Quick thoughts and takes on every Week 11 Big 12 game.
Texas Tech 38, West Virginia 17
Four turnovers. West Virginia got the passing game going with Austin Kendall and Jarrett Doege helping the O crank up close to 500 yards through the air with two scores, but two Kendall picks and another fumble, and Texas Tech had an easy time of it. WVU’s Sam Jones caught 14 passes for 223 yards.
Jett Duffey threw for 354 yards and a score, Ta’Zhawn Henry and SaRodorick Thompson each ran for two scores, and the O took advantage of almost all of its opportunities. It was up 35-10 at the half and coasted from there.
The Red Raiders are still alive for a bowl game. They need to win two of their last three against TCU, Kansas State, and at Texas, but they still have something to shoot for. At 3-6, West Virginia has to win out against at Kansas State, Oklahoma State, at TCU to go bowling.
Baylor 29, TCU 23 3OT
Baylor just keeps surviving and advancing. Charlie Brewer might have been off – he hit 27-of-41 passes – he missed a wide open receiver in the final moments for what would’ve been the win, the running game didn’t work, and there were a whole slew of missed opportunities, but John Mayers hit a bomb of a 51-yard field goal to force overtime, and the Bears got the job done.
TCU couldn’t put the game away – it didn’t score in the second half. Max Duggan only hit 14-of-32 passes for 140 yards with a touchdown and three picks – one in the third overtime to seal the game for BU – but he ran well and was okay in the extra frame.
It wasn’t pretty. The two teams combined for 21 penalties and five turnovers, but it was a blast of a finishing kick. The two teams stepped up their play in the overtimes.
It’s still on. Baylor got to 9-0 with the showdowns against Oklahoma and Texas coming, and then the trip to Kansas. Just win two of the last three, and get into the Big 12 Championship. Win all three, and go to the title game with the CFP on the line.
TCU has to scramble. At 4-5 with losses in four of the last five games, the Horned Frogs have to win two of their last three against at Texas Tech, at Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Next week’s game in Lubbock is their season.
NEXT: Texas 27, Kansas State 24; Oklahoma 42, Iowa State 41
Texas 27, Kansas State 24
It certainly wasn’t easy. The Longhorns were able to move the ball, they dominated the Kansas State running game, and they still needed a walk-off field goal after having major problems closing. Sam Ehlinger completed 22-of-29 passes for 263 yards with a touchdown and a pick, he ran for 40 yards, and Keonatay Ingram ran for 139 yards and two scores.
Kansas State got up fast, but couldn’t sustain the offense. The Texas defense was terrific – holding the Wildcats to just 51 yards on the ground – but Skylar Thompson threw for 253 yards and two scores.
Texas controlled the clock, Kansas State was even in the turnover battle, and it never was able to take things over. Even so, it was one big defensive stop away from getting it to overtime. The K-State O line struggled against the Texas defensive front.
Texas is still in the Big 12 title chase. It has to win out – at Iowa State, at Baylor, Texas Tech – and get a Baylor loss somewhere else. But for now, its bowl eligible. It wasn’t all that long ago when that was a big deal. Kansas State is all but dead in the Big 12 hunt, but it still has a shot at ten wins with West Virginia, at Texas Tech and Iowa State to go before going bowling.
Oklahoma 42, Iowa State 41
Well that got interesting. The Oklahoma defense struggled early vs. Kansas State, and it struggled late against Iowa State, hanging on with an interception on a two-point conversion attempt to seal the win in what was almost an epic collapse. But it’s a win, the Sooners are 8-1, and the Big 12 title and CFP are still on the table.
Brock Purdy was in a groove. The Iowa State quarterback bombed his team back into the game, throwing for 282 yards and five scores and running for 55 yards and a touchdown. He spread the ball around well, he got time to work, and he almost pulled it off.
Jalen Hurts was Jalen Hurts. He completed 18-of-26 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns, and ran 22 times for 68 yards and two scores, but … he threw a pick that allowed Iowa State almost pull off the win. This was CeeDee Lamb’s game, though, with eight catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
It wasn’t always pretty. Iowa State was flagged 11 times – Oklahoma 7 – and the Sooners were -2 in turnover margin. It was a whole lot of fun, though, in the end.
The Cyclones still have to work to get bowl eligible. It gets Texas next, then Kansas, and then Kansas State, and it has a shot to get to the Big 12 title game by winning out and hoping for a total collapse by Baylor. OU goes to face the Bears next week, but it doesn’t get easy with TCU and at Oklahoma State to close.
