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October 29, 2006
Big XII Recap - Week 9
Recently, every season in the Big XII North takes the same turn just about now. The teams leading all season seem to falter. The race tightens up, and until the final week of the season, we have no idea who will be representing the division in the Championship game.
So why should this season be any different?
While Colorado didn’t seem a full test of Oklahoma without Adrian Peterson, the way Missouri had been playing should have told us what Oklahoma still had in them. Apparently, the Sooners’ tank is very full. Paul Thompson and Allen Patrick both had very good games, as they led Oklahoma to a 26-10 win over Missouri. Thompson threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns while Patrick contributed 162 yards on the ground. The Tigers had four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions by quarterback Chase Daniel.
With Missouri losing, Nebraska knew they only needed a win for sole possession of the lead in the North. However, after getting out to a 23-13 lead with less than a minute to go in the first half, they allowed Oklahoma State to come right back. The Cowboys scored 28 unanswered points and took the contest, 41-29. Dantrell Savage had 117 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns in the victory. The losses by both Missouri and Nebraska back them into a big game next week when the two meet in Lincoln. The winner will have the edge in the North and a downhill road to a berth in Kansas City.
South division leader Texas hadn’t lost to a Big XII foe other than Oklahoma since 2002. The team that managed to beat them then was Texas Tech. Through the first quarter on Saturday, it looked as if Texas Tech might just beat the Longhorns again.
Texas turned the ball over twice in the first fifteen minutes with both miscues resulting in scores for the Red Raiders who jumped to a 21-0 lead. Colt McCoy settled down enough to get Texas back within 10, at 31-21 entering halftime, by throwing three touchdown passes.
Texas fumbled the ball away twice more in the second half but kept Texas Tech off of the scoreboard. A McCoy pass to Quan Cosby early in the fourth quarter put the Longhorns ahead for the first time all day, and they held on for the 35-31 victory. McCoy finished with 256 yards passing, 68 more rushing, and four touchdowns on the day with only the single interception against him.
In other action, Texas A&M held off surprising Baylor for a 31-21 win and sole possession of second place in the South Division. The Aggies close their season with a string of games against three ranked teams beginning with Oklahoma next week. Despite giving up a 95 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Kansas was able to hold on and beat Colorado 20-15. The win was Kansas’s first victory in the conference this season. Iowa State remains the only team in the conference without a Big XII victory as they lost to Kansas State, 31-10. The Wildcats scored 31 straight points after falling behind 10-0 after the first quarter. Iowa State faces Kansas and Colorado over the next two weeks for a chance at their first conference win.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII recap appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate Cleanup. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at October 29, 2006 10:00 PM
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Comments
Can't believe Clemson stayed as high as they did after that lackluster performance against Va. Tech. They never showed up for that game. It also seems like LSU is a bit higher in the rankings than they should be. Boise struggled with Idaho and maintains number 10, and then Idaho goes to pineapple country and gets waxed by 58. Oh well.
Posted by: Dave Barlin at October 31, 2006 9:38 AM
Let me take these one at a time.
1. Clemson was about to fall further, until Temple pulled the upset of the year. The beauty of the MRI is that no team gets credit for a win over a winless team, until that team wins. So, since Temple finally got on the good side of the board, Clemson was able to get a small benefit from their earlier victory. This was small, but given the close nature of the middle pack there, it was enough to keep them in the Top 10.
2. Boise got some help from teams losing, and also from their SOS getting a bump this week. Having Oregon State, who the Broncos easily beat, defeat USC went a long way towards helping them out.
3. LSU... well, let's say this... Their defense is a monster, which is going a long way towards helping them. Plus, they have played an "ok" schedule so far, even if they haven't won against the best teams on it. Keep in mind, they held those two teams to almost no offense in those games, and a couple of calls either way, especially against Florida, could have changed the outcome. They have also gone out and beaten the teams they are supposed to beat, in a big way. I agree, the rating looks high right now, but if you consider the log jam between 3 and 8, anything could happen between those 6 teams, just based on the closeness in the rankings. LSU has two tough games remaining against Tennessee and Arkansas, both on the road. Let's see how they handle those... Maybe at the end of the year, their rating might not look as high...
Posted by: Ben Miraski ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mrisports.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 31, 2006 10:54 AM