Big 12 Wrap: Week 13
A big upset and a minor upset in the Big 12 this week. Here are the games:
Oklahoma 49, Baylor 9
In keeping with previous policy -- Oklahoma is the best team in the conference, Baylor is terrible. Baylor loses again.
Texas Tech 42, Texas 38
All season, we've said that Texas Tech will struggle against the better teams in the country because they don't play defense and must rely on their offense to outscore every opponent. But when that offense is clicking, as it was Saturday, they can give even outstanding football teams all they can handle. Texas drops out of BCS contention, and QB Chris Simms, who headed Mack Brown's heralded first #1 recruiting class at Texas, will go out never having won a conference championship as a starter, much less the BCS. Texas Tech controls its destiny: if they beat Oklahoma next week in Norman, they win the Big 12 South. Texas fans must be wondering why Mack Brown can't get over the hump despite his recruiting success.
Kansas State 49, Nebraska 13
Nebraska had 97 yards rushing in this blowout. That's really all one needs to know to get an idea just how far Tom Osborne's football machine has fallen under Frank Solich. By all accounts, Solich is a really nice guy and a Husker lifer -- but one has to wonder how long the Nebraska faithful will tolerate being an average, second-tier Big 12 team before they demand his head. Then again, Oklahoma felt the same way when they canned Gary Gibbs and went into freefall under Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake.
Colorado 41, Iowa State 27
Colorado clinches the Big 12 North and a spot in the title game by dominating the fourth quarter, which is the way the Buffalos like to win games. The Colorado tandem of Brown and Purify combined for 301 yards on the ground.
Missouri 33, Texas A&M 27
One would think beating Oklahoma would have given R.C. Slocum some job security, but he may have squandered it after his team came out flat and lost to Missouri at home. Mizzou is an improving team and shows flashes of being a really good team, but no excuse for Slocum to lose this one at Kyle Field, where he's lost quite a few this year actually. Freshman phenom Reggie McNeal left the game early with an injury, but Dustin Long had a nice game passing for the Aggies. 37 yards rushing won't usually get it done, however. It didn't.
Oklahoma State 55, Kansas 20
In keeping with previous policy -- Kansas is just terrible. Every team should schedule them for homecoming. Until basketball season, that is.
[Posted at 06:45 CST on 11/18/02] [Link]
