Big XII Roundup: Week 8

Things weren't as easy as planned for the top teams in the league over the weekend, and if you missed any of the action, well, quite frankly, you missed a lot. But don't worry, we've got you covered with a run down of all the weekend's action from around the Big XII.

UCF against Oklahoma was a lot tighter than most people thought it would be. Down 23-17 going into the fourth quarter, the Sooners scored on their first two possessions of the final frame and hung on to win 31-29, staying undefeated on the season and setting up a big game against KU in Lawrence next weekend. Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns against his former team. UCF hosts West Virginia next weekend.

Maybe Oklahoma State is better than their poor start to the season led us to believe. In the last three games, the Cowboys have beaten K-State, Kansas, and now away at West Virginia, 48-34. And like last week against the Jayhawks, running back Ollie Gordon had a lot to do with the OSU success. But this week, he was on a whole different level. He ran the ball 29 times for 282 yards against the Mountaineers, an average of 9.7 yards per carry. He scored four touchdowns as well. The Cowboys will try to keep rolling next weekend when they travel to Cincinnati.

Speaking of Cincinnati, they remain winless in the league after a 32-29 loss to Baylor on Saturday. The Bearcats only scored in the second and fourth quarters while Baylor spread it out over the course of the game. But the key was a second quarter spurt where Baylor scored a TD and immediately snatched a fumble out of midair on the ensuing kickoff, scoring again, just seven seconds after their last score. Another TD and four field goals secured the win for the Bears over Cincy. Next up for Baylor: Iowa State.

It was Harley Davidson night in Manhattan, so you knew that the K-State faithful would be revved up. And if you’re TCU, you can’t just go to Manhattan on a day like that and expect to win. Well, they didn’t. The Wildcats romped the Horned Frogs 41-3 on the day, in what was easily K-State’s most complete performance of the year on both sides of the ball. If there’s one team in this conference that I don’t understand, it’s TCU. Anyway, the Horned Frogs have next week off to think about things.

Houston wasn’t supposed to be a challenge for number eight Texas, but the Cougars gave them everything they had, eventually coming up short losing 31-24. Texas running back CJ Baxter put the Horns up for good with a 16 yard TD drive late in the fourth quarter, but the Longhorn defense still had work to do. Houston was driving late in the game, getting down to the Texas ten yard line before the drive and game ended on a pass breakup on a fourth and one play. Houston travels to K-State next week while Texas hosts BYU. One concern for Texas: the health of injured QB Quinn Ewers.

If you turn the ball over five times, the chances of winning are slim. So it went for Texas Tech against BYU last night. Tech QB Jake Strong threw three interceptions and running backs Tahj Brooks and Cam’Rom Valdez each lost a fumble. Meanwhile, for BYU, Kedon Slovis threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns (zero turnovers for the Cougars) in the 27-14 win. Texas Tech will have a week off to try to eliminate their turnover problem while BYU will find the task even tougher next week in Austin.

Big XII Standings:

Oklahoma 7-0, 4-0
Texas, 6-1, 3-1
Oklahoma State 5-2, 3-1
K-State, 5-2, 3-1
Iowa State 4-3, 3-1
Kansas 5-2, 2-2
BYU 5-2, 2-2
West Virginia 4-3, 2-2
Baylor 3-4, 2-2
TCU, 4-4, 2-3
Texas Tech 3-5, 2-3
Houston 3-4, 1-3
UCF 3-4, 0-4
Cincinnati 2-5, 0-4

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