Big 12 Wrap: Week Four
Related entries:
Week Three Wrap
Week Two Wrap
Week 4 in the Big 12 was a good one for the powers of the South, and a disastrous one for the supposed powers of the North.
Here's my take on the games:
Oklahoma 68, UTEP 0
Who cares if the opponent was terrible? It's been a LONG time since Oklahoma put a pasting like this on ANY opponent for four quarters. For a team that was only ahead of the worst team in Division I-A (Tulsa) by 3 at the half, that's progress. Much better opponents await.
Texas 52, North Carolina 21
North Carolina is the toughest non-conference opponent on the schedule, and Texas never had much trouble in the "Mack Bowl." Every time North Carolina climbed back into the game a little, Texas hit a big play. They rolled up 271 yards rushing after problems against North Texas. Much better opponents await.
Penn State 40, Nebraska 7.
Frank Solich has a dismal record against ranked opponents on the road, and now it's even worse. Penn State just handled the Huskers, who suffered 3 interceptions and only rolled up 252 yards on the ground. Nebraska is looking overrated. It remains to be seen if Penn State is underrated, given their unimpressive 27-24 victory over Central Florida in their opener.
USC 40, Colorado 3
Another overrated Big 12 North team gives up 40 while managing only one score of their own. It's hard to believe Gary Barnett had this group in the BCS last year. He has UCLA next week, and Kansas State in three weeks, which should keep Mr. Barnett busy.
Kansas State 63, Eastern Illinois 13
Kansas State continues to be overlooked. Sure, they are pounding weak opponents to start the season, but other Big 12 teams are losing to teams they should beat. Next week's contest (USC at Manhattan) should let everyone know if Kansas State is for real.
Texas Tech 42, Mississippi 28
This was a quality win for Mike Leach's group against an SEC opponent, and a matchup of good college quarterbacks (Eli Manning and Kliff Kingsbury). Tech gave up nearly 500 yards and rushed for only 39 yards, which probably won't be a formula for success against the better teams of the Big 12.
Iowa State 36, Iowa 31
Iowa State couldn't do anything right in the first half, and trailed 24-7. I wrote them off, and was surprised to see the final score. Probably not as surprised as Iowa. Seneca Wallace threw for 361 yards. Will they catch Nebraska at a good time in two weeks?
Bowling Green 51, Missouri 28
The Mid-American Conference had quite a weekend. Marshall did not embarrass itself against Virginia Tech, Toledo did not embarrass itself against Minnesota, Miami was not blown out at LSU, Ohio kept Ron Zook from putting up Spurrier-like numbers, Western Michigan scared the hell out of Purdue, and Northern Illinois nearly beat Wisconsin. And Bowling Green handled Missouri, rolling up 558 yards.
UCLA 38, Oklahoma State 24
Oklahoma State rolled to a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter, and then completely lost the momentum. Rashaun Woods came to play, as usual, but OSU needs more playmakers.
Kansas 44, Southwest Missouri State 24
Kansas turns to a Division I-AA opponent to get a victory at home. The scary thing is, the yardage numbers were pretty even in this one. Not good news for Mark Mangino.
New Mexico 23, Baylor 0
Baylor gained only 107 total yards in this one. They are an awful football team. But they should win next week against Tulsa at Waco, in a game where Baylor's total yards may outnumber the fans in the stadium.
[Posted at 19:36 CST on 09/15/02] [Link]
