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Big XII Recap - Week 7
October 15, 2006
By Benjamin Miraski
It is unfortunate, but this weekend may have seen the end of the college career of one of the top running backs ever to lace them up on Saturday afternoon. Adrian Peterson broke his collar bone falling into the end zone on a 53 yard touchdown run that sealed a victory for Oklahoma over Iowa State, 34-9. It was a bittersweet ending to a day when Peterson’s father got to see his son play in person for the first time in 9 years.
Until the injury, Peterson was adding to his Heisman credentials, gaining 183 yards on the ground, 45 more receiving, and scoring two touchdowns, though all chances at the award are now gone. He may be back in time to play in a bowl game, should Oklahoma qualify, though all experts believe he will be best served by concentrating on the jump to the NFL. If Peterson does not play another snap for the Sooners, he will finish 150 yards short of the all-time rushing record at Oklahoma, held by Billy Sims.
The loss of Peterson though does not bode well for the Sooners. They will be forced to bring on Allen Patrick, a junior who has only 18 carries this season, to take most of the load.
The battle for first place in the Big XII South took place in Austin this weekend, between Texas and Baylor. Yes, that’s right, Baylor. They were entering the game at 2-0 in conference play, and tied with the Longhorns for the South Division lead. And for a while, it looked like the Bears might have sole possession of that lead, when they jumped to a 10-0 lead. Then Colt McCoy took over, throwing for 275 yards and a school record 6 touchdowns, leading the Longhorns to a 63-31 victory.
The North Division also saw a leader emerge on Saturday. Missouri suffered their first loss of the year, to Texas A&M, 25-19. This drops the Tigers to 6-1, and 2-1 in conference play. Nebraska remained perfect in the Big XII, with a 21-3 victory over Kansas State. The Cornhuskers will potentially be giving us a Big XII championship preview this coming week when they take on Texas at home.
In the final game of the day, Colorado finally managed to get on the good side of the standings, grabbing a win against Texas Tech. The Buffaloes held the passing attack of Graham Harrell to 235 yards, while running for 228 yards, including 119 from junior Hugh Charles. Colorado is now 1-2 in conference play, tied for third in the North Division. They get the first shot at the Peterson-less Oklahoma next Saturday, a week after allowing only 31 yards on the ground.
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 October 15, 2006 7:00 PM
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