By: David Ware (@davidware)
Making a Fashionable Entrance
We all know that Josh Claydon (aka Wookie) has a little flair for dramatics. LSU matched up this week against the very loud and proud Clemson Tigers in what would be a battle for Death Valley. It did not disappoint at all.
Clemson held a lead at halftime and one point in the third quarter Clemson was up by 18 points. This is where you read the cliff notes of “Josh Claydon the HOF AD enters here”, as he brought his team back to take the lead with a mere 0:59 seconds left in the fourth quarter! It was third and goal-to-go at the two-yard line and junior Halfback Nas Mason took the pitch and ran left for the go-ahead touchdown. LSU won 49-42, giving Wookie a win in his re-debut. And it came against the first team he played for back in Season 8.
LSU put up 715 yards of offense behind sophomore Quarterback Tavon Moss, who completed 33 of 52 passes for 624 yards and four touchdowns. If you have to find a flaw with his game it would have to be the two interceptions he threw, but overall a great performance from Moss. Wide receivers Nasir Pope, Dakoda Cydrus, and Gabriel Guerrero all had over 136 yards and at least one touchdown. Cydrus had 200 yards and two touchdowns to set personal bests for both stats.
Freshman Linebacker Billy Balla had a fantastic debut as he piled up 12 tackles and three for a loss to help lead the Tigers’ defense to victory.
Smooth and Steady Wins the Race
The Oklahoma Sooners caught everyone by storm last season with their incredible start to the season. This season all eyes are on the Sooners after a great offseason. Oklahoma, led by Sophomore Himoteo Del Este, scored a touchdown in all four quarters against Virginia Tech. However, Virginia Tech gave them all they could. Oklahoma held on for a slim 37-34 win.
Del Este had 372 passing yards and 56 rushing yards to help lead the offense. Transfer Wide Receiver Malachi Cobb had a huge impact with five catches for 143 yards and was the top target for the Sooners. The offense was not super flashy but very effective mixing the passing game and running game up.
It was the defense for the Sooners that was put to the test late in the fourth quarter as Virginia Tech tried to make one last drive to tie or win the game in regulation. It was the junior Kaleb Allen who got a hit on the quarterback and forced the final punt from the Hokies with 2:53 left in the game. Virginia Tech never got the ball back.
The secondary had two huge performances as Brian Singletary and Maverick Sanders both showed up to play Singletary had eight tackles while Sanders had a team-leading nine tackles.
Big 12 Week 1 Results
Texas A&M falls to USC 23-28
Texas falls to UNC 31-63
Colorado falls to Ohio State 24-41
West Virginia falls to Oregon 11-34
Oklahoma defeats Virginia Tech 37-34
LSU defeats Clemson 49-45
Big 12 finished with a 2-4 record this week in OOC play
Big 12 Week 2 Schedule
Monday, January 13, 2025
Miami at Texas A&M 8:30 pm CST (Twitch)
Wednesday, January 15, 20
Florida at Oklahoma 6:30 pm CST (YouTube)
Michigan at LSU 8:30 pm CST (Twitch)
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Colorado at Kentucky 8:30 pm CST (Twitch)
Notre Dame at West Virginia 8:30 pm CST (YouTube)
Potential Big 12 Game of the Week
Monday night we will see Texas A&M, who lost a very tough battle to the defending champions in week one, face Miami who needed two overtimes to take down the Kentucky Wildcats. This game has all the makings for an offensive shootout. I hope the stadium officials at College Station are ready for all the fireworks that will be used. This game is sure to light up the scoreboard and keep the CFSL nation on the edge of their seats as veteran AD George Yost and his Miami Hurricanes will give AD Kade Padgett and his Aggies all they can take. The question will be who gets the ball last!
