Predicting the Big 12 Season: A thriller in Baton Rouge during Week 2

Wild week two in the Big 12 leads to some absolute thrillers as we start to learn a little bit more about the conferences contenders.

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Week 2

Saturday, September 12th

Eastern Kentucky 7 at West Virginia 34 (Morgantown)

Eastern Kentucky ran the ball 438 times last year and averaged over 200 yards per game. They will be looking dominate up front and grind out games. Unfortunately for them they are going up against the Stills brothers for the Mountaineers. They wreck havoc as they pile up 6.0 tackles for loss and force two fumbles. The offense capitalizes as Jarrett Doege throws for 300 yards and two scores. The Mountaineers  lean on the run game a little as they rush for over 200 yards on the way to an easy first win on the season.

Iowa State 30 at Iowa 28 (Iowa City)

The Hawkeyes have won five in a row in this series but the past three have been highly contested. This is going to be a battle between two very good defenses and offenses with firepower. Brock Purdy throws two touchdowns in the first half, one to Charlie Kolar and Tarique Milton. Iowa RB Tyler Goodson bursts for a 25-yard touchdown before half to cut the Cyclone lead down to four, 17-13. The Hawkeyes continue to run the ball with power as they return four starting offensive linemen and added a grad transfer out of Indiana. They score a rushing touchdown and add a field goal in the quarter. Breece Hall gets loose for Iowa State as he takes a carry 40 yards for a touchdown and the Cyclones go up 24-22 going to the final quarter. Iowa scores another touchdown on the ground taking the lead at 28-24 before Purdy takes the Cyclones to field goal range to cut the lead to one. The defense stuffs the Hawkeyes on the next drive and gives the ball back to their signal caller with four minutes left. Purdy drives the Cyclones down the field with three 3rd-down conversions and sets up a 38-yard game-winning field goal attempt…..it’s good! Cyclones win the Cy-Hawk Trophy.

North Dakota 13 at Kansas State 31 (Manhattan)

North Dakota has a solid defense which should keep this game close for a little but eventually the Wildcats get the pass game going which opens up some running lanes. Skylar Thompson throws three touchdowns on the day as he hits Malik Knowles for two touchdowns of over 30 yards. He also finds grad transfer tight end Briley Moore for another score and running back Harry Trotter runs for 100 yards. The KSU defense rules the day as they hold UND under 300 total yards and force two turnovers.

Tennessee 27 at Oklahoma 41 (Norman)

Redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler leads two scoring drives in the first quarter as he hits Austin Stogner for a touchdown and then puts the team in field goal range. Tennessee responds with a touchdown of their own as Eric Gray gets a carry and takes it 40 yards to the house. In the second quarter the teams trade field goal drives before  Rattler hits Charleston Rambo for a 60-yard touchdown. Jarrett Guarantano puts the Vols in field goal range before the half but the try is no good, giving the Sooners a 20-10 at half. In the 3rd quarter both team move the ball on the ground with ease as  Gray and Kennedy Brooks score touchdowns. The Sooners get the ball back before the end of the quarter and Spencer rattler gets the offense down inside the 5-yard line where Rhamondre Stevenson finishes the drive off with a score, 34-17 OU. In the 4th quarter, Guarantano leads the Vols down the field for a touchdown, but Rattler responds with a couple 20-plus yard strikes downfield and Brooks finishes the drive off with a touchdown to seal the deal for the Sooners.

Texas 38 at LSU 40 (Baton Rouge)

