By: David Ware (@davidware)
They Are Who Their Record Says They Are
Week Five proved to be another great example of who Oklahoma is, not what they were expected to be! If they keep winning, I will be forced to admit my grave mistake in their abilities. I knew and mentioned “The very experienced Athletic Director Dustin Hall will have the team playing above expectations” in my Way Too Early Predictions for the Big 12. He has this team rolling pretty well if I may say so myself. This roster is achieving much Sooner rather than later as they are one of only three teams that are still undefeated. This week they went toe-to-toe with the LSU Tigers in a possible game-of-the-week battle. I mean it is on the ballot for Game of the Week.
LSU led at halftime but could not keep up the pace as they were outscored (14-3) in the third quarter and wound up losing by seven when the final whistle blew. Tiger Linebacker Akuma Hunter went off on defense and was performing “hit stick” tackles all night long and finished with 13 tackles, two for a loss, and a forced fumble as he is nominated for defensive player of the week. On offense, Quarterback Sean Keohane threw the defense a wrench as he had seven carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Sooner Quarterback Himoteo Del Este is “HIM”! I said what I said and I meant it, end of the story he is a CFSL cheat code at quarterback. He threw for 338 yards, five touchdowns, ran for 74 yards, and a rushing touchdown. Del Este should be one of the few favorites to win Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. This Sooners team is firing on all cylinders and looks like they will be a favorite to lock in an automatic bid in the Big 12 now. Can anyone stop that three-headed rushing attack of Del Este, DJ Yost, and William Avery who combined for 38 carries, 199 yards, and a touchdown this week?
Not Missing a Beat
Some, including myself, thought for sure that the Texas Longhorns’ run was over when the announcement came that Bo Jones was taking over at quarterback. The Longhorns have not missed a beat at all, they simply made a few adjustments and keep on keeping on! To be fair, Colorado held their own for the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter it was all Texas and they walked away with the 54-33 win.
Colorado Quarterback Sky Sanders had a very solid and efficient game with 322 passing yards and a touchdown. Halfback Taylor James started the Buffalo’s offense out with a 28-yard rush, which almost accounted for 50% of his rushing yards on the night. James was active in the passing game though with six receptions for 83 yards and even broke off a 47-yard screenplay for a first down. Two different Buffalo defenders had double-digit tackles as Linebacker Ryan Starks and Strong Safety Ladarius Byrd did all they could to lift this team. Free Safety Rara Banks contributed nine tackles, an 89-yard interception, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble and you will find his name up for Defensive Player of the Week.
Longhorns’ Quarterback Bo Jones threw 68 times and completed 50 passes for 651 yards in the effort! He had six touchdowns through the air but did have three interceptions. In only his second game of his career at quarterback, Jones has the second most passing yards in a game in the modern era! It is the second most passing yards in a game in Longhorn history as he passed the Longhorn legend Ray Tatum for second. Things are looking up for the Longhorns. We can’t forget about Tight End Jaylon Shaikh who went off for 16 catches, 234 yards, and two touchdowns. Wide Receiver Aaron Perez added eight catches, 135 yards, and a touchdown as well.
Say it Ain’t So
Entering the fourth quarter of the West Virginia and Texas A&M game, the Mountaineers led 27-13 on the road and had shut out the Aggies in two of the three previous quarters. Unfortunately for them, they were outscored 17-0 in the fourth and lost 30-27 in the heartbreaking loss. The Mountaineers were so close to their first win of the season and the Aggies were not gonna let it happen. Ultimately their 20% conversion rate on third down killed their momentum and allowed the Aggies to steal the win at home.
With only 156 passing yards on the night Quarterback Gunner Rice found a way to distribute the ball to six different receivers. Rice also added 88 rushing yards, but the turnover bug bit him two times with a fumble. The defensive duo of Linebacker Al Pine and Free Safety Kevin Walsh combined for 23 tackles, three for a loss, and two pass deflections. Free Safety Elwood Gray had a 65-yard house call on defense with his first interception of the season.
Looking at the Aggies’ offensive box score, you don’t see any stats that jump out on an individual basis, but what you do see are five wide receivers who had at least 60 receiving yards and a halfback who had 74 rushing yards. This offense was a team effort, no doubt about it. Quarterback Owen Dart found a way to get everyone involved in the game. With the win, the Aggies are still trying to fight for an automatic playoff spot out of the conference.
Big 12 Week 5 Results
Texas defeated Colorado 54-33
Oklahoma defeated LSU 42-36
Texas A&M defeated WVU 30-24
The home teams swept the week!
Big 12 Week 6 Schedule
Tuesday
Colorado at LSU 6:30 pm (Twitch)
Wednesday
Oklahoma at Texas A&M 6:30 pm (Youtube)
Thursday
West Virginia at Texas 8:30 pm (Twitch)
Potential Big 12 Game of the Week
Oklahoma at Texas A&M will be the best game and will have huge playoff implications. The Sooners with a win can be very close to securing a top 2 seed in the Big 12, which would lock them in the playoffs. Not too shabby for a team that someone predicted them to finish (1-7). With an Aggie win, they would put themselves in a tie for worst-case second place and have the tiebreaker over Oklahoma. The question is, what team wants it more? Until next time, Keep your game face on, and your spirits high!
