By: David Ware (@DavidWare)
It is safe to say that the Big 12 decided to play a little trickery on the CFSL in Week 1. The conference stumbled to a (2-4) record, but the top two teams per the predictions did not win. The two teams that were expected to finish at the bottom of the division rankings are the only two teams to win this week in the conference. Let’s dig into all the chaos that the Big 12 decided to bring in the opener.
The Aggies Over Spartans, Part 2
Let’s start with Texas A&M as they hosted Michigan State and that powerhouse defense. This game turned into a defensive war with a total of 32 points scored. For Michigan State, only giving up 22 points would probably get you a win in nine out of ten weeks, but this was the one week they couldn’t get the win. Not a single wide receiver broke 100 receiving yards for either team and the Aggies held the Spartans to 331 yards of offense.
Junior Wide Receiver Buck Stackhouse had three catches for 46 yards but did reel in two touchdowns to lead the Aggies to victory. On defense, the Aggies sacked quarterback Cole Mantell six times and had 15 tackles for loss. Sophomore Defensive End Rand Rockwell led the attack with six tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks to cap off his monster performance. Breaking news to the rest of the CFSL, the Aggies’ defense will cause problems this year!
Sooner Rather Than Later
There were so many questions about Oklahoma going into this season and they came out in week one and told everyone to “hold my ….”. You can fill that in with what you want, but what you can do is say that the Sooners are going to cause problems.
Instead of running from the expectations set upon Oklahoma this year, they decided to run full steam ahead and run all over Oregon for 416 yards. The rushing attack was led by freshman quarterback Himoteo Del Este, who ran for almost as many yards as he had passed. Del Este had 215 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Halfback DJ Yost contributed 137 yards on 21 carries and William Avery had 9 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown. Even wide receiver Elija Miller had 25 rushing yards. Freshman cornerback Tyler Drake chipped in with two interceptions and a pass deflection to help seal the 45-42 win over the Ducks.
LSU Comes Close
There were a few close games in the Big 12 this week as the LSU Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Florida State 35-37 despite the valiant fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
Halfback Nas Mason had 21 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown to help lead the offense. Transfer quarterback Sean Keohane had a very solid performance as he completed 73% of his passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
The Upsets are Bigger in Texas
No disrespect to North Carolina at all, but the 48-24 whooping that they put on Texas, could be the upset of the year. The Longhorns are coming off of their second straight conference title and are the heavy favorites to win it again this year. Luckily for the Longhorns, this was an out-of-conference game, so they had plenty of time to turn the ship and get their third straight conference title.
Freshman wide receiver Charlie Jo “Just a kid from Southeastern Ohio” absolutely had a debut of dreams. Jo finished with 11 catches, 164 yards, and a touchdown. Even more impressive is that Charlie Jo had zero drops in the big lights. Senior middle linebacker Joey Dellamano did all he could on defense as he added 14 tackles, two being for a loss.
Colorado’s Fall
Colorado came out the gate full steam ahead and had a 35-21 lead at halftime over Ohio State. Unfortunately, they were outscored 38-7 in the second half and the final was 42-59 in favor of Ohio State.
Senior strong safety Ladarius Byrd showed up and showed out for the Buffalos defense, as he racked up 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, and a defensive touchdown on one of the interceptions. Byrd should be one of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Week.
Student over the Teacher
Poor West Virginia was assigned the task of the defending champions USC Trojans, and the champs do not look like they missed a beat. The Trojans’ defense kept the Mountaineers to only 262 yards of offense.
But the Mountaineer defense was a bright spot. Defensive End Caden Laben, the junior had four tackles for loss and the sack in the 44-10 loss. Sophomore Free Safety Brent Dale also added 10 tackles for West Virginia.
Week 2 Matchups
Texas vs Penn State
Monday, 6:30 PM CST on Twitch
The Longhorns do not get any reprieve this week as they travel to play Penn State, and that game should be a battle of two heavyweight champions.
LSU vs Michigan
Monday, 8:30 PM CST on Twitch
The LSU Tigers do not have it any easier this week, as they play the Michigan Wolverines and one of those two teams will be starting the season (0-2), which is crazy to think about.
West Virginia vs Virginia Tech
Wednesday, 6:30 PM CST on Twitch
This week will bring some interesting games as the much-anticipated West Virginia vs Virginia Tech game will give one of those two teams their first win of the season.
Oklahoma vs Notre Dame
Wednesday, 8:30 PM CST on YouTube
Oklahoma should be favored to win at Notre Dame. AD Dustin Hall would love nothing more than to beat his former team.
Clemson vs Texas A&M
Thursday, 6:30 PM CST on YouTube
The Aggies should be heavy favorites to beat Clemson at College Station. But if they overlook the Tigers, this could be an upset.
Miami vs Colorado
Thursday, 8:30 PM CST on Twitch
The trend of tough matchups does not stop as Colorado hosts Miami this week. Can the Buffaloes bounce back against the Hurricanes?
