Week 4 sure seemed squirrely to me. West Virginia beat Kansas, and Texas beat Oklahoma State, and in both cases, the visitors covered the point spread. Baylor and Iowa State also won while TCU lost. Let’s look at the good and the bad, take a look at Texas, and offer a short preview of Iowa State at Baylor.
Team of the Week – Iowa State Where did that performance come from? Seventy-two points and 714 yards. Brock Purdy threw for 435 yards 3 TD’s and ran for 3 TD’s, and only played 3 quarters. That’s how you bounce back from a tough loss to your in-state rival. I really did not know what to expect from Iowa State, as this game versus ULM was a classic sandwich situation. They have quite a challenge ahead this week at Baylor, but this was a great performance.
Disappointment of the Week – TCU They lose at home as a 9-point favorite to rival SMU? That’s just the start. TCU’s quarterbacking problems continued as Max Duggan was just 16-36 (after going 8-24 last week). After the game, Coach Gary Patterson threw his OC under the bus. But let’s not forget that SMU scored 41 points on 406 yards as well.
Quick hits around the league-
Baylor – Almost won the “disappointment of the week” award. They played well the first half, but very uninspired the second half. They should not struggle like that against Rice. They have a much more formidable challenge ahead next weekend. Hosts Iowa State this week.
Iowa State – see above. Plays at Baylor this week.
Kansas – lost at home to West Virginia in their best shot at a conference win. They really blew it at the end of the first half, allowing WVU to score a TD right before half while going against a stiff wind. KU outgained WVU 417-394. KU was just 4-10 on third down, and their running game really disappointed. Plays at TCU this week.
Kansas State – bye Plays at Oklahoma State this week.
Oklahoma – bye Hosts Texas Tech this week.
Oklahoma State – lost to Texas, but probably should have won. OSU ran 89 plays to 71 for UT, but they were not good in the red zone. Two short FG’s, a fake FG that was snuffed out, and a loss on downs doomed the Cowboys. Meanwhile, UT scored touchdowns every time they got into the red zone. And that was the difference. Hosts Kansas State this week.
Texas – see Oklahoma State comments. The Longhorns did manage to hold the Pokes to 268 yards passing. Texas turned it over 3 times, something they need to work on. They got the W, but this team has lots of work to do. Has a bye this week.
TCU – see above. Hosts Kansas this week.
Texas Tech – bye Plays at Oklahoma this week.
West Virginia – Credit the Mountaineers for going on the road and getting the W. Their running game was good, as they ran for 192 yards, and lessened their reliance on the passing game. Have a bye this week.
A Note About Texas – this team has a tough schedule ahead. Look at the top 6 Pre-Season Big 12 teams: 1. OU 2. UT 3. ISU 4. TCU 5. OSU 6. BU. Of those top six teams, UT only plays OSU at home, and that was last night. Yes, they play OU at Dallas as always, and road games at TCU and BU will find plenty of Longhorn fans in the stands. Still, this team has a tough road ahead and plenty of opportunities to slip up along the way. I’m not on the Texas bandwagon yet.
Preview of Week 5 – My initial thoughts are that I like (based on early lines I’ve seen):
K-State +4.5 at OSU – my favorite play so far
KU +16 at TCU – all is not well in Fort Worth
OU -24 vs TT- Tech is in for a long day
ISU -2.5 at BU – no play for now
Preview of Iowa State at Baylor – I will be attending this game next weekend, so I will have more this week before I go. I have a son who is a senior at Baylor, so this is much more than a football game to me. But as I look at this game, I am hoping for an O/U in the low to mid 50’s. If so I will look at the Over. This was my initial thought, as the Under has covered the past two years, so I was thinking that the value would be on the Over. ISU's explosion Saturday probably took this expectation out. This year, I had thought that ISU would be able to move the ball and score on the BU defense. And I thought that Baylor would do the same, based largely on the box score from last year’s game. Another factor that I think will raise the scoring is the weather. I’m not normally a big weather person when it comes to handicapping, but the early forecast for Saturday in Waco is conducive to an Over covering. I think that both teams will score quite a bit. If the O/U is in the low to mid 60’s, I’ll pass. On the side, BU’s schedule has not sufficiently tested this team. ISU is far superior to any opponent they’ve played yet. The initial line of ISU -2.5 is about where I thought it would be. No play at that line.
All the best to everyone on Week 5!