What mattered and what’s important from Week 1 of the Big 12 college football season?
Oklahoma State 52, Oregon State 36
Chuba Hubbard was supposed to be a star coming into the season, and he didn’t disappoint. The speedster ripped off 221 yards and three touchdowns on just 26 carries, taking the heat off the passing game and taking over things in the first half. Now the running attack needs more options to keep him fresh – he’s amazing when he’s fresh.
Spencer Sanders did just fine. Dru Brown was supposed to be a part of the quarterback mix, but this was Sanders’ game, and he was terrific. Not only did he run for 109 yards, but he completed 19-of-24 passes for 203 yards and three scores. It helps when the other weapons are working, with Tylan Wallace once again looking Biletnikoff-worthy with a solid 92-yard, two touchdown day.
Don’t dismiss this as a win over the Pac-12’s worst team. That’s a dangerous offense with a slew of nice parts. The Beavers came up with 448 yards and had their moments, but Oklahoma State was able to do what it does and bring its offense all the way up to Corvallis. The D will never be a rock this season, but it has to be better on third downs. Oregon State converted 13-of-20 tries.
Iowa State 29, Northern Iowa 26 3OT
Of course Iowa State is going to make it difficult. The Cyclones don’t ever do anything easy, but it got the win over a UNI program that’s always up for giving the other in-state teams fits. Don’t get hung up on needing triple-overtime to get by an FCS team. Be impressed that there were several moments the Cyclones could’ve crashed, and didn’t.
Brock Purdy might not have a bigger moment this year than the recovered fumble in the third overtime to save the game. He ended up completing 30-of-41 passes for 278 yards and two scores, but he didn’t run for much and way too many empty trips. The offense managed just one touchdown in regulation, but again, take the win and get out – Purdy came up with the play he needed to get the win.
David Montgomery is going to be sorely missed all year long. The Cyclones were able to use four difference options on the way to 185 rushing yards, but there wasn’t any consistency and few big gashes. Deshaunte Jones looked the part of a No. 1 receiver with 14 catches for 126 yards, but it was La’Michael Pettway who came through with two scoring grabs.
Kansas 24, Indiana State 17
This is going to take a while. Kansas need to rally with a touchdown drive in the final minutes to pull this off for the first win under Les Miles. It was a win, but this is going to be a long, long season considering the playmakers and guys on the line just aren’t there.
Star RB Pooka Williams was suspended for the game, and the team desperately needs him back. Khalil Herbert ran for 88 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry, and Carter Stanley had a nice statistical game – that’s all misleading. The O sputtered and coughed way too often – the first offensive touchdown came midway through the third – partly because the offensive line couldn’t keep the Sycamores out of the backfield.
Three turnovers, getting outgunned, seven penalties – Kansas didn’t play well, Indiana State was every bit its equal, and yet it was a win with a clutch late drive. For this program, you take the win no matter how you get it, and you move on.
NEXT: James Madison at West Virginia, Montana State at Texas Tech, Stephen F. Austin at Baylor
West Virginia 20, James Madison 13
There’s a whole lot to work on and change after the first game under new head man Neal Brown, but James Madison is the absolute real deal. The Dukes have one of the best teams in the FCS and were going to bring a fight to a rebuilding Mountaineer squad, but the offense has to be a whole lot better in a bit hurry with a trip to Missouri up next.
Austin Kendall threw a ton – completing 27-of-42 passes for 260 yards and two scores – and he didn’t make many mistakes, but the O just didn’t go anywhere. The JMU defense was all over the place, especially against the run. WVU has explosive weapons, but it only gained 34 yards on 24 carries.
West Virginia is not supposed to gain just 294 yards. However, the defense generated a terrific pass rush, it kept the Dukes out of the end zone after the first quarter, and it forced three takeaways – the Mountaineers were a +3.
Texas Tech 45, Montana State 10
Well that worked out just fine. Texas Tech had no problems in the first game under Matt Wells, scoring 28 first quarter points and rolling at will offensively. Alan Bowman took target practice, completing 40-of-55 passes for 436 yards and two scores.
