Tag: kansas state wildcats football

Big 12 Bowl Projections: Sooners to face incoming and ascending Big 12 squad in Bowl Season

The Oklahoma Sooners will play a future Big 12 member in the latest Bowl Projections from USA TODAY Sports.

The regular season is over, and all that awaits before knowing OU’s bowl destination is championship weekend. The Oklahoma Sooners just missed out on the Big 12 title game. It’s the third season in a row that the Sooners won’t play for the conference title.

Things are improving at Oklahoma, but after running the Big 12 to the tune of 14 conference championships, it stings a bit not to be able to play for one more.

Still, 10-2 is better than 6-6. The Sooners are showing they’re a program on the right track as they get ready for the SEC. Recruiting is better on both sides of the ball and in 2023, we began to see glimpses of Brent Venables’ recruiting classes impacting the game.

In Oklahoma’s bowl game, we’ll likely get to see more of the youth the Sooners have added since Brent Venables’ arrival. Who will they play? Let’s take a look at the latest Big 12 Bowl Projections via USA TODAY Sports.

How did Big 12 teams finish relative to preseason expectations in USA TODAY Sports 1-133 re-rank?

With the regular season over, how did the Big 12 land in USA TODAY Sports latest 1-133 re-rank of every college football team in the nation?

It’s championship week in college football. But for some teams, it’s the beginning of the offseason, while others wait on their bowl destinations.

It was a unique season in the Big 12. A number of teams met or exceeded expectations in 2023. And several were incredibly disappointing based on preseason expectations.

Let’s take a look at how each of the Big 12 teams ranked in the USA TODAY Sports 1-133 rankings in the preseason compared to how they now rank after the regular season.

Texas secures top spot in Big 12 Power Rankings after final week of the regular season

How does the Big 12 stack up after the final week of the regular season? Here are this week’s power rankings.

The 2023 college football season has been a thrill ride from start to finish. In its lone season as a 14-team conference, the Big 12 did not disappoint. There were fantastic games throughout the conference schedule that brought us to a dramatic final weekend of the regular season.

The Sooners will look back on this season, knowing they missed an opportunity to reach the Big 12 title game. Their performances against Kansas and Oklahoma State were the difference. And although there was some officiating negligence in the loss to the Cowboys, the Sooners also gave the ball away three times in the loss in Bedlam. Combined, the Sooners turned the ball over six times in their two losses and just seven times total in their other 10 games.

Take care of the football and the Sooners are playing for the Big 12 title this weekend.

Week 13 provided a thrilling overtime game between Oklahoma State and BYU. Iowa State and Kansas State played down to the wire in a wintery Farmageddon. Texas beat Texas Tech by 50 with Brett Yormark in attendance, and West Virginia made good on their promise to the preseason media poll look foolish.

After the final week of the regular season, let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

Big 12 Bowl Projections: Sooners take on Rising Power in Pacific Northwest in latest Bowl Projections

The Oklahoma Sooners head into the regular season finale still with a shot to make the Big 12 title game. They have to beat TCU on Friday and hope for some good things to go their way, but there’s still a chance. A win over the Horned Frogs would …

The Oklahoma Sooners head into the regular season finale still with a shot to make the Big 12 title game. They have to beat TCU on Friday and hope for some good things to go their way, but there’s still a chance.

A win over the Horned Frogs would give Brent Venables his first 10-win season as a head coach and Oklahoma the bounce-back season they needed heading into the SEC in 2024.

With bowl season right around the corner, the Big 12 has eight teams that have earned bowl eligibility. BYU, UCF, and TCU can all earn bowl bids if they can pick up a win this Saturday.

BYU plays Oklahoma State. A Cougars win and a Sooners win puts Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.

Here’s a look at the latest Big 12 bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Top of the conference survive scares in week 12

With just one week remaining in the regular season, how doe the Big 12 power rankings look after Week 12 action?

The Big 12 will come down to the final week of the regular season to determine who will represent the conference in their title game in Arlington, Texas.

Texas was challenged by Iowa State and Oklahoma State survived a terrible start in Houston. The Kansas State Wildcats trailed in the fourth quarter against Kansas before pulling out a win and the Oklahoma Sooners survived in Provo despite the loss of Dillon Gabriel.

