This week’s slate was expected to be 2 close games and 3 blowouts. That was not the case however.
The conference games lived up to their expectations and were very close and exciting contest. While 2 of the 3 non-conference games showed major flaws.
Texas dazzles in Prime Time
Even with the loss, Spencer Sanders has exceeded expectations. As a true freshman, Sanders is performing similar to a former Cowboy as a freshman (Mason Rudolph).
Sanders played a good game, but Sam Ehlinger continues his hot streak. Ehlinger shined, finishing with 281 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Sam also rushed for 70 yards, including a 29 yard run.
The timing of the 2 INT’s from Sanders was the deciding factor in the outcome.
Oklahoma State still is a very good team and this is an encouraging performance they put on in Austin.
Texas is on a bye in week 5 as Oklahoma State gets a night game against #24 Kansas State.
Baylor survives lowly Rice
Rice had started 2019 with 3 very good opponents. It was expected coming into this contest that Rice would be looking for win #1. However, it was not expected to be a ballgame heading into the 4th quarter.
Baylor’s offense was looking just fine up 21-3 at half time. Charlie Brewer had thrown a 50 yard TD Pass to Chris Platt. He also ran one in from 25 yards out. Once the 2nd half began, the offense shut down.
Baylor struggled mightily on offense and outscored 10-0 in the 2nd half. The game became close with a 23 yard TD run by QB John Stewart.
With all of that being said, Baylor was able to win on the road where the Bears have played poor under Matt Rhule.
The Bears did accumulate over 400 yards of offense and held Rice under 100 yards in the first half. The defense saved their Bears and that alone is some positivity to take.
Their first real competition begins in Waco on Saturday against Iowa State.
West Virginia stays out of the basement
The bottom of the barrel in the conference battled it out in Lawrence, where only one could start conference 1-0.
Even though this game was sloppy as expected, West Virginia came away with the win and won’t be in last for now.
Kansas was 4-10 on 3rd down, had 4.7 ypc and turned the ball over twice. Even though West Virginia didn’t have a ton of yards, they were effective in critical situations.
WV was 50% on 3rd down and dominated time of possession. West Virginia also didn’t turn the ball over which sets up a recipe for success.
West Virginia still isn’t expected to compete for a bowl game. The progress is being seen and are in line for a surprise win this season.
West Virginia is on a bye, while Kansas travels to Fort Worth to face TCU.
TCU’s passing game is still incompetent
SMU is a really good Non-Power 5 team. And the AAC is the strongest it has ever been before. With all of that being said, TCU played it’s worst defensive game in years.
Even though SMU lost the time of possession battle, SMU still got 406 yards of offense and forced 3 turnovers. Even though they are very close to one another, this was still a home game for TCU.
What is the most alarming is the inaccuracy of Freshman Max Duggan. Alex Delton had 1 rush and that was it all game. Duggan started the game 1-11 and finished with a QBR of 39.
Duggan was able to bounce back after the struggle by going 15-25, but the damage was done.
TCU is going to have to find a decent QB in order to keep up with the other Big 12 offenses. SMU would be a middle of the road offense in the Big 12, so the defense playing so poor is pretty bad as well.
Purdy good game, Cyclones
The score may look a little bit more inflated than what it was for a half. UL Monroe had competed well until they ran out of gas. It was a 14 point game heading into half.
It went from a 14 point lead to a 52 point lead by the time 30 minutes had past.
Brock Purdy absolutely dominated the second half in every way possible.
Over 500 yards of offense and 6 TD’s did Purdy accumulate. Tarique Milton and Deshaunte Jones were impact players, combining for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 5 catches.
There were questions about the offense after 2 uninspiring games to begin the year. This game gives them a lot of optimism when they travel to Waco on Saturday.
Baylor’s defense is much better than ULM’s, but seeing explosiveness is always a good sign.
Power Rankings:
1 Oklahoma (3-0)
2 Texas (3-0)
3 Oklahoma State 3-1
4 Baylor (3-0)
5 Iowa State (4-0)
6 Kansas State (3-0)
7 TCU (2-1)
8 Texas Tech (2-1)
9 West Virginia (3-1)
10 Kansas (2-2)
Image Credit: https://www.smokingmusket.com/2019/9/21/20877685/smoking-musket-west-virginia-wvu-mountaineers-kansas-jayhawks-player-of-the-game-fan-vote
