By: David Ware (@davidware)
Well that is Different From What We Have Been Seeing
This season the Big XII has had a ton of close games that have been competitive and down to the wire. It has made for a very entertaining conference to say the least, but this week there was not a single close game. In fact, the average score was 51-23 this week, with two of the three winners eclipsing the 50-mark and the third team at it. Of the three teams that won, Oklahoma has the highest points per game in the CFSL and they only average 41.3 and that is after putting up 48 points this week. Texas A&M is at 34.6 points per game after they put up 51, and Colorado averages 38.3 after their 54-point performance this past week. All three of the winning teams had a very strong performance on both sides of the ball. The fact that all three games were decided by three scores or more is what is blowing my mind. Is this a new style we will see for the remainder of the season, or did the stars align just right for all three games to happen to fall on the same week?
Is Texas A&M Back
This week’s 51 points is the most that they have scored since last season’s playoff game against Alabama where they scored a whopping 62 points against the Crimson Tide. In fact this season, they have only broken the 40-point mark one time and it was against Colorado with their 45-20 win. The Aggies offense has not been known as high power this season and part of that is the schedule they faced at the beginning of the season. What is even crazier is that if the Aggies beat the Longhorns this week and Oklahoma loses to LSU, then the Aggies will be the Big XII champions after starting (0-4). By beating Texas, they will lock down the second seed at the minimum which is a huge accomplishment.
The Aggies had three receivers break the 100-yard mark this week and Ryan Greenfield had over 100 rushing yards as well. Buck Stackhouse had seven catches for 105 yards, Eli Riggins had 10 catches for 138 yards, and Xavier Wilson had seven catches for 102 yards. IF the Aggies can figure out how to spread the ball like this every week, they have an opportunity at another deep playoff run like they did last year. Ryu Rambo had 13 tackles last week against LSU and two for a loss. The Aggies did force two turnovers with Dillion Myles and Marcus Padgett both getting an interception.
It Feels Like We Have Seen This Before
Ever since their week one loss, Texas has been a team on a mission. They have looked as if they were going to be the Big XII champs for sure, but they say history has a way of repeating itself. Let’s take a flashback to Season 21 when the Longhorns lost week one to North Carolina 48-24. It was not the start that we thought we would see from the Longhorns and then they rip off five straight wins with only one of those being a one-score game. Entering week seven, it looked like the Longhorns would wrap up their conference and they lost by three scores to Texas A&M. If you’re a Longhorn fan though, they won in week eight last year against Oklahoma. The last three losses for Texas have resulted in a three-score win the next week, so the Aggies better be ready. The only back-to-back losses the Longhorns have had were against Alabama in the playoffs of season 20 and week one in season 21.
This week it felt like it was all Colorado as they put up 54 points against Texas this week. A huge performance from QB Sky Sanders as he had five passing touchdowns and Taylor James had two rushing touchdowns. James was a workhorse for Colorado as he had 34 carries and 142 rushing yards. Speedy Hernandez was the big weapon for Sanders as he had seven catches, 115 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. Donovan Allen also had two touchdowns for Colorado as he contributed with five catches and 75 yards.
Notable Player Performances
West Virginia QB Gunner Rice threw for 348 yards and had two touchdowns in the loss to the Sooners. Hunter Dowell had almost half of those receiving yards in his seven catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. Keith Samuels tied the West Virginia school record for third-most receptions in a game with 12 this week. He had 51 yards as a result of those receptions. Oklahoma Sooners WR Houston Begley had three catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the win over West Virginia while halfbacks DJ Yost and William Avery had 26 carries and 152 rushing yards combined. QB Himoteo Del Este had 135 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners. LSU WR Dakoda Cydrus had eight catches for 148 yards in the loss to the Aggies. Texas HB Jett Sims had a complete game with nine carries for 51 yards and 12 catches for 82 yards with one total touchdown.
Big XII Week 7 Results
Colorado defeated Texas 54-28
Oklahoma defeated West Virginia 48-28
Texas A&M defeated LSU 51-13
Big XII Week 8 Schedule
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Texas at Texas A&&M 6:30 PM CST (Twitch)
Oklahoma at LSU 6:30 PM CST (YouTube)
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Colorado at West Virginia 8:30 PM CST (Twitch)
Potential Big XII Game of the Week
The Playoffs are right around the corner, so it has to be the Texas and Texas A&M game. The winner of this game can secure the second seed at best and Texas can clinch the conference with a win. Can the Longhorns repeat their history of three-score wins after a loss or are the Aggies too much for them to handle? The Aggies will be hoping to pull off the upset so their chance to win the conference still exists.
