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BAYLOR: Baylor rebounded from an ugly loss at TCU to knock off Rice, 30-13,
and improve to 3-1. Robert Griffin had 268 passing yards and three scores in
rainy conditions. The game was delayed for about an hour, but the Bears never
lost their groove. Following the delay, they scored on each of their final
three possessions before halftime to take a 20-3 lead into the break. They
went on to out-gain Rice, 456-296. Kendall Wright was targeted early and
often, as he finished with seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Elliot Coffey led the Bears with 11 tackles, while Byron Landor
finished with 10 stops and a pair of pass breakups. Baylor returns home this
week to host Kansas.
COLORADO: Colorado was idle this past weekend. The Buffaloes will bring a 2-1
record into Saturday's showdown with Georgia at home.
IOWA STATE: The Iowa State Cyclones bounced back from consecutive losses by
blanking Northern Iowa, 27-0. It was a big day for the defense, as the
Cyclones forced five turnovers, including two interceptions that were returned
by touchdowns. Jeremy Reeves notched one on the opening drive of the second
half, covering 94 yards the other way to mark the school's longest
interception return since 1997. A.J. Klein had the other interception return,
his second straight game accomplishing the feat. ISU's last shutout also came
against UNI in the 2004 season opener. The Cyclones' special teams added a
blocked field goal in Saturday's win. Those big plays atoned for the fact that
ISU only managed 210 yards of total offense. Austen Arnaud was replaced at
quarterback by Jerome Tiller after the first series. The Cyclones play host to
Texas Tech this Saturday.
KANSAS: The Kansas Jayhawks came up with a much-needed victory as they took
down New Mexico State over the weekend in a 42-16 final. James Sims led the
offensive barrage with 16 carries for 115 yards (7.2 ypc) and two touchdowns.
Backfield mate D.J. Beshears scored twice on the ground and also had a 96-yard
kick return for a TD in the second quarter. The Jayhawks converted 8-of-13
third downs for the game and held a decisive 501-275 edge in total yards. The
team's 501 yards were a season high. Quarterback Jordan Webb finished with 249
yards and a touchdown on 17-of-27 passing. Defensively, Chris Harris, Steven
Johnson and Justin Springer all shared team-high honors with eight tackles.
The Jayhawks will try to keep the chains moving this Saturday when they travel
to Baylor.
KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats are 4-0 following Saturday's tough 17-13 win over
UCF. It marks the team's first 4-0 start since 2003. They overcame some nasty
weather to pull out the hard-fought victory, as Carson Coffman's seven-yard
scamper with 24 seconds remaining turned out to be the game-winner. That
touchdown capped a 13-play, 67-yard final drive. K-State running back Daniel
Thomas entered the weekend as the nation's second-leading rusher, but he was
bottled up for only 76 yards on 22 carries. As a team, the Wildcats had just
43 yards of offense in the first half. But the red-zone defense held strong on
a couple occasions, leading to a pair of key missed field goals by UCF kicker
Nick Cattoi. Kansas State is off this coming weekend before hosting sixth-
ranked Nebraska on October 7th.
MISSOURI: The Missouri Tigers cruised past Miami-Ohio, 51-13, to improve to
4-0 on the young season. The very first play dictated what kind of game it was
going to be, as Missouri's Carl Gettis returned a fumble for a touchdown to
stake his team an early 7-0 lead. In all, seven different players went on to
score touchdowns for the Tigers. It was a stark contrast from their previous
game, when they needed a last-minute touchdown to stave off San Diego State.
Blaine Gabbert led the way with 187 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-21 passing.
It is the fifth straight year Missouri finished its pre-Big 12 schedule
unbeaten. In fact, the Tigers have won 21 straight non-conference regular
season games dating back to 2005. They are off this week before hosting
Colorado in their conference opener on October 9th.
NEBRASKA: Sixth-ranked Nebraska had a much tougher time than was expected
against South Dakota State over the weekend, although the Cornhuskers did
manage a 17-3 victory. After the game, head coach Bo Pelini said he was
embarrassed by the effort at home and took the blame himself. Taylor Martinez
had a forgettable day at quarterback, completing only 6-of-14 passes for 140
yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. However, he did flash his
vintage athleticism to finish with a team-high 75 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Linebacker Lavonte David was a wrecking ball with 19 tackles, which tied for
seventh on NU's single-game list. In addition, Alfonzo Dennard and P.J. Smith
both recorded their third interceptions of the year. The Huskers will have a
week to regroup as they are idle this weekend, then will take on Kansas State
next Thursday night.
OKLAHOMA: The No. 8 Sooners escaped with a narrow victory for the second
straight week, as they slipped past Cincinnati, 31-29. The Sooners are 4-0,
although three of those wins have come by a touchdown or less. This time,
Landry Jones threw a fourth-quarter interception that kept the Bearcats
hanging around until the very end, but the OU defense stood strong. Jones
completed a career-high 36-of-51 passes for 370 yards and two TDs. Ryan
Broyles had 10 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in the win. The Sooners
took advantage of a couple of mistakes by Cincinnati's D.J. Woods, who lost a
fumble at the five-yard line and also fumbled away a punt at the UC seven-yard
line to set the Sooners up with an easy score. Next on the docket for OU is
the annual rivalry game with Texas this Saturday.
OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys were off this past weekend following their 3-0
start. They'll look to keep their high-flying offense in gear this Thursday
night when they take on Texas A&M at home.
TEXAS: The Longhorns threw in a clunker in Saturday's 34-12 loss at home to
UCLA. As a result, Texas dropped 14 spots all the way to No. 21 in the recent
AP poll. That snaps a streak of 36 straight polls in the top-10, which was
the longest active streak in the nation. It also marks the school's first home
loss since 2007 against Kansas State. The Texas defense was gashed time and
again by the UCLA running game, as 264 of the Bruins' 291 total yards came on
the ground. On the other side of the ball, the Longhorns lost a couple of
fumbles in their own territory to set UCLA up for scores. Garrett Gilbert
completed 30-of-45 passes for Texas, finishing with 264 yards with one
touchdown and one interception. D.J. Monroe led the team with 51 rushing
yards, although 23 came on one carry. The Longhorns will try to pick
themselves up off the canvas this weekend when they take on eighth-ranked
Oklahoma.
TEXAS A&M: The Aggies were idle this past weekend. They'll bring a 3-0 record
into Thursday night's clash at Oklahoma State.
TEXAS TECH: Texas Tech was idle this past weekend. The Red Raiders dropped to
2-1 following a 24-14 loss at home to Texas the previous week. They'll travel
to Iowa State this Saturday.