Big 12 Football 2015

[SoonerDave]

You think unranked teams would be favored against Baylor? On a neutral field there are only a few teams they wouldn't be favored against. They're really good.

The first, best difference for this year's Baylor team is that they've figured out how to run the ball while sending 26 guys into receiving patterns. The next best difference could be defense, but how this defense would hold up against a really good offense remains to be seen. They gave up 38 to West Virginia in a 62-38 win, but if some of those were garbage points, it could be deceiving.

Right now, we know Baylor's offense is really good. Defense is the unknown.

In a perverse sort of way, I thought the *idea* behind the offense OU tried (and failed) to run last year - ground and pound, old-school, I-formation, was arguably one of the best ways to defend Baylor - just don't let 'em have the ball. Limit their possessions. OU did, at least, get to a point where they were grinding out 6 and 7-minute drives at one point, but not running the QB (whether it was Stoops' or Heupel's decision we'll never know) hung the offense out to dry, and Knight's propensity to randomly throw the ball directly to a guy wearing the other team's jersey kinda put the whole thing out to pasture.

[Laramie]

You think unranked teams would be favored against Baylor? On a neutral field there are only a few teams they wouldn't be favored against. They're really good.

Good observation & fact.

The only thing that will beat Baylor will be Baylor; especially if they have an OU moment--as in the previous Red River Rivalry.

[okatty]

Actually Baylor would be heavily favored in various final 4 match-ups as noted by the one below :

Hypothetical CFB Playoff lines via @BookMakerdotEU
OSU (-5.5) v Utah
Baylor (-8) v LSU
TCU (-7) v Mich St
Alabama (-8.5) v Clemson

Baylor is really good.

[OKCisOK4me]

Actually Baylor would be heavily favored in various final 4 match-ups as noted by the one below :

Hypothetical CFB Playoff lines via @BookMakerdotEU
OSU (-5.5) v Utah
Baylor (-8) v LSU
TCU (-7) v Mich St
Alabama (-8.5) v Clemson

Baylor is really good.

Only reason why I'm glad OSU has Baylor, TCU and OU at home this year (although I don't think it will make a difference vs. Baylor cause they're just that good).

[okatty]

November in the Big 12 is going to be REALLY interesting. Schedule is so back loaded that it will make every weekend really big. And I think you could have teams that may not be in the race for the top spot in positions to knock off a top team (or at least a team which is in the mix toward the end).

[dankrutka]

I actually think the key to beating Baylor is keeping their offense off the field. Long possessions can take them out of their rhythm. That, and obviously, turnovers and stuff like that.

[Jersey Boss]

I actually think the key to beating Baylor is keeping their offense off the field. Long possessions can take them out of their rhythm. That, and obviously, turnovers and stuff like that.

Would OU be able to do that without a viable running game that eats up the clock?

[dankrutka]

Would OU be able to do that without a viable running game that eats up the clock?

A good running attack is probably the best way to eat up clock. OU's running game looked unbelievably better than n any game this season on Saturday. Time will tell if it was an aberation or if the o-line is turning the corner.

[SoonerDave]

A good running attack is probably the best way to eat up clock. OU's running game looked unbelievably better than n any game this season on Saturday. Time will tell if it was an aberation or if the o-line is turning the corner.

I think it's a little of bad-Tech plus better offensive line.

The Josiah St. John experiment at right tackle is over, with Dru Samia establishing himself at that spot, with Alvarez at guard. Orlando Brown is *really* maturing fast and is not committing the silly false starts he was early in the year. What was fun to watch even against a manifestly outmatched Tech D-Line was the frightening ease with which he was routinely beating his assignment across the line. You can tell the game is no longer "too fast" for him. He's "getting things" rapidly. Mixon made the same comment about the game "slowing down" for him - which is just part of the learning process for any newcomer.

