Here's a few thoughts on an action-packed day in the Big 12, complete with a comeback and one near-comeback.
TCU (and the entire Big 12) had a wonderful Saturday. You can see my thoughts on TCU's 48-10 win over Texas right here, but the Frogs sat at home on Saturday and watched Ole Miss beat No. 4 Mississippi State and Baylor struggle to hang on against Texas Tech. No one likes to see players injured, but the reality of J.T. Barrett's ankle injury is it likely gives Baylor and TCU a leg up over Ohio State in the committee's eyes when they assess the Buckeyes moving forward into next week's Big Ten title game against Wisconsin.
The Frogs may or may not hold Baylor off for the fourth spot in the playoff, but in all likelihood, TCU will move back into the fourth spot this weekend.
Baylor dodged two bullets on Saturday. Texas Tech scored and needed three yards to force Seth Russell to mount a game-winning drive with less than two minutes left. He was only in the game because Bryce Petty suffered what Baylor called a "mild concussion."
Disaster loomed.
Baylor kept the Red Raiders from tying the game at 48 and less than an hour later, Petty strolled into the interview room and proclaimed that he'd "definitely" be back for Baylor's de facto Big 12 title game at home against Kansas State next week. Briles wasn't as sure, but it seems likely that Petty will return next week.
Breath a sigh of relief, Bears.
Petty said when he took the hit from Sam Eguavoen, which was flagged, everything went black. When he tried to open his eyes, everything was fuzzy.
He said Baylor athletic trainers didn't run any tests on him back in the locker room, but because he showed symptoms of a concussion (a headache, Petty said), they shelved him for the game.
Petty seemed like himself in a session with reporters after the game, but Baylor had the look of a relieved team after nearly blowing what was a 42-17 lead midway through the third quarter.
"A desperate man is a dangerous man, and we were dealing with a desperate man tonight," Briles said. "I'll fight a man with three children and a nice house any day over a man that's living out of a car."
Texas Tech played the part of the homeless man and the Red Raiders were ready to fight. Baylor emerged with a few bruises (and a dislocated elbow to RB Devin Chafin), but they got the win and an escape. Considering all the carnage of rivalry weekend, the Bears will take this win, even if it didn't come with a single style point.
Get ready for a fascinating spring in Lubbock. Texas Tech confirmed reports that Davis Webb will have shoulder surgery now that the season is over, but RedRaiderSports.com reported that Patrick Mahomes will also have surgery to fix a broken wrist he suffered against Oklahoma on Nov. 15. Webb's torn labrum, according to the report, occurred on Sept. 25 against Oklahoma State. He's expected to miss four months.
Tech officials told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that the injury, which is to Mahomes' left (non-throwing) wrist, is still being evaluated and no surgery is scheduled.
Webb may be back by spring practice and Mahomes may be busy with baseball. Five-star recruit Jarrett Stidham is coming to Lubbock in January. Tech has a lot of issues (chief among them, ball security and discipline) to work on this spring, but the quarterback derby could be very interesting. Mahomes, based on his late-season performance, may have the edge. He's been productive and managed to avoid the turnovers that plagued Webb for the last two seasons. It's insane to think he threw for nearly 600 yards against Baylor with a broken wrist, and you can bet teammates knew and took notice.
Stidham is the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with the program and if he can show he's mentally ready this spring, he'll be in the mix. There's no easy solution, but Tech found it could rely on Mahomes in the last month. What happens this spring is anyone's guess, but it'll be worth watching.
Iowa State is at a crossroads. There's no debating it: This was Paul Rhoads worst team in Ames since his arrival six seasons ago. Bowl games are always hard to come by at ISU, but the idea of a winless season in Big 12 play was unthinkable back in August. A loss to TCU next week in Fort Worth would seal it. The Cyclones had more offensive weapons than they'd ever had under Rhoads and a new offensive coordinator in Mark Mangino to help make them productive. What's happened is the Iowa State front seven has lost the toughness that kept them in games and helped them flirt with .500 in every other season under Rhoads. Five of their eight Big 12 losses have come by 13 points or more this season. Only Texas, Kansas State and Texas were close. The last-second win over Iowa provided a brief bright spot in a dark season, but it's been downhill from there. Look no further than Iowa State's play on both sides of the line of scrimmage for the culprit. The Cyclones lacked toughness on both sides of the ball. Injuries were a problem for the offensive line, but the front seven was a pushover for most of the season and was the worst rush defense in the league. That was the case in 2013, too, when ISU gave up .6 yards per carry more than any team in the Big 12. ISU was fifth in the stat in 2012 and seventh in 2011, but only a half yard per carry from third place. Replacing linebackers Jake Knott and A.J. Klein has proven harder than anyone imagined. ISU can talk QB derby all day long, but until the play at the line of scrimmage improves, the Cyclones' dreams of bowl games will never become reality.
West Virginia salvaged its season. Sort of. The Mountaineers clinched a bowl game way back on Oct. 25, but had to go on the road at Iowa State today to clinch a winning season. Considering the schedule with games against Alabama and Maryland in nonconference, West Virginians would have taken a 7-5 season in a second back in August, especially after a 4-8 disaster a year ago that left them out of a bowl game for the first time since 2001. That said, when you win six of your first eight games with losses to only Alabama and OU, it's easy to dream big. Entering November, thanks to a win over Baylor, WVU was in the middle of the Big 12 title race. A three game losing streak took some wind out of WVU's sails, but didn't reheat Dana Holgorsen's seat more than a few degrees. He quieted talk about his future in Morgantown by winning and helping WVU return to its status as an offensive juggernaut. The best case for Holgorsen this season is WVU only played poorly in one game this year, a loss at Texas. Every other game this season either went better than or equal to expectations. A loss today would have brought the possibility of a losing season back into the realm of possibility. A bowl loss could have meant a long offseason in Morgantown after closing the season on a five-game losing streak. That won't happen after WVU rallied from a 21-7 deficit to win 37-24 in Ames.
