Thursday night, America will learn a whole lot about Oklahoma State's new de facto quarterback, Daxx Garman when he makes his first Big 12 start against Texas Tech.
Mike Gundy and the rest of the Cowboys will learn plenty, too, even though Garman's been in the program since 2012. How legitimate is the quarterback debate in Stillwater? Thursday may provide an answer.
Garman's very first practice with the team back in 2012 was an eye-opener. At the end of the very first period, he'd already jammed multiple receivers' fingers. Arm strength has never been an issue, and he's spent the last two years learning the system. Now, Wes Lunt is at Illinois and J.W. Walsh is recovering from foot surgery, giving way to an important night that will tell us a lot about what the rest of 2014 will look like in Stillwater.
Gundy's favorite trait in Walsh has always been his vocal leadership, a trait Garman has tried to showcase in Walsh's absence.
"He's real level-headed. That's how he is off the field. He carries that over to the playing field. It's good in the huddle," receiver David Glidden told Fox Sports Southwest this week. "
Off the field, Glidden and other teammates have slowly peeled away at Garman's shy personality and quiet tendencies.
He's been forced to speak up a bit more since becoming the starter, but older offensive linemen and skill players have become more vocal since Walsh's injury.
"That's more J.W.'s personality type. Daxx is more of a laid-back guy," cornerback Kevin Peterson said. "He hasn't changed a lot. He's not really the guy going to yell and scream before the game to get you riled up."
Receivers like Glidden may be more productive with Garman at the helm. He completed five passes longer than 20 yards against Missouri State and in his first start against UTSA, nine of his 16 completions were for longer than 15 yards.
"We see a few more deep balls. Daxx has a really good arm," Peterson said. "He really makes plays downfield to guys like Jhajuan Seales, Marcell Ateman and guys like that. He can make more of those throws and that really helps our offense. We've been a run and gun type of offense."
Away from the field, Garman has already earned a reputation as the team's greatest shoe collector. His teammates estimate he owns more than 100 pairs of shoes including sneakers, dress shoes and other styles. Glidden says he didn't see Garman wear the same pair twice for all of fall camp this year.
"He's got some style to him. He's got a style all his own and he can definitely pull it off," Glidden said. "Around here, you don't see that style too much. It's kind of a California style, you might say, but around here, it's really just Daxx style. He's just being Daxx."
OU'S IMPROVED D AND THE PLAYOFF
Oklahoma's running game stole the show on Saturday, but the Sooners' improved defense helped them run away with a win in Morgantown. The Mountaineers scored 24 first-half points but didn't reach the end zone in the second half until they trailed 45-27 with just over two minutes to play.
Bob Stoops has sworn multiple times that OU's defensive disasters against West Virginia and Texas A&M weren't the reason for a departure from his decades of employing 4-3 scheme to a 3-4, but regardless of the reasons, OU's success in its new base defense has given it a legitimate case as the nation's No. 1 team through the season's first month.
The Sooners rank fourth in the Big 12 in defensive yards per play, but two of the teams ahead of them (Baylor, TCU) have yet to defend anything resembling a coherent offense. (The third, by the way, is Texas, who has played a difficult schedule and is giving up just 4.22 yards per play.)
Receiver Kevin White has emerged as the Big 12's best at the position this year, but he had just one catch longer than 15 yards in the second half after hauling in three in the first half, including a 68-yard score when he beat Zack Sanchez off the line of scrimmage and hauled in a pass from Clint Trickett over the top of the defense.
MIKE SMITH'S GLASS HALF-FULL IN LUBBOCK
Matt Wallerstedt resigned as defensive coordinator last week, and in a text to Sports Illustrated, denied a report he was sent home from Texas Tech's facility for being under the influence of an unknown substance.
"All good! Don't believe all the rumors!! My statement yesterday says why I resigned and that's the truth!!" he said.
I talked to a handful of people around the Texas Tech program last week, and details on Wallerstedt's exit were thin. The whole situation was handled swiftly and quietly. The number of people keen to precise details is small.
Still, the Red Raiders have a game to play on Thursday, their first since promoting Mike Smith to interim defensive coordinator.
"It's a group waiting to turn on, similar to our offense. We haven't played well on any side of the ball yet, but I believe we have it in us," Kingsbury said. "With a different defensive coordinator, you're going to have some different calls, he's going to have a different tendency of different ways of doing things.I'll be anxious to watch them myself and see what improvements have been made and how different we look."
Don't expect wholesale changes in scheme. That's an impossibility in the middle of the season. Kingsbury said he's like how the players have handled the transition, which will come with some personality changes.
"High energy. Very positive outlook with the players, things are always looking up, a glass half-full type energy and that's what we need," Kingsbury said of Smith. "We need somebody to jump start us and something to find that glue and get us going."
It has to if Tech is going to salvage what already feels like a lost season. The Red Raiders are 3-6 in their last nine games and have given up 293.4 yards a game over that span. Tech is 125th nationally in rush defense in 2014, ahead of only New Mexico State, UNLV and New Mexico. Opponents average 5.1 yards a carry.
"After watching that (Arkansas) tape, I'd try and hand it off every play," Kingsbury said of attacking his defense.
Samaje Perine's bulging physique already makes him seem a decade older than his real age of 19. Everything he's done in the wake of his 242-yard, four-touchdown breakout performance against West Virginia is befitting of a much older, more mature player that shouldn't belong to a true freshman who's played four college football games.
The Tulsa World's Eric Bailey said Perine was asked 23 questions after the game and thanked his offensive line in eight of his answers. Monday, the offensive line told reporters that Perine showed up to a Sunday film session with three Domino's pizzas for the offensive line, set them down and quietly walked out.
