National and Local Media Ready to Throw Dirt on the Big 12 (and Any Team Other Than UT or OU)
STILLWATER -- When the Big 12 Conference formed in a hotel room near Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City back in February of 1994, it was then University of Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds and University of Oklahoma athletic director Donnie Duncan leading the charge. The Longhorns and Sooners were the heavyweights in the new conference that is now 25-years-old.
In the eyes of many of the sports media, nothing has changed. The other, currently eight schools, are kind of window dressing for the blue-bloods from Austin and Norman. The problem right now in 2020 is three games into the season the blue-bloods are preparing to meet in what looks like an elimination game for contention to win the Big 12. Oklahoma is 1-2 after losing its' first two Big 12 games and falling out of the Top 25 polls for the first time since 2016. Texas is 2-1, but a second Big 12 loss this early would put the Longhorns hopes of playing for the Big 12 Championship in jeopardy.
On the Big 12 coaches conference call Monday, the first question for Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, who has his team 3-0 and ranked No. 10 in both the polls, was whether he thought the losses by Oklahoma and Texas would hurt the chances of any other team in the league to make the College Football Playoff.
“We’re a long ways away from that, so much uncertainty with the virus, testing and things,” Gundy answered the inquiry from Heather Dinich of ESPN. “The attitude of our team is really good at this time. The chemistry of the team, the cohesiveness and the ingredients that you have to have to get into double-digit wins are there. It's just a matter of us putting the work in, staying healthy, and coaches putting the players in a position for the players to have success.”
Shortly after the Dinich question, the same type question came from a source closer to home in Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman. With Texas and Oklahoma scuffling and one put really behind the eight ball after they meet Saturday in the Cotton Bowl, could that doom the chances of his team or the team that wins the Big 12?
“A lot of it comes from social media, these people love to criticize and be critical and that is what’s happening now, the word is of the Big 12,” Gundy said confirming he doesn't pay attention to any of that. “We’re just doing everything we can to play the next game. We don’t ever think too far ahead. Teams are capable of winning and teams are capable of losing in this league. When you throw the virus into it and how it can affect you week-to-week, there’s no telling what direction anybody is going to go.”
Oklahoma State is doing most of its' damage so far with lots of defense. The Cowboys defenders are first in the Big 12 and No. 6 in the nation in scoring defense allowing 9.0 a game. They are second in the Big 12 and seventh in the nation in total defense allowing 274.3-yards a game. Oklahoma State is really stingy on defense when it is third down allowing just 16% of third downs to be converted by opposing offenses. That mark is tops in the Big 12 and the nation.
Now, the offense had it's best day at Kansas picking up more explosive plays after three starters including quarterback Spencer Sanders in the opening game. The offense exploded for 593-yards, 295-yards rushing and 298-yards passing.
“They’re pretty good,” Kansas head coach Les Miles said when asked on the conference call. Of course, Miles was the head coach at Oklahoma State before Gundy and the current OSU head coach was Miles' offensive coordinator. Gundy could have had his team score a lot more on Saturday, but he subbed very liberally early in the third quarter of the 47-7 win.
“Their talent seems like certainly they have a nice running back, good quarterbacks and their stature, height, is very good," Miles added. "I think Mike’s doing a good job. I think that they will be a team that could easily play for the conference. There’s a lot of time between now and then, but he can give them a chance to play for the championship.”
Back to the subject of the Big 12 and it's reputation and CFP stature totally relying on Oklahoma and Texas. Let's remember that Oklahoma has been in the playoff four of the six-years and has been the only representative the conference has had. They have been beaten each year in the semifinal and only one of those, Georgia in overtime in 2017, was really competitive.
Maybe the media should quit thinking that the football sun in the Big 12 on rises and sets in Austin and Norman.
“It really bothers me that we’ve based everything that whether our league is good or bad, or not, on whether Oklahoma and Texas are good,” expressed TCU head coach Gary Patterson, who guided his team to a win Saturday over Texas. “To be honest with you, we have a lot of good football teams, and we always have had a lot of good football teams."
Patterson is always pretty direct. Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman will coach against Patterson on this coming Saturday. K-State is 2-1 with wins over Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Klieman is more like Gundy with his answer, worry about your team.
“To be honest with you, we have enough of our own things that we have to keep under our control under our hat. So, we focus on Kansas State and I don't pay that much attention to what else is going on in our league,” Klieman said.
One of those things is the health of their quarterback as senior Skyler Thompson came out of the game with Texas Tech in the first half with an arm or shoulder injury. In a battle in the second half of back-up quarterbacks, Kansas State won 31-21.
“I don't have enough data on Skyler, nothing was broken, which was good then," Klieman said of his starter. "And that was just on an X-ray yesterday. So, we're doing some more tests today. But there's no fracture. So that's, that's a positive sign for Skylar. I think he could play Saturday."
Texas Tech is 1-2 losing both Big 12 games to Texas and then Kansas State. Alan Bowman has been injured every season he has been at Tech. He went down in the first quarter when Wildcat defensive end Khalid Duke came around the edge and delivered a low hit to his legs.. It looked like it might be really serious, but Red Raiders head coach Matt Wells was optimistic.
“Nothing’s broke. Nothing’s fractured. He’s day-to-day,” Wells said of Bowman.
Oklahoma State, Baylor, West Virginia, and Kansas are on the sidelines this weekend with a bye. Besides Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl against Texas, TCU is at Kansas State and Texas Tech is at Iowa State.