Here’s a look at the Big 12 Power Rankings ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys dropped by Knights, Sooners make a statement in week 11

Oklahoma’s win over West Virginia and Oklahoma State’s loss to UCF shook up this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

There are just two weeks left in the regular season, and there’s still a lot to sort out. Texas and Oklahoma State currently hold the top two spots in the Big 12 standings, but Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State are lurking.

There’s no time for anyone to slip up like Oklahoma State did this past weekend in Orlando.

The UCF Knights’ dominating 45-3 win over the Cowboys was shocking after Oklahoma State knocked off Oklahoma in Bedlam.

As for the Sooners, they responded to their two-game losing streak with authority, putting together arguably their best game of the season in their 59-20 win over West Virginia.

In the win, the Sooners looked like one of the best teams in the Big 12. That combined with the Cowboys’ loss, there’s been a shakeup in this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Big 12 Bowl Projections: Sooners face Utes in latest from USA TODAY Sports

After two straight losses, the Sooners are headed to the Alamo Bowl in latest USA TODAY Sports bowl projections.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a good year. In the midst of a two-game losing streak, that may not be the thing we want to talk about, but they’ve been good. Good enough to get to the College Football Playoff? No. To make the Big 12 title game? That’s not completely off the table.

They’ve made improvements on the defensive side of the ball, in particular, that provide enough encouragement that this program is heading in the right direction. In 2022, the Sooners allowed their opponents to score more than 30 points seven times. In 2023, that’s only happened twice.

The Sooners still have a lot to play for. Drake Stoops, a player who’s become synonymous with “OUDNA,” said as much when he met with the media.

With three games remaining, the Sooners have a chance to make a statement. They can show off the resiliency that’s been a characteristic of this team in 2023. And in those three games, continue to make strides as a football program.

As for where their postseason fate lies, here’s where Big 12 programs are headed in the latest bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys emerge from Bedlam title contenders

Updated Big 12 power rankings. Conference starting to sort itself out with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

In the wake of Week 10’s results, the Big 12 has found its favorites for the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas.

Though there are still several weeks to go in conference play, the Oklahoma State Cowboys walked out of Bedlam in control of their path to the game. Their win over Oklahoma put them in a tie for first place with the Longhorns at 5-1, and they have a very favorable remaining schedule.

Oklahoma State finishes the season at UCF, at Houston, and at home vs. BYU in their regular season finale. Those three teams have a combined conference record of 5-13.

The Cowboys are a far different team than the one that was blown out at home by South Alabama.

With their controversial win over Oklahoma and Texas’ win over Kansas State, the front-runners for the conference title game have emerged. It’s not impossible for Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma or Iowa State to find their way to Arlington, but they’ll need help along the way to make the trip to the DFW Metroplex.

Here’s a look at this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Steve Sarkisian wants DKR to be rocking on Saturday vs No. 23 Kansas State

“Be fired up and make DKR as hostile of an environment as there is in the country.”

As No. 7 Texas faces off against No. 23 Kansas State this weekend, the Longhorns will play in their eighth straight sell-out game. Continue reading “Steve Sarkisian wants DKR to be rocking on Saturday vs No. 23 Kansas State”

By the numbers: How No. 7 Texas compares to No. 23 Kansas State

Can the Longhorns hold off the Wildcats at home this week?

On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff committee released their first rankings of the season, placing Texas at No. 7 and Kansas State at No. 23.

The Longhorns will need help from other teams if they want to make the College Football Playoff, but most importantly, they must take it one game at a time.

What stands in Texas’ way is the Kansas State Wildcats. They are an excellent rushing team, averaging 226 yards per game.

Their rushing attack is led by DJ Giddens and Treshaun Ward, combining for nearly 1,200 yards. Quarterbacks Will Howard and Avery Johnson also have accounted for over 530 rushing yards on the year.

The Wildcat’s defense isn’t a pushover, either. KSU allows 16 points per game and 340 yards per game.

As the No. 7 Texas Longhorns prepare to host the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT, here are the numbers comparing the two teams for the tough conference matchup.