Perine is that dude.
"I'm not saying I could have run for 100 yards, but there were some running lanes there that we've got to make sure we get closed up," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said.
Oklahoma running backs coach Cale Gundy told the Tulsa World Perine benched 275 pounds 22 times. That's the same number former Sooner and current Dallas Cowboy DeMarco Murray benched at the NFL Scouting Combine, though participants use 225-pound weights on the bench press, so it's possible Gundy may have inadvertently exaggerated Perine's accomplishment.
The 243-pound freshman has left Sooner fans searching for a suitable nickname, though Perine said his preferred choice was Optimus Perine, leaving just one question unanswered: How did anybody tackle him in high school?
Not surprising ... for a six-year NFL veteran.
NO WORRIES FOR LOCKETT
Something seems a little off for Tyler Lockett this season. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1 and has just one 100-yard game and two with fewer than 50 yards. He caught six passes for 45 yards in Kansas State's loss to Auburn, complete with an eye-popping drop in the end zone that landed in a Tiger defender's hands.
This is not what anyone expected for a guy with a case as the Big 12's best offensive talent before the season. Kansas State coach Bill Snyder says Lockett's numbers aren't indicative of his quality of play.
Lockett is 10th in the Big 12 in receiving yards per game. Last season, one of his first four games resulted in single-digit receiving yardage, but he topped seven catches and 100 yards in the other three, including a 13-catch, 237-yard outburst in a loss to Texas.
Lockett has drawn more attention from defenses this year, but Auburn's success in slowing him down was surprising.
"They were trying to disrupt his routes and changing up with what they did," Snyder said. "Sometimes they pressed him, sometimes they were off and would get an additional defender to help out."
I suspect he'll get back on track when conference play hits full stride, but Lockett's progress is definitely something to keep an eye on.
GRASS PRACTICE FOR BAYLOR?
I wouldn't call this a big deal, but I would call it something. Baylor's entire offense is predicated on speed and grass is a slower surface than turf. The Bears, of course, play their home games on turf, but the intrepid folks at Reddit's College Football subreddit unearthed a fascinating stat about Baylor's history under Art Briles on natural grass.
Baylor is just 3-11 in games played on natural grass, including a 3-6 record since 2010, when the program became a real threat to beat anybody in the Big 12.
The three wins came over Colorado, UCLA and TCU.
Last season, it suffered a shocking loss to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl and needed an interception in the end zone to beat 4-8 TCU in its only two games on natural grass.
Saturday night, Baylor will play at Iowa State who, yes, is one of just three Big 12 teams whose home field is natural grass. The Bears have lost both games at Iowa State under Briles.
Now, there are other factors at play here. Every time Baylor plays on natural grass is also a road game, which will naturally hurt its overall record.
Still, the discrepancy is interesting, considering how important raw speed is to Baylor's offensive execution. Remember the famous Bush Push game way back in 2005? That's the longest grass I've ever seen on a college football field. If I were Iowa State, I'd shoot to grow it even longer heading into Saturday.
GET OFF CHARLIE STRONG'S BACK
Charlie Strong kicked a ninth Longhorn off the team on Tuesday, sending offensive lineman Kennedy Estelle packing for a violation of team rules.
Fellow starters OT Desmond Harrison and WR Daje Johnson remain suspended. This has, apparently, caused some consternation among the Texas fan base and prompted questions for Strong about what he'd say to people who think he's too harsh on his players.
... Really?
Strong took the job in January and quickly made the team aware of his five core values: Honesty, treat women with respect, no guns, no stealing and ... uh oh, no drugs.
Will some coaches turn a blind eye to the first failed drug test or two? Sure. However, Strong gave his team six full months before he started handing out bus tickets home from Austin.
The idea that this will hurt Texas in recruiting is ludicrous. The five core values are not difficult and not asking anything close to too much. If there's one thing that's a cornerstone to building any good college football program, it's having players who won't sign with a program unless they're allowed to use drugs.
Strong is clear about what he expects from his players. His expectations are reasonable. Some--including starters--have not abided. The herd is being thinned.
Strong won't win any recruits over by changing his rules. He'll win them over by winning games. Maybe he wins a game or two early on by bending the rules for a couple players, but it'll hurt him in the long run.
Strong had a front row seat for what that can look like. He won't put up with the same at Texas.
The culture change Texas fans had clamored for after Mack Brown's exit was always going to claim a few victims on the roster. Nine isn't that high of a number. Texas has been largely unimpressive thus far, but losing its best offensive lineman and quarterback to injury hasn't helped. If Strong doesn't end up working out at Texas in the long run, it won't be because his rules are too strict.
SNYDER SHRUGS OFF STEALING SIGNS
Bill Snyder mentioned to TV cameras last Thursday that Auburn knew K-State's signs, which caused a flurry of nontroversy in the days that followed. I was glad to hear Snyder's full response on Monday to questions about the supposed issue.
And that's how you answer a question perfectly and defuse a really dumb controversy.
MY PLAYOFF BALLOT
I'm already tired of the complaining about all the playoff talk. Consider my ballot an official protest and plea for people to shush and let people project the playoff, even if it's almost three months before it'll be officially selected.
I'm all about quality wins. If you don't have them, you're not on this ballot.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Can't say I've ever heard that strategy for upping attendance.
"I've been watching it for two straight days, and it makes me want to puke." - West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, on the tape of last year's 31-19 loss to Kansas.
POWER RANKINGS
We've been through a month of the season and the quarterback picture looks markedly different than it did when the season began. Here's how I'd rank the current Big 12 starting quarterbacks:
