The best and worst of the Big 12: Week 9
Let's hand out a little hardware from this weekend's shortened Big 12 slate.
Best offensive performance: Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU. Boykin injected his name in to the Heisman discussion with a seven-touchdown, 433-yard day in the Horned Frogs' 82-27 win over Texas Tech. Boykin's seven TDs were a school record and the 433 yards were third-most in school history. Saturday was his second consecutive 400-yard game, and he earned Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors. He has 843 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception the last two weeks.
Best defensive performance: Dravon Henry, S, West Virginia. The true freshman is enjoying a breakout season on the conference level and picked off two Daxx Garman passes in WVU's 34-10 win over Oklahoma State. The first came deep in WVU territory to keep the Mountaineers' first-quarter lead at 14-0. He returned the second 52 yards for a touchdown with 4:44 left to ice the game and send OSU fans heading for the exits.
Best team performance: Kansas State. The Wildcats played a complete game against a solid Texas defense. The 23-0 win over the Longhorns was the first time the program had been shut out since Red River in 2004 and the Wildcats methodically outplayed Texas for 60 minutes. K-State didn't have a turnover and was penalized only three times for 25 yards.
Worst team performance: Texas Tech. The Red Raiders looked like they gave up in the fourth quarter. Tech was within 31-20 late in the first half but got outscored 30-0 in an eight-minute period from late in the second quarter to midway through the third. The defensive front seven looked totally uninterested while TCU racked up 21 points with its third and fourth-stringers in the game's final 16:14. Tech gets no sympathy from me for the Frogs scoring 82 points.
Best play: Deante Gray, WR, TCU. Gray got an assist from Texas Tech's inability to tackle, but you don't see 90-plus yard scores very often. Gray showcased a couple nice cutbacks and when he gets into the open field ... he gone.
Second-best play: Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson, TCU. Boykin looked like Tony Romo using a spin move in the back field to evade the rush and throwing it downfield to his big-bodied, 6-4 target in Doctson. Doctson shook a Red Raiders tackle (stop me if you've heard that before) and raced to the end zone for a 51-yard score. If Boykin ends up in New York for the Heisman ceremony, you'll see this play a whole lot.
Unsung hero: Kevin Peterson, CB, Oklahoma State. West Virginia WR Kevin White hauled in an early touchdown pass, but Peterson wasn't covering him on that play. When he was, he was outstanding. He had help over the top, but Peterson helped hold White to just 27 yards on three catches, ending his streak of seven consecutive games with at least 100 yards.
Best quote: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech. On Trevone Boykin: "After watching him live and in-person, he's got to be the frontrunner. He's that good. He's the best player in the country."
Best hit: Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State. I feared for Clint Trickett's safety on this play. Ogbah quietly has been one of the Big 12's best defenders this year. This was his eighth sack of the season. If you listen closely, I think you can hear him yell "You're coming with me, son!" as he brought Trickett to the ground.
Second-best quote: Gary Patterson, TCU. His opening statement after beating Texas Tech, 82-27: "We didn't play very well and we won a ballgame. We were sloppy."
... Right.
Worst play: Texas. The Longhorns had a perfectly setup reverse and Jaxon Shipley had lots of room on the left side of the field for a big play. True freshman D'Onta Foreman pitched it to Shipley, but the senior was expecting a handoff and the Longhorns gave Kansas State the ball near midfield. K-State turned it into a field goal and took a 16-0 lead late in the third quarter.
Best weekend: T. Boone Pickens. The Oklahoma State mega-booster showed up at Hoops and Homecoming on Friday night, and he was decked out in full gear.
Last #OKState player to trot out on the court: @boonepickens. pic.twitter.com/8iCugpu7K2
— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) October 25, 2014
Then Saturday, serving as grand marshal of the homecoming parade, Boone found the time to bang out some pushups. Not a bad weekend for an 86-year-old oil baron.
Best taunt: Kansas State fans. K-State is 6-1 vs. Texas in Manhattan since joining the Big 12, and Wildcats fans love very little more than reminding the Longhorns of the lack of success they've had in the Little Apple.
Most likely to earn a reprimand from the Big 12 office: Johnathan Gray, RB, Texas. First, let me say this: The replay booth botched this call by upholding the decision on the field and ruling Texas turned the ball over on downs. Gray is 100 percent correct in his complaint. His knee or elbow wasn't down before he reached the first down line and he should have been granted a conversion. That said, any player should know better than to rip an official on social media. I'll be surprised if we don't hear from the league this week.
I guess it is what it is. #Legally blind pic.twitter.com/qOKerMcODe
— CHICK-FIL-J (@JGray32) October 25, 2014
Best tweet: Drew Martin, assistant AD, TCU. If you're looking for the best tidbit from the weekend and the most telling story of the season, look no further.
How prolific is @TCUFootball's offense this year? In yesterday's 82-27 romp over Tech, we shot all the pyro we ordered...for the season.
— Drew Martin (@TCU_Drew) October 26, 2014