Big 12 Conference News and Notes

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BAYLOR: The Baylor Bears suffered their first lost of the season this past Saturday, as they were steamrolled at fourth-ranked TCU, 45-10. The Baylor defense didn't have much success against the run or the pass, as Horned Frogs' quarterback Andy Dalton set a single-game school record by completing 21-of-23 passes for 267 yards and two scores, while Ed Wesley racked up 165 rushing yards on 19 carries. Baylor allowed touchdowns on each of TCU's first five drives. For the Bears, Robert Griffin finished with 164 yards passing and one touchdown. Baylor is now 2-48 against ranked teams since the inception of the Big 12 back in 1996. The Bears will play at Rice this Saturday night.

COLORADO: After getting off to a slow start, Colorado rallied in the second half to take down Hawaii at home, 31-13. The Buffaloes went into the half trailing 10-0, but opened the second half with a long scoring drive that turned the momentum. Rodney Stewart ran for 106 yards and two scores, while Brian Lockridge finished with 109 yards on the ground. Overall it was a solid rebound from the 52-7 trouncing at the hands of California a week earlier. Tyler Hanson completed 19-of-26 passes for 200 yards against the Warriors, throwing one touchdown pass each to Scotty McKnight and Toney Clemons. The Buffs were 10-of-14 on third down for the game. The team is off this weekend and will resume action on October 2nd at home against Georgia.

IOWA STATE: The Cyclones coughed up a fourth-quarter lead and dropped a 27-20 decision to Kansas State in the Big 12 opener for both teams. ISU drove down to the KSU 36-yard line on its final drive, but could not find the end zone. Austen Arnaud finished with only 122 yards on 15-of-27 passing as he was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury, though he was able to return for the final drive. Coach Paul Rhoads said after the game that Arnaud is ok. Alexander Robinson picked up 82 rushing yards on 19 carries, however he was not able to keep pace with K-State's star tailback Daniel Thomas, who carried 34 times for 181 yards and two scores. The Cyclones return to Ames to host Northern Iowa this Saturday night, marking the first of three straight home games.

KANSAS: If the first few weeks are any indication, the Kansas Jayhawks appear to be headed toward a long season. Kansas traveled to Southern Miss last Friday night and wound up with a 31-16 loss to drop to 1-2. The Jayhawks opened their season with an ugly 6-3 loss at home to FCS foe North Dakota State, then managed to knock off nationally-ranked Georgia Tech the following week. On Friday, Kansas trailed 21-3 at the half and was never able to cut the margin to single digits the rest of the way. Jordan Webb was sacked four times and finished with 138 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-26 passing, while James Sims carried 20 times for 74 yards. The Jayhawks will host New Mexico State this Friday night before traveling to Baylor the following weekend to open Big 12 play.

KANSAS STATE: Kansas State moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2006 with Saturday's 27-20 victory over Iowa State. The Wildcats trailed 20-17 with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter before rallying for 10 unanswered points to secure the win. Running back Daniel Thomas continued his torrid start to the season, rushing for 181 yards and two scores on a career-high 34 carries. His two-yard touchdown run with 6:47 remaining put K-State on top, 24-20. Brandon Harold came up with a big sack and fumble recovery with 1:58 left to set up a 42-yard field goal that gave the Wildcats a seven-point lead. The Wildcat defense held ISU to 293 total yards for the game. Kansas State hosts UCF on Saturday night before getting a bye the following weekend.

MISSOURI: The Tigers are 3-0 after rallying to beat San Diego State, 27-24, this past weekend. Blaine Gabbert and T.J. Moe connected on a 68-yard scoring strike with under a minute remaining to lift Missouri to the narrow victory. Moe caught the ball in the flat and then put a move on a defender to clear a path to the end zone in front of a raucous Tigers' bench. While the Tigers will certainly take the win, they've got a lot to clean up on the defensive side of the ball. SDSU freshman Ronnie Hillman rumbled for a career-high 235 yards and scored on runs of 75 and 93 yards. For Missouri, Gabbert finished with 351 yards passing and a touchdown on the ground, however, he also threw two interceptions in the final five minutes. Mizzou resumes action this Saturday against Miami-Ohio.

