Big XII Roundup: Week 3

We take a stroll through all the Big XII games you may have missed.

Overall, you’d have to say that the last big non-conference weekend in the Big XII was nothing less than unspectacular with four teams losing to non-con opponents. Let’s take a quick run through all the conference games in case you missed any of the action.

We’ll start in full on conference play where TCU got the win in the first Big XII game for Houston. Horned Frogs QB Chandler Morris threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns in the big 36-13 win over the Cougars. Both teams take a break from conference play next week as SMU comes to TCU and Sam Houston visits Houston.

Missouri’s Harrison Mevis drilled a 61 yard field goal as the clock expired as his Tigers handed the #15 Kansas State Wildcats their first loss of the season, 30-27. K-State QB Will Howard threw for 270 yards, but had far from his best game, and was bruised and battered throughout. K-State looks for redemption next week when they host Big XII newcomer UCF.

Which brings us to the Knights. UCF was impressive in their throttling of lowly Villanova, 48-14. Backup quarterback Timmy McClain did a fine job in his full debut, racking up 321 yards and two touchdowns through the air. A bigger test awaits UCF in Manhattan on Saturday.

The Baylor Bears secured their first win of the season over Long Island University, 30-7. Dawson Pendergrass ran the ball 21 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. The Baylor defense held the Sharks to just 183 yards of total offense, but a bigger and much more daunting task lies ahead in the form of the Texas Longhorns.

Number four Texas and Wyoming were tied going into the fourth quarter, but the Longhorns made that period their own, scoring 21 unanswered enroute to a 31-10 victory over the Cowboys. Quinn Ewers threw for one, ran one in, and the defense provided an interception return for a score as the Longhorns cruised to a win in the end.

Two teams that didn’t fare well have the opportunity to right the ship when they play each other in week four. In what can graciously be called “old school football” (the more direct among us would call it bad or boring or awful), Iowa State lost to Ohio 10-7. A game that was scoreless at the half and had all the appeal of a banana melting in the sun, didn’t improve as time went on and Iowa State was only able to tack on a late consolation TD to make it semi respectable.

What wasn’t respectable was Oklahoma State’s 33-7 home loss to South Alabama. The Jaguars jumped all over Okie State, taking a 23-0 lead before the Cowboys ultimately got on the scoreboard. It didn’t matter. SAU used a solid running game (243 yards overall and two scores) to wear down OSU. Oklahoma State travels to Ames next weekend.

Oklahoma destroyed Tulsa 66 to 13 on Saturday. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for 421 yards and five touchdowns in the rout. The 3-0 Sooners travel to Cincinnati who didn’t fare as well in week four.

Not faring as well is an understatement, as Cincinnati lost at home to Miami (OH) by a score of 31-24. Joe Wilkins grabbed a touchdown pass in overtime to seal it for the Redhawks. Miami had lost 16 games in a row to their oldest rivals, but not anymore. Now, Cincy has to regroup and focus on an Oklahoma team that was firing on all cylinders on Saturday.

West Virginia held Pittsburgh to only two field goals in a gritty and hard fought 17-6 win but it might’ve come at a cost. Or two. Running back CJ Donaldson had 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground before coming off injured, and starting QB Garrett Greene also went off injured.

Texas Tech rolled Tarleton State, 41-3 for their first win of the season. Tahj Brooks led the way for the Red Raiders with 158 yards on the ground. An early pick-six got Tech off to a good start and they rolled to victory. They travel to West Virginia on Saturday to start conference play.

BYU beat Arkansas 38-31 in a fascinating game of back and forth. BYU came from behind twice, including from 10 down in the third quarter to beat the Razorbacks and stay perfect on the season. The Cougars scored the only points of the fourth quarter and defensively held Arkansas on the last drive (aided by several Razorback penalties) to secure the win. BYU heads to Lawrence for their debut in Big XII conference play.

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