Notebook #1: Mahomes Questionable. On Tuesday, LAJ’s Don Williams writes about the QB Patrick Mahomes injury and that he is questionable for Saturday’s game. Last night, LAJ’s Don Williams updated the status of Mahomes after talking to head coach Kliff Kingsbury after practice:

Asked to what extent Mahomes could miss practice time and still be effective on game day, Kingsbury said, “I think he could miss practice time. What I’m worried about is it limiting his game. As you know, a big part of his game is being able to move around, extend plays, the quarterback run stuff.

“Even Saturday, he was having trouble stepping into some of his throws there at the end. So if he’s not able to play up to his potential, then we’ll rest him and go to the next one.”

This is all correct, Mahomes didn’t have the zip and he was having trouble throwing the ball with velocity. Saturday is going to be incredibly interesting and I suppose the question should be, do you give Mahomes the week off if it gets him 100% for the rest of the year or do you roll with a 75% Mahomes, and he’d be 75% for the rest of the year because there’s no off-weeks until after the last game (which sounds strange, but it is true). Not knowing the actual injury and whether or not he would be 100% after a game off makes this an impossible question to answer.

• Also of note, is that Ian Sadler was even more limited and the next person up is Ian Sadler or rolling with a two-back set.
• Williams talks to Kingsbury about how the corners will pressure the receivers, playing tight, which was a problem for the receivers last year.
• Derrick Dixon and Jalen Barnes are still on the team, but have missed the last two games dealing with family issues.

Notebook #2: Looking for the Best Safeties and Cornerbacks. LAJ’s Don Williams writes about how there isn’t a best cornerback or safety on the team, at least according to DC David Gibbs. Most of quotes are from Monday’s press conference, although there are some additional notes at the end, including D’Vonta Hinton changed numbers from 35 to 34 and Bobby Esiaba changed from 37 to 30. Also, Mike Smith and his wife, Emily, are expecting a new daughter at any point and plan to name her Kennedy Bestin.

Clark’s Run. LAJ’s Don Williams goes over Le’Raven Clark’s run at the end of the game:

“I was just trying to get downfield and hopefully get a block,” Clark said, “but (DeAndre Washington) got tackled, so I just figured, try to keep the play alive and I called for the ball and he actually threw it to me. That was shocking.”

Baylor Has Work to Do. DMN’s Kate Hairopoulos writes that the Baylor Bears have plenty of work to do, while QB Seth Russell talks about these two teams:

“It’s two offenses trying to get after each other’s throat,” Baylor quarterback Seth Russell said. “There’s a lot of emotions between us and Tech. …You have to use those at the right moments. This game is going to be a good test for us and also for them. … It’s going to be a firefight.”

Definitely Not Down.

https://twitter.com/Laud_6/status/648316978629750784

Texas’ Referee Controversy. There are a ton of Texas fans upset at the officiating of the Oklahoma State vs. Texas game, which Texas lost, it seems, largely because of a botched punt. In any event, DMN’s Chuck Carlton spoke with Big 12 supervisor of officials, Walt Anderson, who said there weren’t any major problems. For those of you who don’t keep track, Randy Christal and Jon Bible have been screwing up games for the Big 12 for ages. Bible actually graduated from Texas and for some of you younger folks, Leach pointed the finger right at Christal in 2007 for poor officiating in Austin (Christal is an Austin resident):

“I think it’s disturbing that Austin residents are involved in this. People work too hard, too long, there’s too much money invested in these games to allow that,” Leach said.

“Am I condemning the crew? Hell yeah, I’m condemning the crew,” Leach said

Welker Ready to Go. LAJ’s Don Williams talked with Wes Welker this past weekend, who said that he still wants to play and is waiting for the right opportunity to play in the NFL:

“I think he’d like to,” Welker said. “I mean, obviously you can’t be too picky at this point, but at the same time you want the right situation, the right time.”

Miscellaneous. Scout’s Gabe Miller has some recent video of Texas Tech commit Houston Miller . . . SAEN’s Tim Griffin has his weekly Big 12 rankings . . . Land Grant Gauntlet’s Matt Turneyranks the Big 12 quarterbacks this week . . . via the official site, the Iowa State vs. Texas Tech game will be at 2:30 next week . . . via the DMN they rank the best teams in Texas . . . ESPN’s Jeremy Crabtree have a recap of some of the Texas Tech commits attending the game . . . via ESPN’s Max Olson, despite the loss, Texas Tech moves up ESPN’s power rankings . . .