Category: Big 12

Kansas outlasts UNLV in Guaranteed Rate Bowl behind Jason Bean’s dominant day

The Jayhawks quarterback finished with a career-high 449 yards and six touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter, on 28 attempts.

Kansas outdueled UNLV in an offensive showdown on Tuesday, coming away with a 49-36 victory in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl after senior quarterback Jason Bean tossed six touchdowns in a career day.

Bean, who threw for 1,681 yards this season, passed for a career-high 449 yards on just 28 attempts for the night. He finished the game averaging 16.0 yards per attempt, and four of his touchdown passes came on completions longer than 40 yards.

The Jayhawks’ scoring game in waves. After not putting any points on the board until the final two minutes of the first quarter, Kansas scored three touchdowns in the next nine minutes to fly out to a 21-7 lead.

The Rebels tried hard to pull back into the game, holding Kansas scoreless in the third quarter and scoring two touchdowns to make the deficit just four points, but Kansas ripped off another heater on offense. Bean threw three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, with all three touchdowns longer than 40 yards.

Jayhawks receivers Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold shouldn’t go unmentioned, either. The two combined for 292 yards on just 10 receptions, and they split Bean’s passing touchdowns with three apiece.

Here are the best photos from the crazy Kansas victory.

Arizona State gets commitments from a pair of Class of 2022 standouts

Former USC RB Raleek Brown and former Florida safety Kamari Wilson were both within 247Sports’ top 75 prospects in the 2022 class.

Arizona State got two commitments from top-75 prospects in the Class of 2022 on Saturday as former USC running back Raleek Brown and former Florida safety Kamari Wilson both announced they would continue their careers with the Sun Devils. On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported both commitments.

Brown was the No. 3 running back prospect in the class. He served as a Swiss army knife for head coach Lincoln Riley in his freshman season. He toted the ball 42 times for 227 yards as a runner, he caught 16 passes for 175 yards as a receiver, and he scored six touchdowns. He even returned kicks, running back 24 kickoffs for 517 return yards.

The 5-foot-8 utility player changed positions ahead of the 2023 season to play as a wide receiver, but he couldn’t recapture his same usage. He only touched the ball in two games. He finished the season with six touches for 34 yards from scrimmage, and he only scored a single touchdown.

Wilson, the No. 74 overall player and No. 9 safety in 247Sports’ Class of 2022 rankings, also had his best season with the Gators as a freshman. He made 39 total tackles, forced a fumble, and broke up a pass in 2022. He only played in three games in 2023, eventually redshirting the season, and he recorded a single tackle.

Both Brown and Wilson have three years of eligibility remaining. Their announcements come less than a week after former Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt announced he would join the Sun Devils for 2024.

Quinn Ewers sets Big 12 record as he leads Texas to the championship

Texas leaves the conference with a Big 12 championship, led by QB Quinn Ewers.

The Texas Longhorns made a statement on Saturday as they looked to find a way into the College Football Playoffs. They were helped by the Washington Huskies on Friday night when they defeated Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.

The Longhorns will leave the Big 12 in the same fashion they entered the conference in 1996, with a conference championship. For the second time in three seasons, Oklahoma State comes up short but in more humiliating fashion than the last time.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers and the offense did their part on Saturday as they secured the Big 12 championship and WWE title belt. Ewers set a Big 12 title game record with 452 yards passing. He found nine different receivers with a bulk of the targets going to tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Oklahoma State faced a 35-14 deficit as the second half got underway. The offense struggled to move the football, while the defense gave up big play after big play. Twice in the first half, Texas benefitted from plays of 50+ yards as they put up over 422 yards of offense and averaged 9.0 yards per play. Ewers alone averaged 15.4 yards per completion as he racked up 354 yards on 31 attempts.

It wouldn’t go much different in the second half as the Longhorns offense kept it rolling. The first score came on a 57-yard run by Keilan Robinson to extend the lead to 42-14.

Robinson would strike again on an 11-yard run to cap off another scoring drive by the Texas offense. The Longhorns led the game by 35 with under 11 minutes left in the game. It was over by all intents and purposes.

Alan Bowman and the Cowboys were finally able to respond late in the fourth quarter for the first score of the second half. Bowman found Rashod Owens in the front of the end zone for the score. Texas led 49-21 at that point with 6:26 left in the game.

The Longhorns offense was able to milk the clock to lock up their fourth Big 12 title in the final season as part of the conference.

Big 12 announces partnership with WWE for 2023 conference title game

The new agreement will include a title bet for the Most Outstanding Player in the conference championship game.

The Big 12 announced a new partnership with the WWE centered around the conference championship football game, the conference announced on Thursday.

The most prominent feature of the agreement is a custom title belt reminiscent of the ones the wrestling league is known for awarded to the game’s Most Outstanding Player.

The two brands will also team up for co-branded logos that feature both the WWE and the Big 12 logo on the field as well as a new merchandising line. Yet-to-be-named WWE wrestlers will also present the aforementioned title belt on the field at the end of the game and will participate in the weekend’s festivities as well.

“With this partnership, we will integrate WWE and its brand power into one of the Conference’s biggest moments, further strengthening the bridge between sports and entertainment throughout the Big 12,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in the release.

Big 12 announces additions of Beach Volleyball and Women’s Lacrosse

Two new sports to come to the Big 12 starting in 2024.

On Thursday, the Big 12 and Commissioner Brett Yormark announced two more sports being added to the Big 12.

“Beach volleyball and women’s lacrosse are both experiencing growth and popularity on a national level,” said Commissioner Brett Yormark in a release from the conference. “The additions will allow incoming and current members to compete for national championships under the Big 12 umbrella while expanding the league’s footprint across new sports.”

The additions of the four new schools to the conference starting in 2024 give the Big 12 a chance to broaden its horizons in the realm of college athletics. Along with the TCU Horned Frogs, the beach volleyball teams will include the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, and Utah Utes.

Per the release, women’s lacrosse will feature Arizona State, Colorado, and Cincinnati.

More details are to come on the additions of beach volleyball and women’s lacrosse. The Big 12 increased their sponsored sports to 25, with women’s sports growing to 15.

it seems that the new commish continues to find new ways to increase the brand of Big 12 athletics for both men’s and women’s sports.

Globe Life Field will host the Big 12 baseball tournament through 2028

Big 12, Globe Life Field extend agreement to host the annual conference tournament through 2028

It was announced on Wednesday that the Big 12 and Globe Life Field extended their agreement to host the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship.

The home of the Texas Rangers hosted the tournament for the last two years and will continue to do so through 2028. Globe Life Field opened in 2020 and hosted the 2020 World Series.

“The Big 12 is thrilled to announce our Baseball Championship will be staying at Globe Life Field through 2028,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark via a press release. “Through this extension, we will host our Baseball Championship at a world-class, climate-controlled venue in our own backyard. We are grateful for the support and partnership of REV Entertainment and the Texas Rangers.”

The 2024 tournament is set to run from May 21 through May 25. Tickets will be made available early next year. In 2023, the TCU Horned Frogs defeated Oklahoma State for the championship.

The tournament was hosted at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City in every season since 1997 with the exception of the 2002 and 2004 seasons when it was held at The Ballpark in Arlington, which is now known as Choctaw Stadium.

Globe Life Field is set to host the MLB All-Star Game in July of 2024.

Last year’s title game rematch headlines Week 8 in Big 12

The slate of games in the Big 12 this week features a rematch of the 2022 conference title game and Dillon Gabriel faces his old team.

This week’s slate of games in the Big 12 will feature all but two teams taking the field. The Oklahoma Sooners lead the pack with a spotless record with the Iowa State Cyclones right behind them. The only loss in conference play for the Cyclones came at the hands of the Sooners.

Only one game will be shown on ESPN+ this week, and that would be the Baylor Bears (2-4, 1-2) at Cincinnati Bearcats (2-4, 0-3). Neither team really hit the ground running this year, so if you want to watch this game you will need to find it on the ESPN streaming channels.

As far as the remaining five games on the schedule for the Big 12, we ranked those games in terms of intrigue and watchability.

Midseason All-Big 12 team led by Oklahoma and Texas

Halfway through the season, we made our picks for the All-Big 12 team and awards at the midseason mark.

