With tight games galore and a trip to Boise thrown in for good measure, this Cowboy football season has already been quite the rollercoaster.
Oklahoma State has a much needed bye week this weekend, which gives us time to take a broader look at college football and how the Pokes fit into that. Here is an update of how things are going around the Big 12.
Conference Standings
| Team | Big 12 Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 2-0 | 5-0 |
| Oklahoma State | 2-0 | 5-0 |
| Texas | 2-0 | 4-1 |
| Baylor | 2-1 | 4-1 |
| Texas Tech | 1-1 | 4-1 |
| Iowa State | 1-1 | 3-2 |
| TCU | 0-1 | 2-2 |
| Kansas State | 0-2 | 3-2 |
| West Virginia | 0-2 | 2-3 |
| Kansas | 0-2 | 1-4 |
Every team aside from Baylor has played two league games to this point, and there is already a bit of a division forming.
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas have an early lead on title contention with their unbeaten league starts, and the likes of Kansas State, West Virginia and Kansas all have uphill treks to Arlington.
Iowa State was thought to contend for the title entering the season, but the Cyclones dropped their conference opener to Baylor. They did bounce back with a 59-7 thumping of Kansas, but that probably says more about Kansas than Iowa State at this point.
Top Offenses
| Rank | Team | Points Per Game | Yards Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 43.8 | 472.8 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 38.4 | 433.4 |
| 3 | Baylor | 37 | 447.6 |
| 4 | Texas Tech | 35.6 | 438 |
| 5 | TCU | 35 | 433.3 |
| 6 | Iowa State | 33.8 | 442 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 30 | 380.8 |
| 8 | Kansas State | 28.8 | 360.4 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | 25.4 | 378.4 |
| 10 | Kansas | 17.2 | 331 |
The jury is still out (and has been for a while) on whether Texas is back or not, but the Longhorns have been putting up points since Oklahoma native Casey Thompson took over their QB1 role.
In the three games that Thompson has been the starter, Texas has averaged 53.3 points a game with a 58-point outburst against Rice and a 70-point melee against Texas Tech.
Oklahoma’s offensive numbers involve an outlier in the form of winless FCS foe Western Carolina. In their four games against FBS opponents, the Sooners have averaged 29 points a game.
It’s seems more miraculous that OSU is undefeated when looking at that chart.
Top Defenses
| Rank | Team | Points Allowed Per Game | Yards Allowed Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa State | 15.6 | 233.2 |
| 2 | Baylor | 17.4 | 312.4 |
| 4 | Oklahoma State | 18.6 | 305.2 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 19 | 325 |
| 6 | Kanas State | 23 | 342.6 |
| 3 | West Virginia | 18 | 315.2 |
| 7 | Texas | 24 | 396.8 |
| 8 | TCU | 27.3 | 397 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 30.8 | 386.8 |
| 10 | Kansas | 43.8 | 494 |
This chart shows why the Pokes are unbeaten, ranking third in points allowed per game and second in yards allowed.
Iowa State is the other obvious stand out here. In the Cyclones’ three wins, ISU has allowed 10, 7 and 7 points.
Meanwhile, Kansas is allowing about 100 yards more a game than the ninth-place team in the league (Texas). Match that with the worst offense in the league, and things are going as expected for the Jayhawks.
Top 10 Passers
| Rank | Player | School | Completions-Attempts | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spencer Rattler | Oklahoma | 122-160 | 1,260 | 10 |
| 2 | Jarret Doege | West Virginia | 98-150 | 1,207 | 7 |
| 3 | Brock Purdy | Iowa State | 94-132 | 1,133 | 8 |
| 4 | Gerry Bohanon | Baylor | 78-116 | 996 | 7 |
| 5 | Max Duggan | TCU | 67-106 | 899 | 8 |
| 6 | Tyler Shough | Texas Tech | 64-92 | 872 | 6 |
| 7 | Jason Bean | Kansas | 66-118 | 852 | 5 |
| 8 | Spencer Sanders | Oklahoma State | 56-96 | 781 | 5 |
| 9 | Casey Thompson | Texas | 54-76 | 707 | 9 |
| 10 | Henry Colombi | Texas Tech | 41-58 | 598 | 3 |
Onto some individual statistics.
