Tag: college football week 9

TCU at West Virginia and more fantastic photos from Big 12 action in week 9

Best photos from week nine in the Big 12, including TCU’s trip to Morgantown and Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State.

Week nine in the Big 12 didn’t provide the close contests or drama that the conference schedule has provided for much of this season, but we got a little bit more clarity at the top of the standings.

TCU continued its undefeated season and march to the College Football Playoff with an impressive road win over West Virginia. Kansas State obliterated Oklahoma State to emerge as the other favorite to make the trip to Arlington for the Big 12 title game.

Baylor knocked off Texas Tech in Lubbock and moved into fourth place in the standings. At 3-2, they’re not completely out of the Big 12 title race. Oklahoma improved to 2-3 and is playing for progress and pride, even if they still have a slim shot at making the Big 12 title game.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the week nine Big 12 slate.

Big 12 standings: TCU remains on top, Kansas State looks destined for Arlington

Kansas State is firmly in the driver’s seat for the second spot in the Big 12 championship after week nine. From @BenDackiw

Another week has passed, and the Big 12 is still incredibly crowded behind the first-place TCU Horned Frogs. With four games remaining, the Frogs do not have a ranked opponent on their schedule. An undefeated regular season is very much in play in Fort Worth.

TCU has already beaten both Kansas State and Oklahoma State this season, so they will have a tiebreaker over both of them. With Kansas State beating the Cowboys last week, Oklahoma State is essentially playing for second place.

Kansas State is firmly in the driver’s seat for the second spot in the Big 12 Championship. These Wildcats just will not go away. With backup quarterback Will Howard getting the start in place of Adrian Martinez, K-State handed the Pokes their worst loss of the Mike Gundy era, 48-0.

K-State doesn’t have an easy schedule in front of it. It has dates with the Texas Longhorns and Baylor Bears. Both of those teams are one game behind the Wildcats, and that Baylor-Kansas State game is in Waco.

While getting to Arlington will be difficult, the Wildcats are in control of their own path. If they keep winning, they’ll make it.

Beyond that, the scenarios get messy. More than half of the conference is either 3-2 or 2-3 in Big 12 play. If the Wildcats lose a few games down the stretch, it opens up a realm of possibilities for the teams behind them.

While it would be great to say the Sooners are one of those teams, it’s very unlikely they can jump Kansas State in the standings. The Wildcats would need to lose three of their last four games and the Sooners would need to win out.

The Texas Longhorns are still very much alive. They’ll need a little help to get there, but they could still make it to Arlington. They play Kansas State this week. Beating the Wildcats in Manhattan would be a good start. Their problem is the loss they suffered to Oklahoma State two weeks ago.

While the race in the Big 12 are looking messy and complicated at the moment, the final stretch of the season has a way of cleaning things up. Championship November is nearly upon us.

Here are the full Big 12 standings:

College Football Power Rankings: Tennessee and TCU move up, Syracuse and Wake Forest slide

Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, and Syracuse fall after disappointing losses in Week 9. But who’s on the rise? Here are this week’s College Football Power rankings. From @john9williams

Week 9 of the college football season provided some fantastic action and stunning blowouts in top 25 action.

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions played a fantastic game. The two teams scored 41 points in a frenetic fourth quarter and the Buckeyes stayed undefeated. Rival Michigan held on against Michigan State.

Elsewhere in the top four, the Tennessee Volunteers dismantled the Kentucky Wildcats, 44-6, and Georgia continued its dominance with a 42-20 win over Florida.

In the only other game featuring two top 25 teams, the Kansas State Wildcats blanked Oklahoma State, 48-0. Several upsets occurred: Wake Forest fell to Louisville, and Syracuse was blown out by Notre Dame.

With another fantastic week of college football action, how did this week’s power rankings shake out?

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 27-13 win over the Iowa State Cyclones

Oklahoma produced in all three phases on Saturday vs. Iowa State in their 27-13 win. Here are 5 takeaways from the pivotal road victory. from @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma may have found its defensive swagger once again. After the bye week, Oklahoma made the trip to Ames, Iowa to take on Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones entered the game 10th nationally in yards per rush allowed and were sixth in the nation in points allowed per game at 15.5. They also feature Will McDonald, one of Iowa State’s all-time best at rushing the passer.

Oklahoma beat the Cyclones 27-13 behind a fairly complementary performance in all three phases.

[autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] contributed 101 yards on the ground and a touchdown. The defense tallied three interceptions of Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers. Lastly, [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turk[/autotag] provided the impact on special teams to put the Sooners over the top. Schmit scored on a fake field goal pass and nailed two field goal attempts, while Michael Turk chipped in two 60-yard punts to flip the field in the fourth quarter, including one that pinned the Cyclones at the one on the drive following a score that made it 20-13.

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The game was sloppy at times, and there are some things to take issue with. However, a conference win on the road considering the season Oklahoma has had, is nothing to scoff at. With such a complementary and tough win, we want to share our five takeaways from the Oklahoma win before Oklahoma starts to prepare for a home game against Baylor.

Caleb Williams wins Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week Award

For his performance against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Caleb Williams was selected the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the week.

The awards keep rolling in for Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams. After netting the Big 12 offensive player of the week award for his efforts against Texas Tech, Williams received the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the week award.

Williams is well on his way to inserting himself into the conversation of every significant individual award if he keeps up what he’s been doing over the last month.

Since taking over as the quarterback during the Texas game, Williams has thrown 14 touchdowns. He also has four rushing touchdowns and is currently Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded quarterback through week nine of the season.

Caleb Williams has only one interception to his 18 combined touchdowns, 17 since the Texas game. Averaging 4.25 combined touchdown since taking over in the Red River Showdown, if he were to keep that pace, Williams is on pace for 35 combined touchdowns through the Big 12 championship. If the Sooners can make it into the college football playoff, he’ll flirt with 40 combined passing and rushing touchdowns.

That would be an incredible feat considering he’s only played significantly in the last four games, making just three starts.

The games get more challenging after the bye against Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State, but Caleb Williams has risen to the occasion of every challenge thus far. There’s no reason to think he won’t step up and overcome the obstacles that await him.

Williams is already a semifinalist for the national Davey O’Brien Award, which you could have a say in. All you have to do is like the awards posts on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, and you can vote for Caleb Williams to win the award.

There’s no telling where this season will end up, but Caleb Williams has already made it a memorable one. “Championship November” has a chance to be a special month for him and the program if they’re able to remain undefeated through the difficult challenges that lie ahead.

He’s just scratching the surface of the player he could be, and every practice rep and snap in a game is going to help him improve upon an already stellar start to his Oklahoma Sooners career.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Passing with flying colors: Report Card for Sooners complete win vs Texas tech

How did the Oklahoma Sooners grade out in their dominant performance against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in this week’s Report Card?

One week removed from their worst performance of the year to date, Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma Sooners played perhaps their best game of the season. In every facet, the Sooners were better than the Texas Tech Red Raiders. For a team that came in hoping to play inspired football following the firing of the head coach, one may wonder if it had the opposite effect.

Nonetheless, this is hardly about the psyche of Texas Tech and more about the Sooners’ finally putting together a complete performance. In a 52-21 victory, everyone had to put their best foot forward. Let’s go through the different position groups and discuss the performances from each unit.

Caleb Williams earns Pro Football Focus’ True Freshman of the Week, lands on Team of the Week

Oklahoma’s Caleb Williams was named to Pro Football Focus’ team of the week and earned True Freshman of the week for the 4th straight time.

At this point, it’s becoming routine that Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams will do something extraordinary in a football game. Through the first few weeks of his tenure as the guy at the helm for OU, he dazzled with his arm and his legs.

This week in Oklahoma’s 52-21 win over Texas Tech, Williams showed off he’s got the elite arm talent that can carry the Oklahoma Sooners to victory every single week.

On a day where the Oklahoma Sooners running game struggled, Williams was up to the challenge of leading the offense.

After punting on the Sooners’ initial drive, Caleb Williams led the Sooners to seven straight scoring drives to run away from the Red Raiders before handing the reigns to Spencer Rattler to close out the game.

On the day, Williams was 23 of 30 for 402 yards and six touchdowns, becoming just the third Oklahoma quarterback to record six passing touchdowns and no interceptions in a game, joining Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

Once again, Caleb Williams graded out incredibly high per the folks at Pro Football Focus. He was named to their “Team of the Week” for his efforts and won the “True Freshman of the Week” award, yet again by PFF’s Anthony Treash.

The Sooners’ five-star quarterback takes home PFF’s True Freshman of the Week Award for the fourth straight week, thanks to yet another 90.0-plus PFF grade.

