A playoff berth will be forged. It doesn’t get better than this.
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No. 8 TCU (-5) at No. 14 Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m.
Even so, the fact that his major concern these days is making that top four is a sign of just how far Patterson and TCU have come. “If you run the table in this league, you’re one of the top four teams in America”. From what I’ve seen, he’s the most effective red zone player, other than maybe Boykin, TCU has.
The College Football Playoff committee released its first set of rankings this week, and we are already hearing plenty of grumbling and groaning from fans of the Big 12.
– Baylor at TCU, November 27. Rudolph, a sophomore, is 10-1 as a starter and ranks among the top 20 nationally in passing yards, yards per completion, yards per game, completions per game, yards per attempt and total offense. “I said we have to do it a couple years until we understood the landscape”, Patterson said this past summer during the Big 12’s media event.
Next weekend, Oklahoma travels to Baylor.
A sweep of fellow contenders in Stillwater would give OSU (8-0, 5-0 in Big 12) the head-to-head advantage over TCU (8-0, 5-0), Baylor (7-0, 4-0) and Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1) in any tie atop the Big 12 standings that might occur at end of the season regardless of other results posted in November. Then on Thanksgiving Weekend, Bedlam follows a Black Friday Revivalry in Fort Worth.
Tulane (2-6) 13 #16 Memphis (8-0) 41: Tulane actually led 13-0 before Memphis got things going on both ends of the field, rushing for 223 yards with 10 different players. The Bears have been among the nation’s most dominant teams, but starting quarterback Seth Russell is out for the season. The Cyclones were lit up by TCU and Texas Tech, and even though it wasn’t terrible against Baylor, it still allowed three scores. Of the CFP top 15-ranked teams, only LSU (1st) and Stanford (18th) have comparable remaining schedules. Or do they simply prefer game control? “There’s a bottom line to them”.
I don’t know if there will be a Big 12 team in the Playoff, but it’s too early to panic. TCU is the first ranked opponent Oklahoma State will have played this season. The conference’s four powers haven’t faced each other. “But if one team prevails, we’ll have a great chance to be able to get somebody in”.
Who that team might be is anybody’s guess.
The hope, at least at the conference office, is for one of those two games to be for all the marbles. But the Bears also will be riding into the stretch with a true freshman quarterback in Jarrett Stidham, who has yet to take a meaningful snap. Thankfully, Walsh and Rudolph are never on the field at the same time, so whatever package is on the field, will have any easier time because it’s one tailored to a specific quarterback.
Go ahead, West Coast fans, feel free to fret.
TCU: QB Trevone Boykin. By way of a miracle, or just great coaching from Meacham and great execution from Aaron Green, the Frogs escaped Lubbock with a big road win, and the lack of tackling got swept under the rug. Holgorsen seems to respond “You’ll win”.
Since losing to Texas, the Sooners have won their last three games by a combined score of 180-34. Clemson, rated No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, still has to play Florida State and an ACC championship game. “You’re the more complete team” before congratulating the TCU coach, patting him on the shoulder and moving back to his locker room. “We’re executing really well”. Oklahoma isn’t Iowa State’s own size, and neither is Oklahoma State, but Kansas State and West Virginia might be winnable.
Oklahoma State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Game No. 8 on the 2015 Sooner football schedule reads OU vs. Iowa State. “We all know that nothing’s going to be handed to us”.
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Senior leadership on both sides of the ball will be pivotal on Saturday, when the Frogs take on what Patterson calls “the best defensive front” they have faced up to this point in the season.