We are midway through October and midway through the 2023 college football regular season. There were plenty of changes prior to the season, including the four new teams joining the Big 12.

As expected by most of the experts, the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are showing that they are the two best teams in the league. Both are set to leave for the SEC starting in July of 2024. The two teams are a combined 11-1, with the only loss coming in the annual Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl. They could be the Big 12 championship matchup in December if all goes their way. Which would be much to the chagrin of Commissioner Brett Yormark.

The Kansas Jayhawks have been a pleasant surprise as the season began. Much like Oklahoma they finished 6-7 last season and raced out to a 5-2 start this season. The expectations are much higher in Year 3 of the Lance Leipold era. He will be a hot commodity as the coaching carousel begins to pick up speed in the coming weeks.

Two teams that haven’t lived up to the expectations are the Texas Christian Horned Frogs and Texas Tech Red Raiders. The former made it all the way to the CFP championship game last year with the latter being the trending pick ahead of the season. They are a combined 7-7 through the first seven weeks of the year. Still time for them to get back on track.

While Week 8 is on the horizon, College Sports Wire made their selections for the midseason All-Big 12 team as well as the yearly awards through Week 7.

Big 12 Commish Brett Yormark: ‘Nothing imminent’ on further expansion

Big 12 commissioner dishes on expansion and future schedule at conference basketball media days.

The Big 12 is already looking at the future of their college basketball product beyond the upcoming season. Beginning in 2024-25 the conference will add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah while Oklahoma and Texas head off to the SEC.

The idea is that the conference will play a 20-game schedule in men’s basketball and an 18-game schedule in women’s basketball. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yorkmark discussed scheduling for future seasons at media days in Kansas City. According to the commish, “scheduling and travel are a major priority for the conference.”

The Big 12 will try to keep competitive balance and rivalries at the forefront when the league expands to 16 teams next season. There has been plenty of chatter about the possibility of adding a 17th team to the mix for all sports outside of football. Gonzaga has been mentioned among the Big 12’s shortlist but Yormark states that “there’s nothing imminent” when it comes to adding the basketball power to an already strong basketball conference.

“I do explore all options that come to me, and if it creates value for membership both short- and long-term, we’re going to explore it even more.” – Yormark

As far as the upcoming season, all 14 teams will begin conference play on Jan. 6. Big 12 play will conclude on Mar. 9 and the conference tournament will top off at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Mar. 12. The same day that the women’s Big 12 tournament will conclude.

Week 7’s Big 12 Weekly Wrap-up including updated recruiting rankings

CSW breaks down updated standings, QBR, FPI, and recruiting rankings.

It was a somewhat wild weekend of college football in the Big 12 conference. It began on Thursday night with an offensive explosion in the fourth quarter between the West Virginia Mountaineers and Houston Cougars in the “Dana Holgorsen Bowl.”

The two teams scored a combined 38 points through three quarters before they combined for 42 points in the fourth. With a WVU touchdown late in the game, Houston had just 12 seconds to put together a scoring drive. We see this desperation play time and time again with more failures than successes in this situation. This time, quarterback Donovan Smith was able to pull off the improbable heroics.

It was going to be hard to top that wild finish as Stephon Johnson hauled in the deflection for the Cougars’ first win in Big 12 play. Only Cincinnati and UCF remain winless in conference play. Cincinnati had a shot to earn their first-ever win as members of the Big 12 in conference play but it was not to be for the Bearcats.

UCF was idle and Cincinnati fell to Iowa State, 30-10. The Cyclones moved ahead of West Virginia in the Big 12 standings and controls their own destiny. Iowa State is half a game ahead of the idle Texas Longhorns, Kansas State Wildcats, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and West Virginia Mountaineers for that No. 2 spot in the conference behind the Oklahoma Sooners.

In other action the TCU Horned Frogs steamrolled BYU 44-11, Oklahoma State came back against Kansas 39-32, and Kansas State won their eighth straight against Texas Tech 38-21.

College Sports Wire takes a look back at the week that was in the Big 12 with the weekly wrapup, including who leads the new-look conference in recruiting.