NEBRASKA: The sixth-ranked Cornhuskers remained perfect on the season following Saturday's 56-21 rout at Washington. After just five offensive plays, the Huskers had built themselves a quick 14-0 lead. They also scored two TDs on the first five offensive plays of the second half. Nebraska mounted 533 yards of total offense for the game, including 383 on the ground. Freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez continued his impressive start, rushing for 137 yards and three TDs on 19 carries. Roy Helu Jr. (110 yds, two TDs) and Rex Burkhead (104 yds, one TD) also went over the century mark, giving the Huskers three 100-yard rushers in the same game for only the fourth time in school history. Martinez now has three straight 100-yard rushing performances to start his career -- a feat matched only by Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch at NU. The Huskers will take on South Dakota State at home this Saturday.

OKLAHOMA: The Sooners had to scratch and claw their way to a 27-24 victory over Air Force on Saturday night. With the win, OU extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 33 games. DeMarco Murray got the game ball for his offensive performance, which included 110 rushing yards and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving). His 17-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter proved to be the difference. Ryan Broyles had 116 yards receiving, marking his sixth straight game with at least 100 yards. However, the Sooner defense had its share of problems trying to slow the Air Force ground game, which racked up 351 yards (5.6 ypc) and three scores. The Falcons converted 11-of-18 third downs en route to a nearly 10-minute edge in time of possession. Oklahoma travels to Cincinnati this Saturday.

OKLAHOMA STATE: The high-flying Cowboys continued to roll as they notched a 65-28 win over Tulsa on Saturday night. Oklahoma State has now scored 65, 41 and 65 points, respectively in its three victories thus far. In the victory, the Cowboys set a school record with 722 yards of total offense, breaking the previous mark of 717 set by Heisman winner Barry Sanders' 1988 squad. Quarterback Brandon Weeden had a monster day, throwing for 409 yards and six TDs before giving way to backup Clint Chelf in the third quarter. Justin Blackmoon finished with six catches for 174 yards and three scores in the win. He has already caught eight touchdowns through just three games and is averaging 143.7 receiving yards per contest. Oklahoma State is off this weekend then will host Texas A&M next Thursday night.

TEXAS: The Longhorns traveled to Texas Tech and dealt the Red Raiders a 24-14 loss on Saturday night. Texas is ranked seventh in the AP poll, and has received one first-place vote. Garrett Gilbert threw for 227 yards and two TDs, though he also threw three interceptions. Texas capped the victory with a 22-play drive that ate up more than nine minutes in the fourth quarter. The drive was kept alive with a successful fake punt on 4th-and-1 from Texas' own 29. The Longhorns managed to win despite a shaky offensive performance, which included four turnovers. One of those was on an interception by Gilbert which was returned 87 yards the other way for a score. However, the 'Horns also got 10 points off two Texas Tech turnovers. Texas is back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against UCLA.

TEXAS A&M: The Aggies are 3-0 following Saturday's 27-20 victory over Florida International. Anything but a 3-0 start would have been a disappointment, as Texas A&M's other victories came against Stephen F. Austin and Louisiana Tech. Cyrus Gray scored the deciding touchdown on a 40-yard scamper with four-and-a- half minutes to play, and the defense came up with a big stop on fourth down from its own 7-yard line to secure the victory. The win atones for an awful day for Aggies' quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who threw interceptions on each of A&M's first four possessions of the second half. He was also sacked six times. The Aggies trailed 20-6 entering the fourth quarter before rallying. Christine Michael headlined the offense with 119 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while Gray finished with 85 yards and a touchdown on nine totes. A&M is off this week, playing next at Oklahoma State a week from Thursday.

TEXAS TECH: The Red Raiders suffered their first loss of the season after falling to Texas, 24-14. Taylor Potts completed 21-of-35 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, as he was never able to settle into a rhythm. On the team's first play from scrimmage, a bad snap was recovered by Texas on the Red Raiders' 7-yard line, which set up a Longhorns' score on the very next play. Potts was briefly knocked out of the game with an apparent injury to his right hand, though he was able to return. Defensively, cornerback Jarvis Phillips had two interceptions on the day, including one that he returned 87 yards for a score. However, the defense allowed a clock- killing 22-play drive that ate up nine minutes in the fourth quarter and sapped the energy from the Red Raiders. Texas Tech is off this weekend and will pick up play on October 2nd at Iowa State.



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