A few thoughts from a solid Big 12 effort against seven Power 5 opponents on Saturday:
The Big 12's round-robin schedule will carry enough weight with the committee. The league missed a chance for a gigantic win from Texas in the nightcap, but going 4-3 against Power 5 competition with impressive road wins from West Virginia and Iowa State means the Big 12's round-robin schedule is something to be taken seriously. Without wins outside of conference, that talking point will ring hollow in playoff discussion. Saturday was tremendously important for the Big 12's reputation and excluding Texas Tech and Kansas, every team showed up and earned some respect. When you take today's results and combine it with impressive showings from OSU and WVU against the nation's top two teams in Week 1, you get a conference that's done enough to put its champion in the playoff unless said champion has two or more losses. The Big 12 was 3-0 against the Big Ten and 1-1 against the SEC with losses to the Pac-12 and ACC as well.
Baylor and Oklahoma say thanks. Keep your eyes open Thursday night. Kansas State hosts Auburn and has a chance to help the Big 12 make a gigantic statement on the national stage against last year's national runner-up. If K-State wins that, it would be enormous for the Big 12, but it would also force people take K-State seriously as a league title contender.
Texas has found a quarterback. Through two games, I'm willing to call it. Tyrone Swoopes might not be a world-beater, but he's good enough to help Texas build under Charlie Strong and he's got the potential to do big things. Here's my column on that from AT&T Stadium on Saturday night.
Texas Tech is in big trouble. The lack of run defense was not a surprise. Putting up only 28 points against an Arkansas team that had given up at least that many in nine of its last 10 games against FBS competition was a surprise and a much bigger concern. Tech won't face many offenses hellbent on smashing their running backs between the tackles, but it's going to need to score more than 28 points a game to win any amount of games deemed acceptable by a hungry fan base. Through three games, Davis Webb hasn't shown much improvement in his accuracy and decision-making. He can make spectacular throws, but he can also make plenty that make you scratch your head. He threw two interceptions against the Hogs and had a few more than could have been picked just as easily.
To me, the offense is a much bigger concern because of the anomaly Arkansas' offense is relative to Texas Tech's schedule. As long as you struggle to defend the run, you're fighting uphill and give your offense zero room for error. That's what happened on Saturday and figures to happen plenty more times the rest of the year. The Red Raiders will struggle to make a bowl if they don't make dramatic improvements fast.
Clint Trickett is a new man. How much pain was Trickett's shoulder in last year? It must have been ready to fall off. Everything is working this year, and Dana Holgorsen is regaining his reputation as a quarterback guru. West Virginia's offensive line has offered protection and cleared the way for an effective running game, receivers Mario Alford and Kevin White are getting comfortable at the FBS level and Trickett isn't constantly in pain. The result on Saturday was a 511-yard day that only Geno Smith has ever surpassed at West Virginia. He completed 37-of-49 passes (.755), keeping him above 75 percent for the season overall, including a game against Alabama.
I expected him to be better this year after a year in Holgorsen's system and a healthy, post-surgery shoulder, but he's exceeded any reasonable person's expectation. So far this season, Baylor's Bryce Petty is the only Big 12 quarterback who's been better.
You had better take Iowa State seriously. We'll see about Oklahoma and Baylor, but the Cyclones are good enough to take down anybody else in the Big 12. Upsetting Iowa brought the possibility of a bowl back from a pipe dream, but the Cyclones have proven two weeks in a row that they're better than they looked in a disappointing season opener against North Dakota State. Mark Mangino has provided a major upgrade on offense, and sometimes, that run defense doesn't look awful. ISU was the Big 12's worst team there through two weeks, but Iowa averaged just 2.9 yards a carry on Saturday.
If you don't bring your A game against Iowa State, plan for this to be the scene on your home field.
Oklahoma State's win will get better with time. Larry Coker has college football's most experience team in Texas-San Antonio and OSU rolled over a team that took Arizona to the wire last week. He's built that program fast in just three-plus seasons, but I'm betting by the end of the year, OSU will feel good about beating a solid Conference USA team by 30. Not many teams will do that to the Fightin' Meep Meeps this season. I guarantee you that.
Kansas is still flailing aimlessly. Anyone hoping for real progress at KU is probably setting themselves up for disappointment. The Jayhawks were embarrassed by a pretty average Duke team, 41-3. You saw how much Iowa State is improving and last year's win over West Virginia is looking more and more like a fluke and less like any sign of progress. You don't want a revolving door at your coaching spot, but how much longer can KU hope Charlie Weis turns it around if he hasn't shown any real growth in the program in his third year in charge? Kansas is an extremely difficult rebuilding project right now, but AD Sheahon Zenger has to be grasping desperately if he sees any evidence that Weis is the guy who can turn it around.