The game of the week in the conference was a very competitive game last year and I expect the same this season. The Longhorns start out strong as Sam Ehlinger leads the Longhorns to two scoring drives, but unfortunately for the Longhorns they can’t get in the endzone and settle for two field goals. Myles Brennan responds with a 40-yard touchdown to Ja’Marr Chase. Each team adds a field goals to make it 10-9 LSU at the end of one. Ehlinger hits Jordan Whittington for a 30-yard touchdown to start the second half and Brennan answers two drives in a row as he hits Terrace Marshall and Chase for touchdowns on back-to-back drives before the half to give LSU the 24-16 lead. Texas comes out on a long 14-play drive and cap it off with a touchdown run by Keaontay Ingram and a successful two-point conversion to tie things up. John Emery responds for the Tigers as he takes a carry 45 yards for a touchdown. The defenses regroup and don’t give up a score for the remainder of the quarter and the lead stays with LSU at 31-24. That is until Ehlinger ties the game up with an easy goal line touchdown run to begin the fourth. Brennan gets the Tigers in field goal range and the kick is good as LSU goes up by three. Ehlingher is picked off by Derek Stingley Jr. but the Tigers only get three off of the turnovers. Ehlinger gets the ball back down six with just over six minutes left, he leads the Longhorns on one of the best drives of his career capped off with a sensational one-handed grab by Tarik Black in the corner of the end zone. LSU is now down one with two minutes left and they need a field goal to win it. Brennan finds Chase a couple times to get the Tigers to the 50-yard line before hitting Terrace Marshall for a 20-yard gain. After a couple more plays the Tigers attempt a 35-yard for the win. It’s good! LSU wins 40-38.

Tulsa 20 at Oklahoma State 51 (Stillwater)

Tulsa gave up nearly 400 yards a game last year including 506 yards against Oklahoma State in Tulsa last season. Tulsa was actually up at the half before the wheels fell off and the Cowboys pull away. I expect the trio of QB Spencer Sanders, WR Tylan Wallace and RB Chuba Hubbard to dominate again as they  combine for 400 total yards and four touchdowns, leading the way in a dominating offensive effort. The defense shows some bend but don’t break qualities as they give up 350 total yards but force three turnovers and only give up one red zone touchdown on four attempts. Cowboys take care of this one easier than last fall, a game the Pokes won 40-21.

Kansas 17 at Baylor 44 (Waco)

Baylor starts off conference play against the Jayhawks who have not won more than three games in a season since 2009. The Bears start off strong with a heavy dose of Trestan Ebner and John Lovett on the ground as they each score a touchdown in the first quarter. Christian Morgan gets an interception and Charlie Brewer hits Yusuf Terry for a 20-yard touchdown, just like that Bears are up 21-0. Kansas battles as Pooka Williams busts off two 25+ yard runs and scores a touchdown at the end of one of them. The Bears add a field goal to make it 24-7 at half. In the second half, the Bears defense forces another turnover, this time on a strip sack by Matt Jones. Brewer hits Tyquan Thornton for a quick 30-yard score. Baylor continues to wreck havoc in the backfield as William Bradley-King and TJ Franklin both add sacks in the second half. Brewer hits Craig Williams on a short bubble screen which “Sqwirl” takes 60 yards to the house. Dave Aranda calls off the starters in the middle of the fourth quarter as the Bears roll.

Prairie View A&M 10 at TCU 44 (Fort Worth)

All but one of Prairie View A&M’s five losses last year were by seven points or less. The one outlier was Houston who beat them by 20. TCU will be one of their 20-point losses this season. The Horned Frogs run game gets going as they pile up 300 yards and four touchdowns rushing. Max Duggan throws a couple touchdowns, one each to Pro Wells and Te’Vailance Hunt. The defense forces three turnovers as the Frogs young secondary shows off some new talent.

Alabama State 17 at Texas Tech 45 (Lubbock)

Another week, another cupcake for Texas Tech as they take on Alabama State, a team that lost three games by 28 or more points last year. This is one of those games this season. SaRodrick Thompson runs for 100 yards and a touchdown. Alan Bowman throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense. The defense shows some cracks as they give up 300 yards but the Red Raiders still cruise.

Big 12 Standings

1. Baylor — 2-0 (1-0)

2. Iowa State — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Texas Tech — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Kansas State — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Oklahoma — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Oklahoma State — 2-0 (0-0)

2. TCU — 2-0 (0-0)

8. Texas — 1-1 (0-0)

8. West Virginia — 1-1 (0-0)

10. Kansas — 1-1 (0-1)