While it is still too early to break out your dad's toasting bourbon glasses, the Big 12 conference slots 5 teams in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls. Nice work if you can get it. Only half the conference members saw action last week with all who did play earning wins except Mizzou, who lost in OT. With that said, we'll dive right into the details.
Iowa State Scores in Third Overtime vs Iowa, Takes Cy-Hawk Trophy, and Cyclone fans storm the field (via BurnTurf)
Team of the Week
Iowa State
LAST WEEK: For the second week in a row a Big 12 team was involved in a barn-burner of a game. Iowa State had not won the Cy-Hawk trophy against Iowa since 2008, Gene Chizik's last season as head football coach. But in a field-storming ending to a triple overtime matchup, the Cyclones defeated cross-state rival Iowa 44-41 in the second most thrilling game of the week only to be bested in entertainment value by the Michigan-Notre Dame matchup. In what was a mesmerizing offensive performance, ISU's quarterback Steele Jantz (The Real Steele) threw for 279 yards and tossed four touchdowns showcasing his break out game. This was also ISU's head football coach Paul Rhoads first win against Iowa in the yearly rivalry matchup.
THIS WEEK: The Cyclones look to continue their hot 2-0 start to the season when they travel to Hartford to tackle the 1-1 Connecticut Huskies who have called for a stadium wide Blue Out. Holla Boise!
SEASON OUTLOOK: They say the college quarterback is the most important player on the field. And that certainly holds true for the Cyclones as their burgeoning star in the making QB, Steele Jantz, is showing all the credentials. If the Cyclones can continue to balance their attack they could make for some interesting Big 12 conference tests. This is a team on the rise and could possible spoil somebody's season as they get Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State at home. - TXStampede
Baylor
LAST WEEK: AP #20. Idle.
THIS WEEK: The mighty FCS Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin come a knocking at Floyd C. Casey stadium in Waco. If Baylor head football coach Art Briles is smart, Robert Griffin III should get a solid lather work up and then get pulled late in the 2nd period for R & R. No need to risk injury this early in the season. Baylor should handle SFA easily and notch their second victory this year.
SEASON OUTLOOK: Even though the competition this week is a step down from TCU, Baylor's defense has a big opportunity to demonstrate they are superior group than their performance showed against the Horn Frogs. Baylor moved up a spot in this week's AP poll and now sits at #19 (#24 in Coaches poll). A good showing so far, especially since they need all the conference realignment leverage they can muster. - TXStampede
Kansas
LAST WEEK: Building on an opening day win, the Jayhawks found themselves in an offensive tussle besting Northern Illinois 45-42 scoring a come-from-behind touchdown with 9 seconds remaining giving Turner Gill his first two-game winning streak as head coach.
THIS WEEK: Kansas travels to Atlanta to take on storied football program Georgia Tech. If last week's game wasn't test enough, look for the Jayhawks to find more pull-stops to keep pace with the Yellow Jackets as the early line shows GT spotting KU a couple of touchdowns
SEASON OUTLOOK: No change in outlook as Kansas will be hard pressed to win a Big 12 game this season in spite of the returning experience (8 starters on both sides of ball). Even so, it is not senior leadership that is returning. It would not surprise me in the least if the Northern Illinois game is the last game they win the rest of the year. - TXStampede
Kansas State
LAST WEEK: Idle.
THIS WEEK: The Wildcats play Kent State. That's about as interesting as it sounds.
SEASON OUTLOOK: K-State should win this week but travel to Florida to face Miami, a team with quite a few problems if you've been paying attention. They aren't exactly a team that will play pretty football but they're tough and they are capable of grinding out victories. They have a decent shot at being 3-0 before the tough Big 12 schedule hits. - TheElusiveShadow
Missouri
LAST WEEK: James Franklin rebounded from a mediocre game on opening day to nearly rally the Tigers to victory against Arizona State. The Tigers' defense looked surprisingly bad, and it seemed like they might get blown out before the offense stormed back. Unfortunately, after some odd use of timeouts, Missouri kicker Grant Ressel missed the potential game-winning kick in regulation before the Sun Devils prevailed in OT, 37-30. It's encouraging for Mizzou fans to see Franklin play well in a tough road game and help his team amass over 500 yards of offense, but it is probably equally troubling to see ASU put on nearly 500 yards of their own. It was a pretty sloppy game with a combined 23 penalties for over 200 yards, but it was entertaining, at least.
THIS WEEK: Missouri takes on Western Illinois, who may have the misfortune of suffering the wrath of an angry team. It will be a brutal blowout.
SEASON OUTLOOK: That was a tough loss for Missouri to swallow, and if I were a Tiger fan I'd be very concerned how this defense handles Oklahoma in two weeks. It's still pretty early in the season, but I really thought their defense would look better than that. - TheElusiveShadow
Oklahoma
LAST WEEK: Still ranked #1 in both AP and Coaches poll. Idle.
THIS WEEK: Oklahoma travels to Tallahassee to face the fifth ranked Florida State Seminoles. FSU left Norman last year with a bad taste in their mouth as Landry et al rocked the Noles 47-17..and the score was a lot closer than the actual game. Fast forward one year and now we see FSU highly ranked. A season defining opportunity for both teams to be sure.
SEASON OUTLOOK: As a testament to my fairness, I give you a sooner perspective as posted on last week's report thread. No one can claim we're not an equal opportunity blog.
