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| Collin Klein continued his pursuit of an undefeated season and the Heisman Trophy. (US Presswire) |
Big 12 scoreboard
No. 3 Kansas State 23, TCU 10: The Bill Snyder machine keeps on rolling. Collin Klein ran for two touchdowns and didn't do anything to hurt his Heisman campaign, but the Horned Frogs did slow the Wildcats' high-powered offense, limiting them to 266 total yards. It didn't matter. Kansas State (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) shut out TCU (6-4, 3-4) for three quarters. The Wildcats temporarily knocked TCU QB Trevone Boykin out of the game early and racked up six sacks. With top-ranked Alabama losing, Kansas State could move to the top of the BCS rankings on Sunday.
No. 25 Texas Tech 41, Kansas 34, 2 OT: The Jayhawks (1-9, 0-7 Big 12) got close again but couldn't finish, losing their 19th straight Big 12 game. Texas Tech (7-3, 4-3) went to the wildcat for the winning score. RB Eric Stephens rolled right and found Darrin Moore for a 3-yard touchdown. Kansas nearly won with only 29 passing yards thanks to 390 yards rushing. RB Tony Pierson ran for 202 yards on only 16 carries, and James Sims added 127 yards and two touchdowns. Seth Doege threw for 476 yards and three touchdowns on Texas Tech's senior day.
Oklahoma State 55, West Virginia 34: Clint Chelf waited four years to get his first start. The fourth-year junior made the most of it, throwing for 292 yards and four touchdowns. WR Josh Stewart caught 13 passes for a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns. Stewart also ran for a 41-yard TD. The Cowboys (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring West Virginia 14-0. Geno Smith had his best game in a month, throwing for 364 yards and two touchdowns. Smith couldn't do enough to prevent a fourth-straight loss for the Mountaineers (5-4, 2-4).
No. 14 Oklahoma 42, Baylor 32: Baylor was within two points late in the third quarter when Damien Williams ran for his second touchdown. The Sooners (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter when Blake Bell broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown. Landry Jones threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Florence ran for a touchdown for Baylor (4-5, 1-5), but he had his quietest passing game of the season, going 12 of 33 for 172 yards and no touchdowns.
No. 17 Texas 33, Iowa State 7: Three weeks ago, Texas nearly lost at Kansas, QB David Ash was benched and questions swirled about whether Mack Brown would coach next season. The Longhorns (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) have responded with two blowout wins, and Ash has given his coach some job security. Ash was 25 of 31 for 364 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa State. Iowa State (5-5, 2-5) struggled to move the ball, and QB Steele Jantz was picked off twice. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
Play of the day: RB Stephens' game-winning 3-yard touchdown pass. It was a creative call by Texas Tech in that spot and Stephens executed well. It was also a nice grab by Moore.
He said what?: Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville's explanation for slapping his assistant's headset off: "I just pulled him off [the field] and missed his shoulder and grabbed his -- I mean, it wasn't anything to it. It was just one of those deals where I missed his shoulder and ended up grabbing the microphone on his head set and pulled it off."
RapidReports defensive star of the day: DE Meshak Williams, Kansas State. TCU QB Boykin has to be sore after the pounding he took from Williams and the Wildcats. Williams had two of K-State's season-high six sacks. Williams also had an additional tackle for a loss and tied for the team lead with seven tackles. He has 8.5 sacks this season.
RapidReports offensive star of the day: Stewart. The Mountaineers could not cover Stewart, who is making a case the last four weeks to make the All-Big 12 team. Stewart also made the play that put the game away. On third and 10 early in the fourth quarter, he caught a crossing pattern, turned the corner along the sideline and dove from outside the 3-yard line, stretching the ball across the goal line to give West Virginia a two-touchdown lead.
His seat is getting uncomfortable: Tuberville. The Red Raiders got really close to losing their third straight after a 6-1 start. Tuberville probably survives this season because of the start, but had Tech lost to KU, the administration might have considered moving on. It also didn't help his cause that he had a sideline tantrum caught on tape (video below), which became inappropriate when he slapped his assistant's hat and headset off. His explanation (see quote above) was a pretty poor cover-up.
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A possible spot on the bench for: Jantz. Paul Rhoads might want to go back to Jared Barnett next week at Kansas. Jantz has gone 35 of 69 the past two weeks and has three interceptions and a TD in that span. Other than a 381-yard performance against Baylor, Jantz hasn't done much in Big 12 play.
Why you care about these three stat lines:
- Kansas State's two turnovers. Klein threw an interception that was K-State's first turnover since Oct. 13 against Iowa State. It was Klein's first interception in Big 12 play. The turnover against Iowa State had been K-State's only giveaway in conference play.
- The Jayhawks ran for 390 yards, the most for the school in a Big 12 game and the most since getting 418 yards against UAB in 1994. The Red Raiders' run defense has been improved, but this brought back memories of last year's Texas Tech run defense, which ranked last in the nation.
- West Virginia fumbled on special teams twice. The Cowboys turned those two turnovers into 10 points. Oklahoma State also scored on a Justin Gilbert 96-yard kickoff return.
Key number: 377. That's the average passing yards allowed by West Virginia, a number that actually went down with Oklahoma State's 292 yards Saturday. Looking for a reason why the Mountaineers have lost four straight? That's a place to start.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big 12 bloggers C.J. Moore and Patrick Southern, follow @CBSSportsBig12 on Twitter. You can also follow C.J. (@cjmoore4) and Patrick (@patricksouthern).
