A slowish day for the Big XII, as only 8 of the 12 teams played, but some stuff happened and we should take a look.
Oklahoma 36 - Baylor 10
Baylor's only two scores came off of Oklahoma turnovers, and third string running back Chris Brown ran for 169 yards on 24 carries, while Baylor had -48 yards rushing with Blake Symanski throwing two interceptions. Oklahoma put themselves in a position to capitalize on a Texas slip-up next Friday. Hopefully it won't matter.
Iowa State 21 - Missouri 16
This one ranks up with Colorado over Texas Tech in terms of Big XII upsets. In Dan McCarney's last game at Iowa State, the Cyclones rallied behind prodigious and humorously-named fullback Ryan Kock, who led all rushers with 179 yards on 32 carries with 2 TDs. The win kept the Cyclones from going winless in Big XII play. The chagrin at Mizzou continues, as a surprising start has withered to disappointment down the stretch. The Tigers will still probably get to a vaguely respectable December bowl and set themselves up for next year with a win over a mediocre team from the Big East or Conference USA.
Texas Tech 30 - Oklahoma State 24
Graham Harrell, you are now a man. You're not quite as quick a learner as you're colleague down in Austin, but now you're here. Tech trailed 17-0 in the first half before scoring 27 unanswered points by the end of the third quarter. Tech then held off a late OSU rally to ensure a record above .500 on the year. Harrell had 353 yards on 44 attempts, while Shannon Woods pitched in with 84 yards on 15 carries. The Red Raiders have played their 12 games and await a bowl bid, while the Cowboys, already bowl-eligible, get Oklahoma at home next Saturday.
Kansas 39 - Kansas State 20
Kansas becomes the 9th team in the Big XII to six wins and bowl eligibility, and are bowl-eligible for the second straight year for the first time ever. Super-frosh Josh Freeman, without the aid of Andre Ware, was crushed under the weight of Mangino and the Kansas defense, accounting for 6 turnovers by himself. Kansas State still outgained Kansas, but as we learned last week, you can run all over a team and still lose with inopportune turnovers. This only puts into stark relief the perfect storm of shit that flew in Manhattan a week ago. Kansas would be best suited if the BCS took two Big XII teams, as this would allow them to slip into the Texas Bowl as the Big XII's ninth team. Thus Kansas fans should be rooting for Texas and Oklahoma both to win out.
Bowl Predictions Emboldened by Having no Credibility to Lose
Fiesta Texas
Sugar Oklahoma
Cotton Nebraska
Holiday A&M
Alamo Missouri
Sun Texas Tech
Insight Kansas State
Independence Oklahoma State
Texas Kansas
--AR--