The #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners did indeed start off fast and should carry that momentum through the Florida State game and beyond. I personally hope that Texas will beat BYU and at least be ranked in the top 20 when they face the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. All in all it should be a well fought game but I believe that the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners will beat the hopefully ranked Longhorns and carry that #1 ranking through an undefeated regular season, an Eighth Big XII Championship and an Eighth National Championship. I hope Texas makes it to a bowl game too. That would be nice.
Whatever, dude. - TXStampede
Oklahoma State
LAST WEEK: In what was pretty much a repeat of last season's Alamo Bowl, the Cowboys trounced Arizona 37-14. They jumped out to an early lead and kept 'Zona at arms-length for the rest of the contest, gaining almost 600 yards of total offense behind big performances from Blackmon and Joseph Randle. The offense went quiet during the middle of the game and Arizona started to find a little success, but this game was never in doubt. The defense gave up a lot of yards through the air, but Arizona couldn't run the ball at all and were forced to air it out anyway after falling behind 21-0.
On a side note, nothing is funnier than watching Mike Stoops on the sideline. He has serious anger issues and will tear into players and coaches alike with a wild look of rage in his eyes.
THIS WEEK: At Tulsa. Tulsa has an offense but not one that should be able to keep pace with the Pokes. Should be another easy win before their big showdown with the Aggies at Kyle Field.
SEASON OUTLOOK: The offense has largely looked as good as advertised and the defense isn't as bad as the box scores might indicate thus far. However, we'll learn a lot about this in two weeks against Texas A&M. If they can win on the road at College Station, they'll put themselves in prime position to be at the top of the Big 12 rankings for the rest of the year until their last game against Oklahoma in what might be the de facto Big 12 championship game. - TheElusiveShadow
Texas
LAST WEEK: A grinding, drawn out battle with BYU ended with the Longhorns prevailing 17-16 at home. Garrett Gilbert faltered and was replaced by McCoy and Ash, but the biggest takeaway was how the entire team responded to a very physical BYU squad. It was a game that Texas would have lost last season, but this year, the players fought tooth and nail to grab this one. It was far from pretty, but it was satisfying.
THIS WEEK: The Longhorns travel to Pasadena to face West Kansas State UCLA, who seems to be a team that the Horns just cannot beat. The Bruins haven't looked that great so far this season, losing in a shootout to Houston (mostly because they let themselves fall far behind) before winning a lackluster game against lowly San Jose State last week. That said, they can still run the ball and they have some talent, and there is no doubt that with our offense still trying to get things together, they're going to be content with running the ball incessantly with some playaction to their TE sprinkled in. It will be another physical test for Diaz's defense, and hopefully the offense comes alive before halftime this game.
SEASON OUTLOOK: Gilbert's fall from the starting position was unfortunate but not surprising in the least, as even his supporters knew that his leash would be short. Despite the situation at QB, the offense is showing signs of promise, but it is still not a consistent unit and thus this next game will probably ride on the defense once again. Hopefully, the off week before Iowa State gives the offense much needed time to work out some kinks, as Oklahoma awaits right after the game with Cyclones. - TheElusiveShadow
Texas A&M
LAST WEEK: Idle.
THIS WEEK: Against Idaho, which is going to go as you would expect.
SEASON OUTLOOK: As with OSU, we will learn a lot about Texas A&M in a couple of weeks when they take on the Pokes as well as in their game against Arkansas a week after that. Win both of these, they'll shoot up the rankings and they'll be on track for their best season in a long time. Win one of two, they'll be in okay shape (if they had to choose, they'd preferably lose to Arkansas, the OOC opponent). Lose both, and they're looking at a season in which they'll just be a good, but ultimately disappointing, team that is capable of beating anyone but probably won't be among the elite. - TheElusiveShadow
Texas Tech
LAST WEEK: Idle.
THIS WEEK: The Red Raiders travel to mystic Albuquerque to take on another tune-up team in New Mexico.
SEASON OUTLOOK: While I wish them luck, call me unimpressed. I recognize you have to play who is on the schedule but their non-con lineup will do little in the way of prepping them for what is surely to be a very competitive Big 12 campaign. The highlight of their year will be finishing up the season in Arlington at the Death Star vs. Baylor. I hope my near sighted assessment does not bite me on the backside. - TXStampede
Players of the Week (courtesy of big12sports.com)
Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week
Steele Jantz, Iowa State, QB, Jr, Agoura Hills, Calif.
Steele Jantz orchestrated four consecutive touchdown drives, including three in overtime to lead Iowa State to a 44-41 three-overtime thriller over Iowa. In just his second collegiate start, he hit on 25-of-37 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Jantz also rushed for 42 yards to compile 321 total yards of offense. His single game quarterback rating was 166.58. Iowa State's 44 points are its most against Iowa since the teams met for the first time in 1894. The Cyclones' 473 total yards mark the program's best offensive output since tallying 512 vs. Kansas in 2009.
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Zaviar Gooden, Missouri, LB, Jr, Pflugerville, Texas
Zaviar Gooden registered a team-high nine tackles and blocked a PAT in Missouri's 37-30 overtime loss at No. 23 Arizona State. He was also credited with Mizzou's only sack in the game, which came near midfield in the final two minutes as ASU was closing in on field goal range. Gooden's sack put the Sun Devils in a 3rd-and-long situation that wasn't converted, which gave the Tigers the ball back. The junior linebacker ranks third on the team with 12 tackles - all solos.
Upcoming Game of the Week: #1 Oklahoma (-3) at #5 Florida State (7:00 p.m. ABC)
Ranking
1. Oklahoma
2. Oklahoma State
3. Texas A&M
4. Baylor
5. Texas
6. Iowa State
7. Missouri
8. Texas Tech
9. Kansas State
10. Kansas