Two weekends left.
BIG 12
#10 Oklahoma – 34, #13 Baylor – 31
Coming into this game, most people expected an Oklahoma blowout, exposing Baylor to be what everyone thought they are. Instead, the Sooners, ever the gentlemen, spotted Baylor a 28-3 lead to give them a sporting chance, handed over their 3.2% beer to on-looker, and proclaimed “watch this” to the nation. It’s really not exaggerating to say they gave the Bears the lead, as Jalen Hurts turned the ball over 3 times (2 fumbles & 1 INT), and had a handful of other fumbles that OU was able to recover. Credit where it’s due, Oklahoma looked capital “A” Awful in the first half, and Baylor took every advantage of that. But as much as Jalen Hurts gaveth, he also flipped the switch the second half, where, during their 3 TD run to tie, Baylor only ran 7 plays for 35 yards. A go-ahead field goal & game sealing interception later, Oklahoma now sits on top of the Big 12 and will most likely play Baylor again in the championship game.
#19 Texas – 21, Iowa State – 23
Ah, ye olde Reverse-Dicker-ing (why is everyone snickering at that). Iowa State blew a 13-point lead to let Texas take a 21-20 lead with 5 minutes and change left in the 4th quarter. Brock Purdy proceeds to do Brock Purdy things and sets up Iowa State for a 42-yard field goal. . . which they promptly miss. But wait! The Longhorns were offsides, and the 5 yard penalty barely nets ISU a first down. The Cyclones make good on the second chance and sink a field goal as time expires. UT only rushed for 54 yards on 26 attempts. What does this mean for when they play Texas Tech? Probably nothing!
Kansas – 13, #22 Oklahoma State – 31
The formidable Kansas Jayhawk juggernaut was dealt another blow on Saturday, losing to Oklahoma State in Les Miles’ first trip back to Stillwater since he was a head coach there. You know the game was a real barn burner when half of the AP write-up is talking about Chuba Hubbard’s Heisman bona fides in a game where he ran for 122 & 2 TD’s. It says a lot about the state of the Pokes and what Gundy has been able to accomplish when they’re 7-3 with a freshman running back & QB and it feels like a down year for them.
West Virginia – 24, #24 Kansas State – 20
The biggest shocker of the weekend, #24 Kansas State may have won the helmet battle but not the game against next to last place West Virginia at home in Manhattan. The Mountaineers finally made the change at QB to West Texas son & Bowling Green transfer Jarrett Doege, who most certainly delivered. Saturday marked the first time WVU scored more than 17 points in their past four games. KSU comes to Lubbock next weekend on a two-game losing streak and as a one point underdog. Sounds great!
NATIONAL
Fleeting Moments of Transcendent Beauty and Ephemeral Serenity
When words fail, just exist in the moment
A FAT GUY THROWBACK SCREEN TOUCHDOWN!pic.twitter.com/2BskaPQqCo
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 17, 2019
Nick Saban Should Be In Jail
Say you have a stud junior QB that’s one of the best players at his position. Let’s say that QB had an ankle injury, came back to play in a huge game that he probably shouldn’t have been playing in, health-wise, and put on a super human performance against the #1 team in the nation that kept you in it and even put you in a position to maybe win. That QB, still clearly not as recovered, then plays in your next game against a conference scrub where, up 35-7 and the game in no doubt, you keep him in, injury and all. Said QB, due to decreased mobility from the ankle injury, gets his hip dislocated, screams in bloody agony all the way through the trip to the hospital, and now has to have season ending surgery. Sure, he’s expected to make a “full recovery”, but what does that mean? He’ll be able to walk, or he’ll still be a first-round caliber quarterback? All because you wanted to get Tua, a QB that has played in multiple huge games and won you a national championship, practice with the two-minute drill. This is manslaughter, Nick Saban should be in jail, and should pay for any potential lost wages pending how rehab/the NFL draft goes. These takes are icy cold because in your heart you know this is his fault.
What We Talk About When We Talk About B1G
Reader, I don’t know how to talk about the Big Ten being interesting this year, but here we are. Indiana has a shot for a nine-win season, and had #9 Penn State on the ropes. Our beautiful Golden Gophers may have gotten Kirk Ferentz’d this weekend to mar their perfect record, but they still have a path to the championship. Ohio State is running a seasonal slaughterhouse open only on Saturdays and low-key may really be the best team in the nation (and entertaining to boot). And then you have coaches scraping the gimmick barrel to stave off firing, giving you classics such as this:
Spartans are ready to play rival Michigan. pic.twitter.com/XWow7cdU6e
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 16, 2019
Mark Dantonio is a nerd.
The Last of the Unbeatens
With Baylor & Minnesota both getting got, the only undefeated teams left are LSU, Ohio State, and Clemson. LSU played with their food on Saturday and let Ole Miss make it a bit of a game, but still won by three scores. Ohio State played what I’m being told is. . . a Rutgers, which is somehow not a midwestern buffet chain but just as likely to give you food poisoning (Buckeyes won 56-21). Clemson seems to have woken up and salted the tobacco fields of Wake Forest 52-3, and only have in-state rival South Carolina left on the schedule.
Rankings
Slight shifts here and there, and inexplicably Texas A&M? I’m not much for conspiracies, but the Aggies only have #4 Georgia left #1 LSU so this most definitely looks like they’re being plated up for some nice resume builders. Rankings below are AP
- LSU (-)
- Ohio State (-)
- Clemson (-)
- Georgia (⇑1)
- Alabama (⇓1)
- Oregon (-)
- Utah (⇑1)
- Oklahoma (⇑2)
- Penn State (-)
- Florida (⇑1)
- Minnesota (⇓4)
- Michigan (⇑2)
- Baylor (⇓1)
- Wisconsin (⇑1)
- Notre Dame (⇑1)
- Auburn (⇓3)
- Cincinnati (-)
- Memphis (-)
- Iowa (⇑4)
- Boise State (⇓1)
- SMU (⇓1)
- Oklahoma State (⇑3)
- Appalachian State (NR)
- Texas A&M (NR)
- Virginia Tech (NR)