Now, understand that Tech may be one of the most epically bad run defenses I've ever seen, but KU's won't be far behind. OU, with a few busts on that sweep play, just carved up that Tech line. They had *no* answer for what OU was doing, and I thought surely in the 2nd half they'd have minimally brought their safeties up some to try and stop the bleeding. Problem is I think Tech knows they just don't have the talent on defense, and knew if they did Mayfield might start carving them up - and they did *NOT* want that to happen for obvious reasons.

The next two games are critical for two reasons: 1. Keeping up the momentum for the final month of the season, and 2. DOn't get anyone hurt. The next two games should be glorified scrimmages for OU; heck, I wouldn't even *try* to force Sanchez back in there unless the docs unequivocally cleared him to play. If you keep those goals in mind, with Baylor's new QB situation, you have the table set in front of you to make that game a big deal with a lot better chance than anyone might have thought a month ago.

I couldn't help but feel bad for Dahu Green, the WR wide receiver standout from Westmoore. I got to take a lot of pics of him making the kind of tremendous, acrobatic catches which made him a big-time D1 prospect, and when I saw him open up on that fade from Mayfield, I just about jumped out of my seat because it looked like it was going to be an easy touchdown catch. He made the perfect adjustment to the fade, but bless him, he just brick-handed it. And it looked even worse on the east-side TV replay. He was incredibly frustrated with himself, but he's going to get a lot more chances in the coming years. Great talent.

[Jersey Boss]

A good running attack is probably the best way to eat up clock. OU's running game looked unbelievably better than n any game this season on Saturday. Time will tell if it was an aberation or if the o-line is turning the corner.

Out of 127 teams, Texas Tech is ranked 125th and KU is 118th in rushing defense. You can't make any claims of OU improvement when playing that kind of competition.

Rushing Defense | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com

[SoonerDave]

Out of 127 teams, Texas Tech is ranked 125th and KU is 118th in rushing defense. You can't make any claims of OU improvement when playing that kind of competition.

Rushing Defense | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com

Considering OU couldn't run its way into the bathroom against what was the 122nd ranked defense in the country vs Texas three weeks ago, and now ran the ball for over 400 with two key changes in the OL, I'd say that might be just a *smidge* of overstatement. Yes, without question, Tech's defense is bad. No equivocation there at all. But I also think OU's offense is better.

We'll see how it plays out. With Seth Russell officially out for the year for Baylor now, the Big 12 is a much different conference over the last month than it was going in to last weekend. I love OU's position right now, because they effectively have two weeks to get bumps and bruises healed (think Sanchez) before Baylor week.

[dankrutka]

Out of 127 teams, Texas Tech is ranked 125th and KU is 118th in rushing defense. You can't make any claims of OU improvement when playing that kind of competition.

Rushing Defense | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com

I disagree. OU couldn't run nearly that well on Tulsa, who is #119 against the run. Regardless of whether it's enough improvement is a question yet to be answered, but there was certainly improvement on Saturday.

[OKCretro]

another key to beating Baylor is beg and plead the refs to actually call the pick plays from WRs on every route.
If refs officiated correctly Baylor would have problems.

[Laramie]

OSU shouldn't be underestimated, dismissed or overlooked at this point.

Florida State last season won many close games; they got to the championship playoffs and laid a goose egg.

[jerrywall]

OSU shouldn't be underestimated, dismissed or overlooked at this point.

Florida State last season won many close games; they got to the championship playoffs and laid a goose egg.

Agreed. The ability to stay in the game, fight, and win the close ones is a good sign. Do I think they're championship material this year? Nope. Do I think they are going to surprise a team or two. Very likely.

[okatty]

OSU shouldn't be underestimated, dismissed or overlooked at this point.

Florida State last season won many close games; they got to the championship playoffs and laid a goose egg.

But will the cover the 34.5 tomorrow??

