You see guys fired up. That means there are a few serious deep threats in college football that are waiting to be discovered by NFL scouts.
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Saturday, after coming so close against TCU, the Red Raiders get another shot to land such a program-defining victory against the fifth-ranked Bears. Although both teams won by double digits, neither team was overly impressive in the first half of their respective games.
BEST MATCHUP: Texas Tech (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) vs. No. 5 Baylor (3-0, 0-0). Mahomes has 17 touchdown passes in his last five games.
But those who had their eyes on the entire game probably had the feeling that nothing was out of the question, just because of the sheer absurdity of the entire contest. Four of the nine most-penalized teams from Power 5 conferences this season play in the Big 12.
“Outscoring people for 12 ballgames, why not?”
Josh Doctson was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week after an 18-catch, 267-yard, 3 touchdown performance.
An undefeated season wasn’t going to be easy, of course. TCU got a little lucky today at the end.
Big 12 teams are often stereotyped – because of the sheer number of plays and max-tempo offenses, defenses have no choice but to give up large numbers of raw yards and points – but on a per-play basis, they often check out well. The Cowboys ran the ball three times in one drive at one point and punted the ball.
But on this occasion, Boykin threw off his back foot, and the pass sailed too high for Doctson to do anything but tip it with his outstretched left hand. A missed extra-point attempt by Nick Rose cost Texas a chance at overtime against Cal two weeks ago.
Saturday 8 pm: Notre Dame @ Clemson, ABC I was debating between this game or Bama/UGA for the “Game of the Week” because this one will also go a long way in proving who goes to the playoff. Texas Tech lost 55-52 last week at home to No. 4 TCU, the other defending Big 12 co-champion. DeAndre Washington has rushed for 475 yards and five touchdowns while Jakeem Grant has caught 29 passes for 413 yards and two touchdowns.
This is the second consecutive week in which he’s broken the 400-yard barrier.
A win’s a win, but TCU dropped one spot in the AP poll from No. 3 to 4, while Tech proved its win a week earlier against Arkansas wasn’t a fluke. And don’t forget Virginia’s Friday night no-show in a 56-14 loss to Boise State.
Texas Tech plays No. 5 Baylor this Saturday at 3:30 pm ET on ABC. Utah’s Devontae Booker ran 22 times for 98 yards. Micah Awe leads the Red Raiders with 34 tackles, Tevin Madison has two pass deflections and Jah’Shawn Johnson has two forced fumbles.
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Travel down this hallucinatory path with me for just a second: The Mountaineers have allowed 7.7 points through their first three games, and are the most efficient Big 12 defense to date in ESPN’s FPI rankings. Texas Tech gets about two-thirds of its yards through the air, as do Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State. I’m not asking you to make “MaHomie” shirts to signify you as part of his fandom like 1Directioners or Beliebers (though that would be pretty great).
