Big 12 Weekly Roundup, Week 9

I just don't know what to say anymore. We're repeatedly being told by the coaches that stuff needs to change and is going to change, but it seems the more things "change," the more they stay the same. Color me unsurprised that we lost to a superior Baylor team at home. Home field advantage for this team (and for the basketball team as well, I might add) is nothing other than the lack of being on the road. Hell, we probably play more inspired on the road than we do at home.

Nebraska, as I expected, dismantled a Mizzou team that was poorly coached the entire week leading up to the game, and even more poorly coached during it. I swear I root for the two single most incompetently coached teams in the country, bar LSU.

And the Ags got a nice blowout win over Texas Tech, with Ryan Tannehill earning the start and picking apart the Tech defense like Chris Whaley at an all-you-can-eat chilidog buffet.

The games after the jump.

Kansas State-14 (5-3, 2-3)

Oklahoma State-24 (7-1, 3-1)

The Skinny: Well we finally get to see how fantastic the OSU offense is minus the best receiver in the country, and it wasn't pretty. Justin Blackmon was suspended this weekend for driving under the influence in Dallas last week. You'd think Dez Bryant would learn after last season, but at least Mack's happy as he finally has a valid reason why he didn't recruit a surefire stud at WR. Okie State's offense was not crisp, though they did role up 511 yards, and the Cowboys needed a Johnny Thomas interception for a TD to seal their first win in Manhattan since 1988. Still, 511 yards and only 24 points? Weird.

Big Man On Campus: Okie State QB Brandon Weedon wasn't his usually productive or efficient self, but throwing for 298 yards and a couple of scores with no interceptions is certainly nothing to scoff at. Especially as a Texas fan.

Iowa State-28 (5-4, 3-2)

Kansas-16 (2-6, 0-4)

The Skinny: So let me get this straight: A week after Iowa State goes to Austin and scores 28 points against Will Muschamp's defense, they play Kansas, one of the very worst teams in the entire country, in Ames and score the exact same amount of points? That's pathetic and embarrassing on so many levels. The Cyclones ran all over the Jayhawks to the tune of 232 yards, paced by Alexander Robinson, but started the game with a sluggish first half before pulling away in the second.

Big Man On Campus: Aforementioned ISU RB Alexander Robinson had his second big game in a row. The fourth leading rusher in school history had 117 yards on 17 carries and added a touchdown.

Nebraska-31 (7-1, 3-1)

Missouri-17 (7-1, 3-1)

The Skinny: After the Missouri offense went three and out on the first drive, I said out loud we were going to get killed. Not just because we went three and out, but because of the way we did it. None of the plays utilized a running back, despite Nebraska's weakness against the run and best pass coverage DBs in the country. Also, I saw a Blaine Gabbert that had reverted to his form earlier in the season-scrambling right (directionally, not correctly) from a clean pocket into pressure and holding onto the ball far too long. This told me two things. First, that our offensive coordinator had zero idea how to correctly attack Nebraska, despite it being shown on film all year. And second, that Gabbert wasn't comfortable with the scheme or the defense. When Nebraska's defense can get pressure with just their front four, which they did, they are almost unbeatable.

Mizzou's defense is not good against the run, plain and simple. They are built to stop the pass downfield and pass rush all day long. Needless to say, none of those are particularly helpful against Nebraska. After a torrid first quarter, I was impressed with Mizzou's adjustments the rest of the game. While we did manage to knock Taylor Martinez out of the game late in the second quarter, he wasn't a factor earlier in the game with his legs and Zac Lee is obviously a better passer. So I'm basically saying I'm impressed with Missouri for winning the game after the first quarter, even though Nebraska didn't have T-Magic. Moral victories abound, these days.

Big Man On Campus: Not only on campus, but nationally. This was the easiest choice for BMOC all season, as Nebraska tailback Roy Helu, Jr. went absolutely crazy on the Mizzou defense. The senior racked up a school record 307 yards on 28 carries with scores of 66, 73, and 53 yards. Having your name on top of guys like Rozier, Green, and Jones is impressive to say the least. While he ran through holes that you could fit a bulldozer through, you have to give him credit for good vision, patience, and the ability to consistently outrun Mizzou's defensive backs. People on Mizzou's campus scoffed at me for saying Missouri's defense had no chance to handle Big Red's O like Texas did, but the speed and gap-reading ability from the Texas front seven (when they decide to show up) is just so far ahead of the Tigers right now.

