• 1. All the presumed contenders have warts. We didn't know that. We didn't even know it would be possible to find warts on Baylor and OSU, since their non-conference schedules are so soft.
Baylor gave up three touchdowns in the first 21 minutes against SMU, before spurting to a 56-21 victory. Turns out SMU is much better, having given TCU a scare Saturday night. The Frogs won 56-37, but it was 42-37 midway through the fourth quarter.
So we'll cut Baylor some slack for SMU. But Lamar? The I-AA Cardinals were tied at 21 with Baylor in the second quarter, and the final, 66-31, doesn't portend well for Baylor. TCU, too, has defensive concerns, both with injury and with performance.
OU's 52-38 victory over Tulsa wiped out much of the defensive optimism forged at Tennessee.
OSU's defense looks strong, but the Cowboys are having offensive line problems, same as OU. Both blocked better Saturday, but you'd expect that against Tulsa and Texas-San Antonio.
• 2. The middle cluster is weaker than we thought. West Virginia, Texas and Kansas State were picked fifth through seventh, in some order. The Mountaineers have been impressive but against inferior competition. K-State and Texas both have struggled.
The Wildcats are 3-0, but only after losing quarterback Jesse Ertz and needing three overtimes to jettison Louisiana Tech. Texas is 1-2, and it's been a volatile September. The Longhorns have benched a quarterback, demoted an offensive coordinator and fired an athletic director. What's next? Sawing off Bevo's horns?
But UT at least appeared to find a quarterback, redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard, in its 45-44 loss to California on Saturday night. Heard had 527 total yards against the Golden Bears; that's Baker Mayfield territory (572 vs. Tulsa).
• 3. Texas Tech is better than we thought. The Red Raiders have not been much of a force since Mike Leach's 2009 departure. OU and OSU were a combined 2-9 in Lubbock from 1999-2009. They are a combined 5-0 since, all the wins by double digits. But Tech's 35-24 win at Arkansas shows that Kliff Kingsbury's rebuilding project is advancing.
• 4. Big 12 quarterbacking is better than we thought. OU's Mayfield and Tech's Patrick Mahomes have gone from question marks to impact players. West Virginia's Skylar Howard has shown signs of being a star. OSU's Mason Rudolph has been rock solid. TCU's Trevone Boykin remains a Heisman candidate. Plus Heard has emerged at Texas.
Maybe the biggest surprise has been the struggles of Baylor's Seth Russell, who has completed less than 60 percent of his passes, with four interceptions, against SMU and Lamar. That's not up to Baylor's standard.
http://newsok.com/tramel-four-things-weve-learned-about-big-12-football/article/5448240
Baylor gave up three touchdowns in the first 21 minutes against SMU, before spurting to a 56-21 victory. Turns out SMU is much better, having given TCU a scare Saturday night. The Frogs won 56-37, but it was 42-37 midway through the fourth quarter.
So we'll cut Baylor some slack for SMU. But Lamar? The I-AA Cardinals were tied at 21 with Baylor in the second quarter, and the final, 66-31, doesn't portend well for Baylor. TCU, too, has defensive concerns, both with injury and with performance.
OU's 52-38 victory over Tulsa wiped out much of the defensive optimism forged at Tennessee.
OSU's defense looks strong, but the Cowboys are having offensive line problems, same as OU. Both blocked better Saturday, but you'd expect that against Tulsa and Texas-San Antonio.
• 2. The middle cluster is weaker than we thought. West Virginia, Texas and Kansas State were picked fifth through seventh, in some order. The Mountaineers have been impressive but against inferior competition. K-State and Texas both have struggled.
The Wildcats are 3-0, but only after losing quarterback Jesse Ertz and needing three overtimes to jettison Louisiana Tech. Texas is 1-2, and it's been a volatile September. The Longhorns have benched a quarterback, demoted an offensive coordinator and fired an athletic director. What's next? Sawing off Bevo's horns?
But UT at least appeared to find a quarterback, redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard, in its 45-44 loss to California on Saturday night. Heard had 527 total yards against the Golden Bears; that's Baker Mayfield territory (572 vs. Tulsa).
• 3. Texas Tech is better than we thought. The Red Raiders have not been much of a force since Mike Leach's 2009 departure. OU and OSU were a combined 2-9 in Lubbock from 1999-2009. They are a combined 5-0 since, all the wins by double digits. But Tech's 35-24 win at Arkansas shows that Kliff Kingsbury's rebuilding project is advancing.
• 4. Big 12 quarterbacking is better than we thought. OU's Mayfield and Tech's Patrick Mahomes have gone from question marks to impact players. West Virginia's Skylar Howard has shown signs of being a star. OSU's Mason Rudolph has been rock solid. TCU's Trevone Boykin remains a Heisman candidate. Plus Heard has emerged at Texas.
Maybe the biggest surprise has been the struggles of Baylor's Seth Russell, who has completed less than 60 percent of his passes, with four interceptions, against SMU and Lamar. That's not up to Baylor's standard.
http://newsok.com/tramel-four-things-weve-learned-about-big-12-football/article/5448240