[AP]

^Yep

[okatty]

^ I sorta agree with both of you! ha. Think OU probably is improving up front as they move people around and figure out who can do what in terms of schemes, zone blocking, etc. BUT, I do think Tech is pretty awful against the run, so its hard to judge how they will do against Baylor, TCU, OSU. But you have to run well against bad defenses to have any chance to run well against good ones, so hopefully they continue to progress next two weeks before they head to Waco.

ISU fired Mangino today by the way.

[ljbab728]

I have to make a comment here about a former Big 12 team. Poor Nebraska, how long has it been since they have been relevant in the national picture in football? Their sojourn to the Big 10 has been anything but successful. Today they lost to a Purdue team that had previously only won one game. Nebraska is 3 - 6 for the year. They have been searching for an answer for years with no success and seem to be going backward again.

[OKCDrummer77]

I have to make a comment here about a former Big 12 team. Poor Nebraska, how long has it been since they have been relevant in the national picture in football? Their sojourn to the Big 10 has been anything but successful. Today they lost to a Purdue team that had previously only won one game. Nebraska is 3 - 6 for the year. They have been searching for an answer for years with no success and seem to be going backward again.

This is the first time they've had 6 losses before November in school history. Not a good distinction.

Some years ago, I heard someone point out that Nebraska fans are particularly impatient about the Huskers' struggles because there is no one else in the state to get behind -- no Nebraska State, Nebraska Tech, etc.

[SoonerDave]

I have to make a comment here about a former Big 12 team. Poor Nebraska, how long has it been since they have been relevant in the national picture in football? Their sojourn to the Big 10 has been anything but successful. Today they lost to a Purdue team that had previously only won one game. Nebraska is 3 - 6 for the year. They have been searching for an answer for years with no success and seem to be going backward again.

I used to write for a college football website, and this very issue is a column I wish I could have written for him this week - the demise of Nebraska football.

The problem is that Nebraska didn't become mediocre overnight - that happened years ago. Their fall was obscured by stadium expansion projects, coaching changes, and a well-publicized conference change - but all of those simply masked a fall that started as far back as the shut down of their famed walk-on program. That walk-on program kept a steady stream of those huge, corn-fed midwestern boys churning through Lincoln to anchor those great offenses and defenses, winning wars in the trenches. The other factors - conference alliances, tiffs with Texas or Oklahoma, aren't entirely in their control. Without doubt, Nebraska thought it could jump to the Big 10 and have an instant impact, but in a contemporary college football world dominated by alternate uni's, big-screen video boards, and hi-octane offenses, the Huskers haven't figured out how to re-define themselves under the shadow of a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust history.

Now, with no walk-on program, and in a conference in which they really don't fit, all tied with a lack of national relevance in nearly a decade, Nebraska has no recruiting ties to Texas and now finds itself recruiting against the likes of Ohio State, a possibly resurgent Michigan program, to say nothing of long-established Big 10 members like Iowa and Michigan State -- not that these programs have had Nebraska's brand of historic success, but that they've been recruiting in that region for 100 years. For them, Nebraska is an alien.

I don't know if Nebraska can regain the kind of relevance they once had. They must escape the notion that they are but one coach, but one recruit, but one...*fill in the blank* away from their due return to greatness. Greatness is not inevitable. And it's going to take some leadership willing to try and reinvent Nebraska from the ground up rather than trying to ride the coattails of prior success. The new reality of Nebraska is mediocrity, and for a program with it's great history, that's a shame.

[Martin]

^
i think it was a mistake firing frank solich way back in 2003 and the huskers have never recovered from that. -M

[Tundra]

They've struggled ever since, and look at the success Solich has had at of all places like Ohio Bobcats.....

[gopokes88]

The top 4 teams in the big 12 have one loss (ou to Texas) against teams 5-10.

[Richard at Remax]

Also one thing that is starting to catch up with them is they are having trouble recruiting in Texas. You can't sell a kid on being able to go back home to see family for games at Tech, TCU, Baylor, and Texas.