Big 12 Football Ratings for November 6, 2022 1. AP no. 4 Texas Christian, 6-0, 9-0. Three penalties during TCU 4thQ drive propels Horn Frogs past T-Tech. Next, @Texas 2. AP no. 18 Texas, 4-2, 6-3. Longhorns build a 31-10 second-half lead and grind down K-State at Manhattan behind Bejan Robinson’s 30 carries and 205 yards rushing. Next v. TCU.
3. AP no. 23 Kansas State, 4-2. 6-3. Wildcats Big 12 hopes take a big hit in Manhattan as Texas shuts down ‘cats, 34-27, Next @ Baylor 4. Oklahoma State, 3-3, 6-3. Rookie QB throws two picks on first two possessions leading to ‘hawk scores, as Kansas leaves Cowpokes Big 12 hopes wading in deep water, 37-16. Next v. Iowa State.
5. Baylor, 4-2, 6-3. . Squirrel gets lose on Owen Field as Baylor corners Sooners with three INTs leading to Bear TDs. Next v. Kansas State.
6. Oklahoma, 2-4, 5-4. Despite workhorse Eric Gray’s 105 yards rushing on 23 carries, and two TD’s, Sooners fall short against Baylor. Next @ West Virginia. Next @ Texas Tech.7.
Kansas, 3-3, 6-3. Speedy Devin Neal creases Coyboys with 224 yards on 32 rapid-fire carries, as Jayhawks qualify for bowl, and students rush field in Lawrence. Next @ Texas Tech.
8. Texas Tech, 2-4, 4-5. Raiders have Frogs cornered 17-7 until elusive Froggies scoot 90 yards for a late TD and beat Texas Tech 38-28. Next v. Kansas 9. Iowa State, 1-5, 4-5. Defensively stout ISU continues quest for bowl eligibility by hammering West Virginia, 31-14. Next @Oklahoma State 10. West Virginia, 1-5, 3-6. Bright hopes for West Virginia season continues to unravel in a loss to I-State. Next v. Oklahoma.
Summary The Texas Longhorns, behind its one-two running punch of Bijan Robinson and Roshawn Johnson squeezed past Kansas State 31-24 in a crucial Big 12 showdown for playoff supremacy. With the win, Texas is tied with K-State for second in the Big 12 standings behind Conference leader Texas Christian. The Horn Frogs won their contest with Texas Tech, 38-28, beginning the game with an 82-yard punt return TD and ended it with a fourth-quarter drive featuring 35 yards in penalties against the Red Raiders, including an end zone interference call preceding what proved to be the winning score.
Five teams, TCU, K-State, Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Kansas continue with a chance at a berth in the two-team Big 12 playoff. O-State’s hopes hang by a thread following a swarm of late season injuries, including a shoulder injury to last season’s all Big 12 Quarterback Spencer Sanders, who went out in last week’s 48-0 loss to Kansas State. Injuries to several other key players make a challenge by the Cowboys, now 3-3 in Conference play, doubtful, despite earlier victories over both 4-2 Texas and 4-2 Baylor.
O-State suffered their second consecutive loss, 37-16, at Kansas, in a game that sealed bowl eligibility for the Jayhawks for the first time since 2008. Third team Quarterback Garret Rangel gave a gallant effort in his first ever game snaps as a Cowboy, by throwing for 304 yards on 27 of 40 passes completed, and accounting for two touchdowns. However, Rangel also threw three interceptions, two of which led to the Jayhawks’ first two TD With TCU in the driver’s seat, Texas can join the Frogs in the title game by beating both KU and Baylor, while still losing to TCU. However, a loss to either of the former two teams, along with a loss to TCU, could open the door for either the Jayhawks or Baylor for the title game. Oklahoma State has already beaten Baylor and Texas, so should the Waddies shake their injuries and “run the table” against West Virginia, Iowa State, and Oklahoma, they could slip into the top tier, should the Longhorns and Baylor both lose once and Kansas twice.
The rest of the Conference, including Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa State, and West Virginia are all just striving for bowl eligibility. Oklahoma needs mightily to win this week’s game at West Virginia to get to the six wins essential for a bowl, while the Mountaineers would be eliminated by a loss to O. U.
Oklahoma missed a Golden opportunity on Saturday by dropping a 38-35 loss to Baylor. The game was not as close as the final score, as Baylor’s “Squirrel” Williams purposely slid down at the OU seven-yard line while headed for a TD with less than two minutes remaining. Willains sparked a devastating Baylor ground game with 192 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
West Virginia continues to slide down the conference quality meter with its sxth defeat, and dead last on both our power ratings and the Big 12 standings. Their 31-14 loss to 9th place Iowa Stae in Ames, Iowa, may or may not have been their poorest result of their season, since the Cyclones’ defense gives every Big 12 opponent major problems. Iowa State kept their faint bowl hopes alive by holding the Mountaineers to only 200 yards total.
Late Mordcai note Tanner Mordecai, who this column noted two seasons ago as the best quarterback to ever get run off at Oklahoma, continues his record-setting ways by throwing for ten (10) touchdowns in the Ponies’ 77-63 win last week over the Houston Cougars.