Williams earned a 92.8 PFF grade against Texas Tech on first review, the highest of any Power Five quarterback this week. And while he did have one turnover-worthy throw, but that was one of just a few mistakes on the day.

The Oklahoma quarterback completed six of his seven deep pass attempts over 20 yards downfield for 218 yards and three touchdowns. He totaled six touchdowns on passes thrown over 10 yards downfield, which is the most by any FBS quarterback in the 2021 season. – Treash, PFF

Caleb Williams continues to amaze as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback. It was a fantastic display of downfield accuracy and arm strength as the Sooners made explosive play after explosive play.

With each passing week, Williams continues to cement himself as one of college football’s best players, making a solid case for Heisman consideration.

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Oklahmoma Sooners remain in top 4 of latest AP Poll after win over Texas Tech

After their 52-21 win over Texas Tech, the Oklahoma Sooners hold steady at No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

Just days before the initial College Football Playoff rankings unveil themselves, the Sooners get an update about where they stand in the AP Top 25 Poll as they enter their much-needed bye week. In the latest release of the AP Poll, the Sooners remain at the same spot of No.4. The Sooners remain the No. 4 team in the country behind Georgia, Cincinnati, and Alabama in that order.

Despite losing to an unranked Texas A&M, Alabama remains above the Sooners. Shifting our focus to the initial College Football Playoff rankings, there’s a good chance Oklahoma could end up behind Alabama initially and remain that way unless Alabama loses another game. Nonetheless, the Sooners have to like where they are despite their ups and downs with consistent performances this year to date.

A quick scan of the Top 25 shows that two of Oklahoma’s next three opponents are both currently top 15 teams. And both games are on the road. The Sooners will travel to Baylor in two weeks to face a Bears team coming off of a big win over Texas. Then to close out the regular season, Oklahoma will face in-state rival Oklahoma State. Both of these games will likely decide who represents the Big 12 in the conference championship game.

If these rankings hold up or at least if both teams find themselves in the Top 25 when Oklahoma plays them these could be valuable wins as the Sooners continue to build their case for the final four spots.

However, all of this is just a projection. Oklahoma knows what’s at stake and you can be sure Lincoln Riley will be sure to hammer that point home in what Oklahoma has dubbed “Championship November”.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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After a big win, where does Oklahoma land in the newest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll?

Where do the Oklahoma Sooners land in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after their big win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders?

A dominant showing by the Oklahoma Sooners in their 52-21 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders put the voters at ease in this week’s USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

Oklahoma, who fell two spots in last week’s poll after falling behind the Kansas Jayhawks 10-0 at halftime, stayed at No. 4 in this week’s poll. There was little room to climb despite their 31-point win over the Red Raiders. The No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide were off this week, but the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs continued their dominant defensive performance in a 34-7 demolition of the Florida Gators. After having just a 14-12 lead over Tulane, the Cincinnati Bearcats turned it on in the second half and came away with a solid 31-12 win to stay undefeated and the No. 2 team in the nation.

The conference to watch as the season goes along is the Big 10. No. 6 Michigan State picked up a massive win over rival No. 10 Michigan, and the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes continued their strong run of play with a 33-24 win over No. 23 Penn State. Michigan State still has games against Penn State and Ohio State while the Buckeyes will face Michigan. And that’s all just in the Big 10 East’s final month of the regular season. How all that plays out will certainly have an impact on the College Football Playoff landscape.

In the Big 12, Iowa State dropped out of the polls after their upset loss to West Virginia. Oklahoma State moved up four spots to No. 11 after doing what Oklahoma should have done to Kansas in their 55-3 win. Baylor had arguably the best win in their comeback performance over Texas and moved up to No. 13.

The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners have a bye this week before heading to Waco to take on the No. 13 Baylor Bears. Oklahoma needs Baylor and Oklahoma State to stay in the top 15 to bolster their chances of making the College Football Playoff. While they should get in if they continue to win and remain undefeated, the murkiness of the Big 10 and a potential SEC Championship matchup of Alabama and Georgia could undoubtedly impact Oklahoma’s standing in the CFB Rankings down the road.

