By: David Ware (@davidware)
The Tale of Two Halves
The first half of the West Virginia—Texas game was a deadlock, with the halftime score 24-24. The Mountaineers even had momentum, scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter.
I’m not sure what happened in the locker rooms at halftime. Maybe the Longhorns got a bottle of the special water that the Tune Squad drank in 1996. They came out and played possessed in the second half. The Longhorns scored 35 points in the second half and their defense completely shut out West Virginia. It looked like two teams wearing the West Virginia uniforms, and the main reason was their depth. Mountaineer Wide Receiver Jay Pittman had a monster game with six catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He was roasting the Longhorn defense all night long. He was the only receiver with more than 24 yards in the game. Linebacker Al Pine had 10 tackles and one for a loss for West Virginia, but it was just not enough to stop the Longhorns.
Is Quarterback Bo Jones even human? I mean, really? the senior who started his third-ever game at quarterback torched West Virginia for 548 passing yards, six touchdowns, and added two rushing touchdowns on nine carries. We are talking about a former wide receiver who has put on an amazing passing clinic every night so far at quarterback.
On defense, the Free Safety Damien Hines played lights out with six tackles, two interceptions, and a pass deflection. Cornerback Damian Walker added three more deflections, as the secondary for Texas was almost unstoppable besides Jay Pittman and his monster game. Texas had three wide receivers with over 100 yards including; Gage Tyson, Dylan Powell, and Charlie Jo (who had 203 yards). Between the three receivers, they had six touchdowns.
Close but no Cigar
Oklahoma mounted a fourth-quarter comeback but it just was not enough to overpower the Texas A&M Aggies. Coming out of halftime, the Sooners found themselves down 42-21 and by the beginning of the fourth quarter 55-24. It seemed like the Sooners were just dead in the water, but then they got three touchdowns in the fourth to make the game close.
I feel like a broken record when I talk about Oklahoma and their top performers because every week Quarterback Himoteo Del Este keeps lighting up the stats sheet. This week he had 409 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 80 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also had three interceptions, which is how many he had all season before this game. The Aggies shut down the three-headed rushing attack of Del Este, DJ Yost, and William Avery. The three of them managed just 135 yards and three touchdowns. Wide Receiver Laramie Larson had six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort. On the defensive side of the ball, Strong Safety Maverick Sanders had 10 tackles, two for a loss, and an interception.
Texas A&M Quarterback Owen Dart had one of the best games of his career against Oklahoma this week. He threw for 466 yards, five passing touchdowns, rushed for 83 yards, and two rushing touchdowns. It was good for the second-most passing yards, touchdowns, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns in a single game. The senior quarterback is only getting better and he is leading the Aggies to a possible playoff appearance.
Linebacker Jason Quinn added 13 tackles and a sack on defense to help shut down the Sooners. Cornerback Ryu Rambo had five tackles, two interceptions, and a pass deflection as well. Sophomore Outside Linebacker Rico Elzey had a career day with five tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks. He was one of two Aggies with two sacks as Defensive End Rand Rockwell had four tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks.
Ground Dominance
Colorado rushed for an amazing 208 rushing yards against LSU this week as they throttled them 56-26. Halfback Taylor James had 27 carries, 192 rushing yards, two touchdowns, seven receptions, 39 yards, and two broken tackles in his dominating performance for the Buffalos. After this game, James is now third in the CFSL in rushing yards and just 30 yards behind Bo Yost of Miami. He has had six carries for over 20 yards this season which is tied for second most. Wide Receiver Marquis Towns had 10 catches for 167 and two touchdowns for the Buffalos and was the only receiver to break the 100-yard mark. Quarterback Sky Sanders had five passing touchdowns and no turnovers in a very efficient effort and added 385 passing yards.
LSU had two linebackers both with 10 tackles as Kai Kingston and Akuma Hunter combined for 20 tackles in the loss. Hunter looked like a man on a mission every time he had an opportunity to get a tackle. I’m not sure that he doesn’t have a warrant for his arrest for assault and battery. He was delivering hit-stick hits all night long for the Tigers. It just wasn’t enough to slow down Colorado and their high-scoring offense.
Big 12 Week 6 Results
WVU lost to Texas 24-59
Oklahoma lost to Texas A&M 45-58
Colorado beat LSU 56-26
Week 7 Big 12 Schedule
Tuesday October 15th 8:30 pm
Texas A&M at Texas 6:30 PM on Twitch
Wednesday October 16th 6:30 pm
Oklahoma at Colorado 6:30 PM on Twitch
Thursday 8:30 pm
LSU at West Virginia 8:30 PM on Twitch
Potential Big 12 Game of the Week for Week 7
Some good games this week for the Big 12 no doubt, but the game that has the biggest playoff implications will be Oklahoma at Colorado as both of those two teams are hoping to lock in the second automatic playoff spot in the Big 12 and a shot to choose their first-round playoff matchup. Texas can afford to lose and still make the playoffs, the Aggies are in that four-team battle to secure an automatic bid. Either Colorado, Oklahoma, or Texas A&M will have to rely on the voters if they want to see some playoff action.
This week will be exciting to watch in the Big 12 and we will see who wants to experience the playoffs more. Until next time, Keep your game face on and your spirits high!
