By: David Ware (@davidware)
Conference Title Game
Sure, it’s only Week 4, but there is a legit possibility that we just witnessed the defacto Big X11 Championship if everything goes the way many expect it to go. It’s no shock that it was a very close competitive game filled with some late drama. The Sooners came out with the lead early and led until the fourth quarter. The Longhorns were able to shut down the Sooners in the third quarter and then march down the field as the quarter ended.
On the very first play of the fourth quarter, Spunky Tolbert found Tight End Grayson Lee for the go-ahead touchdown. The CFSL’s 2,000th game did not disappoint as Oklahoma marched right back and found Houston Begley for a 60-yard touchdown pass to retain the lead. It was a field goal with 2:14 for the Longhorns that sealed the win for them and what could be the tiebreaker that gives the Longhorns the conference title.
The Longhorns did a great job limiting Himoteo Del Este compared to the last matchup where he had 482 passing yards whereas this week, he only had 297. Del Este did have four touchdowns and an interception in the losing performance but still showed how he is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the CFSL. Outside Linebacker Brandon Chen had 10 tackles and an interception where he returned it 34 yards for the Longhorns.
For Oklahoma, it was Free Safety Brian Singletary who had 10 tackles and two of those for a loss. Even with all the stars showing out, the player of the game has to be Kicker Thomas Ohm who was perfect on all four field goal attempts, including the game-winner. Time will tell, but this game will have major playoff implications for both teams and I hope to see a rematch in the playoffs.
The Aggies Finally Broke the Streak
The Aggies had a fantastic season and playoff run last year and found themselves in the national championship where things did not go their way, to say the least. The start of the season has been heartbreaking for the Aggies as they have been so close but yet so far from their first win of the season until this week at least.
Freshman Quarterback Malcom Streets had the best game of his young career as he threw for 430 yards and had four total touchdowns as the Aggies took down the defending Big XII champs. Colorado has not had the season they would have hoped for either after winning the conference last year, but they are a team that you can never count out. This week their offense struggled with only 210 passing yards, but they do have the generational talent Halfback Taylor James who had 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Buck Stackhouse led the way on offense for the Aggies with seven catches, 171 yards, and two touchdowns. That is major yardage for so few receptions as the generational talent dominated as he usually does. On the defensive side of the ball, it was Noah Radloff who led the Aggies with nine tackles and two pass deflections but all together a great performance from the entire defensive unit. Colorados’ defense held the Aggies to only 54 rushing yards, but Ryan Greenfield did have two rushing touchdowns. For special teams, Hendrix Dodd had six kick returns for 155 yards for the Sooners.
Identities Being Forged
What a battle we witnessed as West Virginia and LSU matched up this week. West Virginias’ offense looked great as they had 509 total yards and their defense limited LSU to just 370 yards of offense. There was a combined five turnovers between the two teams and it took a late rally from LSU to walk away with the 35-33 win.
West Virginia Quarterback Gunner Rice was able to move the ball well, but the three interceptions ultimately cost them the game. Linebacker Brandon Carr racked up 15 tackles with four of them being for a loss and Elwood Gray and Billy Davis both added eight tackles and one for a loss for the Sooners.
The Tigers’ offense was not flashy, but it was effective as Tavon Moss threw for 304 yards and had one touchdown. Moss found seven different receivers for a pass including eight to Gabriel Guerrero for a team-leading 97 yards.
When it comes to defense, Jaq Weinrich had two interceptions for 72 yards and a touchdown while Tyr Gunderson had one interception for a touchdown as well. The Tiger defensive unit was the MVP of the game with 14 points to lead LSU to the victory. The Tigers were an explosive offense the first few weeks but showed that they can rely on their defense to lead them to victory as Hall of Fame Athletic Director Josh Claydon is showing his game-planning versatility.
Big XII Results Week 4
Texas defeated Oklahoma 32-29
LSU defeated WVU 35-33
Texas A&M defeated Colorado 45-20
Big XII Schedule Week 5
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Texas A&M at Oklahoma 6:30 pm CST (Twitch)
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
LSU at Colorado 8:30 pm CST (Twitch)
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Texas at West Virginia 8:30 pm CST (Twitch)
Potential Big XII Game of The Week
This week will be very entertaining for the Big XII as we will see some more potential playoff seeding implications be affected this week. It feels like Texas and Oklahoma have the best shot at a top-three spot and automatic playoff bid, but that third spot is up in the air with LSU, Colorado, and Texas A&M having the best chance at it. With that being said, I am going to go with LSU at Colorado as the game of the week.
Colorado cannot afford another division loss and LSU has a chance to secure a tiebreaker against another conference foe. Will the LSU defense be able to stop Taylor James and the Buffalo offense or will Colorado show everyone how they won the conference title last season? Make sure you tune in on Monday to watch the Inside Blitz Podcast to see where each of these teams fall in the rankings and let’s keep pushing our viewership. Halfway through the season already and we will be in the playoffs before we know it.
