 in the Big 12 and 2-2 overall. Cyclone fans should have known it was going to be a good day the moment QB Sam Richardson pulled off (maybe) the nicest fake-hand off of the weekend for the game’s first touchdown.

Sam Richardson faked out everyone on this #Touchdown run. @CycloneFB opens up a 10-0 lead over Kansas. http://t.co/TBeb6owIhE

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 3, 2015

Running back Mike Warren rushed for 175 yards, setting a freshman record. Warren gave his team a 24-0 lead in the second half on a 62-yard scoring run, which was the longest of his career.

The Cyclones defense was particularly harassing, racking up five sacks and eight tackles for a loss. Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart completed 15 of 21 passes for 150 yards and one score. He was eventually taken out of the game in the fourth quarter due to a left shoulder sprain.

It had been 673 days since Iowa State had beaten a conference opponent, but that clock can now reset. The Cyclones will travel to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech, and Kansas will remain in Lawrence to host the Baylor Bears.

It’s safe to assume that game won’t end well for the Jayhawks.

ISU: 38 | Kansas: 13