-Luke Falk, Washington State, threw for 497 yards and five TDs to help the Cougars beat Arizona State 38-24 and become bowl-eligible for the second time in coach Mike Leach’s four years with the program. Four years ago, Steele Jantz was replaced by Jared Barnett who was instrumental to the Cyclones’ 37-31 upset over the Cowboys. No team in the conference has a more impressive victory.
Advertisement
Notre Dame could gain a trump card on the Pac-12 by beating the Cardinal on the Farm on Thanksgiving weekend. The senior’s performance was the biggest highlight on an afternoon full of them for the Tar Heels (8-1, 5-0 ACC), who haven’t lost since the opener and firmed up their hold on the Coastal Division race by blowing out the Blue Devils (6-3, 3-2).
To be fair, Oklahoma State’s wins haven’t been pretty: a three-point win over a maligned Texas and a two-point win over 3-5 Kansas State were the biggest before the TCU game.
Or, as the ever-measured MI State Coach Mark Dantonio summarized, “Controversial play at the end”.
For the Big 12: Not great.
Oklahoma State’s pass rush that leads the Big 12 in sacks and was tied for second in the nation with 29 entering the game is something TCU and the other preseason darling, Baylor don’t have to complement the top two offenses in the nation. With a number of teams competing for the coveted four playoff spots, each game carries more importance.
One word of caution: OSU plays Saturday at Iowa State, the same venue where the Cowboys’ undefeated record and national title hopes disappeared in 2011. But after Week 10, in which TCU fell to Oklahoma State and Baylor struggled with Kansas State, this league isn’t so simple any longer.
But Beaty, speaking on Monday morning’s Big 12 coaches teleconference, said he expected to see a TCU team with something to prove in Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend.
The Frogs are determined and ticked off. If they can stay healthy, they are most definitely a team to be reckoned with.
The win came on the first Saturday after the Tigers were chosen No. 1 in the initial CFP ranking. “They should have never been down there (at the 30-yard line) in the first place”. Ohio State should be heavily favored against IL in Week 11 to break Florida State’s 29-game conference win streak. But each week’s rankings are important in one sense: The committee will use their own top 25 to measure the impressiveness of an individual victory. But, buried in a conference with flashier names – TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma – Oklahoma State wasn’t anyone’s choice to make moves, despite a 7-0 record.
Patterson said the team must work on the mental side this week after a defeat that puts the squeeze on the team’s playoff aspirations. It omitted Baylor and TCU, which the Big 12 declared co-champions, even though TCU had beaten Baylor. Both teams have winnable games on their schedule that should allow them to punch through. But the Cougars’ strength-of-schedule rating as a team playing outside of a Power 5 conference will not be strong enough in December to elicit a berth from CFP committee members.
This time, however, a similar regular season likely would net them a spot in the playoff. “You’re not going to come into an environment like this and have four turnovers and expect to win a game”.
November is far from over, and before it’s done, the Big 12 will be won.
None if these teams have easy roads.
The Longhorns community remembered beloved mascot Bevo XIV, who passed away of bovine leukemia on October 16.
Any good alumn knows the words to their fight song.
Of course, the only poll that matters will be provided on Tuesday night with the second release of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s choice for the week. “We’ve got to be careful to make sure”.
Advertisement
Numbers and statistics are a huge part of college football.