A look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Georgia 8-0 1,600 (64) –
2 Cincinnati 8-0 1,460 –
3 Alabama 7-1 1,453 –
4 Oklahoma 9-0 1,423 –
5 Ohio State 7-1 1,336 –
6 Michigan State 8-0 1,325 +1
7 Oregon 7-1 1,198 +1
8 Notre Dame 7-1 1,095 +3
9 Wake Forest 8-0 1,051 +4
10 Michigan 7-1 1,050 -4
11 Oklahoma State 7-1 922 +4
12 Texas A&M 6-2 910 +2
13 Baylor 7-1 815 +5
14 Auburn 6-2 802 +7
15 Ole Miss 6-2 680 -6
16 Iowa 6-2 512 -6
17 Kentucky 6-2 497 -5
18 Texas-San Antonio 8-0 401 +4
19 Houston 7-1 349 +10
20 BYU 7-2 310 +6
21 Coastal Carolina 7-1 301 +3
22 NC State 6-2 265 +3
23 Penn State 5-3 215 -6
24 SMU 7-1 192 -8
25 Pittsburgh 6-2 162 -6

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 20 San Diego State; No. 23 Iowa State

Others receiving votes:

UL Lafayette 156; Fresno State 73; San Diego State 65; Arkansas 65; Minnesota 29; Wisconsin 26; Mississippi State 20; Utah 10; Appalachian State 10; Air Force 9; Liberty 4; Iowa State 4; Clemson 4; Arizona State 1.

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College Football Big Game Reaction: Michigan State, Miami, Baylor & More

Quick reaction to the biggest college football games of Week 9: Michigan at Michigan State, Miami at Pitt, Texas at Baylor, Georgia vs Florida, Penn State at Ohio State

Quick reaction to the biggest games of Week 9: Michigan at Michigan State, Miami at Pitt, Texas at Baylor, Georgia vs Florida, Penn State at Ohio State

College Football Big Game Reaction: Week 9

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– Week 9 Scoreboard, Predictions

Week 9 Big Game Reactions  
– Michigan State 37, Michigan 33
– Baylor 31, Texas 24
– Miami 38, Pitt 34

Michigan State 37, Michigan 33 Reaction

Yeah, Michigan got totally hosed at the end of the first half when Michigan State QB Payton Thorne fumbled in what appeared to be a Wolverine touchdown.

That’s not why Michigan lost.

Yeah, Michigan got totally hosed on the 4th-and-3 play to try keeping the final drive alive – that was absolutely defensive holding, or pass interference, or something that should’ve been flagged.

That’s not why Michigan lost.

Yeah, Michigan State got flagged seven times for 75 yards and Michigan eight times for 59, but the calls – and missed calls – ended up screwing up the Maize and Blue side more.

And no – the officiating wasn’t why Michigan lost.

Michigan lost because Michigan State was more physical in the second half, sharper when it had to be, and it was far, far, more effective at getting the ground game going because …

Michigan lost because Kenneth Walker was the best player on the field, and the blocking up front got the job done against a strong defensive front.

Walker ran 23 times for 197 yards and five touchdowns, making play after play despite being a marked man by the Michigan defense, and now it’s Game On.

But first, it was a Michigan State win over Michigan. Actually, it was another Michigan State win over Michigan.

This wasn’t Jim Harbaugh’s fault – his team played well – but now Mel Tucker is 2-0 against him. In that state and in this rivalry, you can be the Michigan head coach and lost to Ohio State here and there – that program is pretty good – but losing to “Little Brother” is completely and totally unforgivable, and Michigan has now dropped three of the last five.

But not all is totally lost for the Wolverines.

The offense was terrific, and the defense wasn’t all that bad – again, Mr. Walker had himself a day – and there’s no time to get mopey.

Indiana needs to be a layup. Penn State isn’t all that great – even if it’s on the road and everyone is wearing white t-shirts, and going to Maryland can’t be an issue.

There’s absolutely no reason the Wolverines can’t be 10-1 when Ohio State comes into town.

This game is all about the rise of Michigan State, though.

The Spartans were out of this down 30-14 late in the third, but the offense kept going on big marches, the defense kept coming up with big holds, and …

Kenneth Walker, Kenneth Walker, Kenneth Walker.

The Spartans now go to Purdue, gets Maryland, and if all goes right, should be 10-0 with at Ohio State and Penn State to close.

It’s going to be a fun November in East Lansing.

Week 9 Big Game Reactions   
– Baylor 31, Texas 24
– Miami 38, Pitt 34

NEXT: Baylor 31, Texas 24 Reaction

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