This was supposed to be a light scrimmage, and that’s exactly what happened with the running game gashing away at will with big holes in the quick attack. The key was Bowman’s decision-making. He had time to work, he was accurate, and his receivers were rolling on the move.
The cupcake world tour continues with UTEP up next. What needs tweaking? The pass rush didn’t do a whole lot, and the O wasn’t quite sharp enough in the third quarter, but that’s nitpicking. Texas Tech wanted the offense that rolled under Wells at Utah State, and for a week, it did just that.
Baylor 56, Stephen F. Austin 17
How right out of the gate, the Baylor offense fired away with the short-to-midrange passing game and got in plenty of work in the light scrimmage. There was no reason to air it out or do anything crazy with a big early lead, but next week against UTSA, the Bears should open it up a bit more, and then tune up again against Rice.
Charlie Brewer didn’t come up with anything big, but he made a whole lot of midrange throws. He completed 21-of-31 passes for 199 yards and three scores, and Gerry Bohanon came in and kept it all going in garbage time. It helped that there was no pressure whatsoever in the backfield.
The defense brought plenty of pressure and didn’t have any issues after giving up an early scoring drive, but it was just okay on third downs and didn’t have to deal with any real stress. As long as the Bears are able to generate the plays behind the line on a regular basis, the improved controlled offense will take care of the rest.
NEXT: Nicholls at Kansas State, UAPB at TCU, Louisiana Tech at Texas, Houston at Oklahoma
Kansas State 49, Nicholls 14
It’s perfect. With this layup against Nicholls, and next week’s game against Bowling Green, there’s time to get Chris Klieman’s offense and style in place. There was plenty of work for the backups, there was a strong rotation, and the explosion was there from the start. Holding the ball for over 41 minutes looked like Kansas State is supposed to.
Ball State transfer RB James Gilbert looked the part with 115 yards and a score, but the entire team averaged 6.2 yards per carry with 361 rushing yards. Skyler Thompson took target practice hitting 16-of-22 passes for 212 yards and a score, and there weren’t any big mistakes.
The only possible issue? There wasn’t any pressure whatsoever. There weren’t any sacks and just a few plays behind the line. It was fine – there was no need to sell out – but doing more to push the backfield would be nice.
TCU 39, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7
So … who’s the starting quarterback going forward? Short answer – not sure. Alex Delton struggled a bit, completing 10-of-22 passes for 119 yards, but he led the team with 67 rushing yards. Max Duggan hit 16-of-23 throws, but he didn’t make the offense rock. It’ll be a work in progress before dealing with Purdue in a few weeks.
Yeah, the running game came up with 200 yards, and there was a bit of pop to the passing game against an overmatched performance, but this was hardly the game the O needed after so many issues last season. This was never going to be an interesting game, but the attack fizzled way too often.
There were two turnovers, but there weren’t a whole lot of other mistakes. The Horned Frogs were flagged once, the defense got off the field in a hurry, and the pressure was there. It all needs to be tweaked, but the D will be fine for the Boilermakers.
Texas 45, Louisiana Tech 14
It wasn’t even as close as the score. This was Texas showing off the attitude that it’s not just going to take games lightly. The Longhorns were able to get up easily thanks to a massive day from Sam Ehlinger, and the lines destroyed Louisiana Tech all game long. Now it’s time to gear up for LSU, and after just one week, Texas looks ready.
Ehlinger cranked up the stats, throwing for 276 yards and four scores and running for 34 more yards. The O line shoved the Bulldogs all over the place for Keontay Ingram and the ground game, but the passing attack took over early on. Ehlinger was able to spread the ball around, partly because he got a whole lot of time to work.
Don’t get hung up on the secondary giving up 340 yards. Louisiana Tech was down 38-0 going into the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs just threw and thew some more – and Texas was ready. The Longhorns played around with their alignments and showed a whole slew of different looks, and it all worked. All the Bulldog production came when the game was well out of reach.
Houston at Oklahoma
COMING