Texas A&M-47 (5-3, 2-2)

Texas Tech-27 (4-4, 2-4)

The Skinny: Hmmm, looks like the Aggies who were calling for Ryan Tannehill knew what they were talking about. The junior set the single-game passing record for Texas A&M in his first career start. Not bad, Ryan. The Ags rolled up 623 yards of offense, but it wasn't all happy news as Christine Michael broke his tibia in the third quarter. In other news, Adam James caught his first catch of the season. I'm sure most of the Raider nation is loving that tradeoff right now.

Up next for A&M is a chance to build on this win and prove themselves against big, bad Oklahoma, a team they've had zero success against the past decade.

Big Man On Campus: Aggie former backup QB Ryan Tannehill threw for 449 yards and four scores, with only one interception. Very impressive first start for Tannehill, who spent most of his time at WR prior to this game. Looks like this will spell the end of a productive career for Jerrod Johnson.

Texas-22 (4-4, 2-3)

Baylor-30 (7-2, 4-1)

The Skinny: Baylor gets their first win over UT since 1997. Look at those win-loss numbers. When was the last time Baylor had a three-win advantage over Texas? When was the last time Baylor was bowl-eligible before Texas? Hell, when was the last time Baylor went to a bowl game? The program is in absolute disarray right now, and there doesn't seem to be any quick fix. Nor do any of us seem to realistically think Mack would make one if there were.

I don't blame Gilbert for this game like I did against Iowa State, because he played much better. He just got absolutely no help from his WRs, who have cemented themselves as, yes, one of the conference's worst, if not the nation's. Certainly, they are one of the worst pass-catching groups in the country. Surely it's time for Bobby Kennedy to get the pink slip-his guys play with very little fire, don't block downfield consistently, and, uh, can't catch the ball, which is usually a pivotal aspect of being a receiver.

Muschamp's defense gave up big plays all day long, which plays right into Baylor's hands. After what I thought was a solid start to the season, other than the needless personal fouls, Blake Gideon has shown his true self now that he's playing better competition. Christian Scott is not any better and my god do we miss Earl Thomas right now. If KV doesn't take over for one of them over the next off-season, we are going to be terrible at safety against next year.

Really need to get guys like Jackson Jeffcoat healthy. It seems like every player on the roster right now has some nagging injury that could hold him out every other week.

Mack said he might try Christian Scott at punt return. Is that a joke, Mack, or are you actually that moronic? D.J. Monroe. DeSean Hales. Darius White. I could go on, but it's pointless because I swear that whatever I type, the coaches do the exact opposite.

Question: Who honestly thinks Florida Atlantic is a gimme right now?

Big Man On Campus: Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin threw for 219 yards and a couple TDs with a pick, and ran for another score.

Oklahoma-43 (7-1, 3-1)

Colorado-10 (3-5, 0-4)

The Skinny: OU went absolutely crazy on offense, accumulating 635 total yards. They seem to be grooming Roy Finch for the starting job next year-he got only one less carry than DeMarco Murray and picked up 59 yards to Murray's 40. Landry Jones made his best effort to break Sam Bradford's school record in throwing for 453 yards, just 15 shy of Bradford's school record. Combined with backup Drew Allen's 35 yards, OU's offense broke their single-game passing yards record. So, yeah, basically it was a good day for Oklahoma's offense. And of course OU's defense wasn't bad either, as they were going up against Colorado.

Big Man On Campus: It was a big weekend for offense in the conference as a QB, RB, and WR all broke school yardage records at historically prestigious football universities. The WR was OU star Ryan Broyles, who caught nine passes for 208 yards and three TDs. You have to give a lot of credit to Jones too, though, as well as OU OC Kevin Wilson for going downfield after Colorado opened the game clamping down on Oklahoma's patented short passing game.

Power Rankings

So, it's hard to argue with UT being towards the bottom of the conference right now. Nebraska and OU are probably a toss-up right now, but I'll go with Nebraska for now since they have the best conference win (Mizzou).

1. Nebraska Cornhuskers

2. Oklahoma Sooners

3. Missouri Tigers

4. Oklahoma State Cowboys

5. Baylor Bears

6. Kansas State Wildcats

7. Iowa State Cyclones

8. Texas A&M Aggies

9. Texas Longhorns

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders

11. Colorado Buffaloes

12. Kansas Jayhawks