Despite OU fans chanting for true freshman Caleb Williams, Spencer Rattler is still leading the league in passing yards, having put up at least 200 in every game thus far.
It’s interesting that Texas Tech actually has two QBs on this list. Henry Colombi has filled in for an injured Tyler Shough after Shough broke his collarbone.
With Tech having two passers in the Top 10, that means one school doesn’t have one: Kansas State. It’s also because of injury, as Skyler Thompson has played in only three games this season. He ranks 11th in the conference in passing yards with 560.
Top 10 Rushers
| Rank | Player | School | Carries | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bijan Robinson | Texas | 105 | 652 | 7 |
| 2 | Breece Hall | Iowa State | 104 | 551 | 8 |
| 3 | Jaylen Warren | Oklahoma State | 115 | 512 | 6 |
| 4 | Abram Smith | Baylor | 67 | 510 | 6 |
| 5 | Duece Vaughn | Kansas State | 90 | 444 | 5 |
| 6 | Zach Evans | TCU | 57 | 443 | 3 |
| 7 | Leddie Brown | West Virginia | 83 | 378 | 6 |
| 8 | Trestan Ebner | Baylor | 58 | 348 | 0 |
| 9 | Kennedy Brooks | Oklahoma | 54 | 318 | 4 |
| 10 | Jason Bean | Kansas | 60 | 291 | 2 |
Bijan Robinson has probably jumped out as the early favorite for the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. Robinson has gone over the century mark in all of UT’s games aside from its Arkansas loss.
Breece Hall has also been a touchdown machine despite the Cyclones’ disappointing start, leading the league in rushing scores. Then Jaylen Warren came out of nowhere to round out the conference’s Top 3, having rushed for 466 yards in OSU’s past three games.
Top 10 Receivers
| Rank | Player | School | Catches | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Ezukanma | Texas Tech | 23 | 406 | 1 |
| 2 | Xavier Hutchinson | Iowa State | 31 | 381 | 3 |
| 3 | Jordan Whittington | Texas | 21 | 324 | 3 |
| T4 | Tay Martin | Oklahoma State | 21 | 317 | 2 |
| T4 | R.J. Sneed | Baylor | 18 | 317 | 1 |
| 6 | Kaylon Geiger | Texas Tech | 21 | 314 | 1 |
| 7 | Winston Wright | West Virginia | 26 | 278 | 0 |
| 8 | Tyquan Thorton | Baylor | 19 | 276 | 3 |
| 9 | Trevor Wilson | Kansas | 15 | 271 | 1 |
| 10 | Marvin Mims | Oklahoma | 14 | 264 | 0 |
Erik Ezukanma leads the conference in receiving, and he has played only four games. He started the year with dominating outings against Houston and Stephen F. Austin, going for 179 yards and 149 yards, respectively.
Like with quarterbacks, the Red Raiders have two of the Top 10 receivers in the conference, as Kaylon Geiger ranks sixth in the league. He had 100-yard outings against FIU and Texas.
Despite Rattler having the most passing yards in the league thus far, OU has only one receiver in the league’s Top 10 in Marvin Mims.
Top 10 Tacklers
| Rank | Player | School | Total Tackles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malcolm Rodriguez | Oklahoma State | 54 |
| 2 | Colin Schooler | Texas Tech | 45 |
| 3 | DeMarvion Overshown | Texas | 44 |
| 4 | Josh Chandler-Semedo | West Virginia | 43 |
| T5 | Sean Mahone | West Virginia | 39 |
| T5 | Dillon Doyle | Baylor | 39 |
| T7 | Kenny Logan | Kansas | 36 |
| T7 | Gavin Potter | Kansas | 36 |
| 9 | Jake Hummel | Iowa State | 35 |
| T10 | Alonzo Addae | West Virginia | 34 |
| T10 | Mike Rose | Iowa State | 34 |
Lastly, let’s look at some guys on the defensive side of the ball.
Malcolm Rodriguez has taken down everything in his vicinity this season. He ranks in the Top 5 nationally in tackles. He has three games with double-digit takedowns.
West Virginia’s stifling defense is well-represented on this list with Josh Chandler-Semedo, Sean Mahone and Alonzo Addae all in the Top 10.
The post Big 12 Update: A Broad Look at the Conference Five Weeks into the Season appeared first on Pistols Firing.