Stunned in Stillwater: TCU upsets Oklahoma State on the road
RELATED ARTICLES: G5 TOP 4, CFP TEAMS, GOPHER UPDATE, W5 PREVIEW
FINAL THOUGHTS FROM WEEK 4
Could we be enduring the downfall of the SEC? Probably not, but there are some concerning signs from the conference. At least one, if not more, team has struggled each week from the conference, and Week 4 added to that total. Tennessee struggled to put away 0-4 UMass, and won 17-13. LSU was ahead comfortably against Syracuse, but had to hang on to win 35-26. The Tigers have also been without running back Derrius Guice due to injuries. Then, South Carolina needed a last-second comeback just to beat Louisiana Tech 17-16. It's only a month in, but there have been plenty of reasons to doubt this conference so far.
Baker Mayfield decided that talking trash to Baylor was really important. Oklahoma's quarterback met with some Baylor players at midfield during warmups, and proclaimed, "You forgot who daddy is. I'm going to have to spank you." As the kids say, smh. Like why? Just why? First of all, it's just an awkward thing to say to someone. But, more importantly, what's the point? All you do is get a team that shouldn't compete with you more fired up. And it helped the Bears hang on in the end. Mayfield wasn't affected much by the Bears, but his comments were just unnecessary. Now, we have to relive his comments every week we talk about Oklahoma.
Iowa has the most underrated defense in the country. Yes, I understand that Penn State running back Saquon Barkley accounted for 305 yards, but the Nittany Lions could only manage five points against Iowa in the first half. The Hawkeyes literally did everything they could to win this game, and had a 19-15 lead with 1:42 left in the game. Penn State would drive down to win on a last second touchdown pass, but Iowa should be thrilled about their performance. Linebacker Josey Jewell is arguably the best linebacker in the country and his stats (below) echo that sentiment.
Kentucky decided defense was optional on the most important play of the game. The Wildcats were doing so well, until confusion kicked in, resulting in this play. Notice how wide open the receiver is.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa- 16 tackles, three tackles for loss and two passes defended. What more do you want him to do? Jewell was everywhere on Saturday night, and did everything in his power to keep the Hawkeyes in the game.
Khalil Herbert, RB, Kansas- 291 yards in a losing effort isn't something to hang your head about, but I'm sure Herbert would have rather won the game instead. The fact that Kansas still lost by 22 proves that their are other issues on the team.
Davon Grayson, WR, ECU- Well, ECU may be bad, but at least they can beat another bad team. Grayson caught 11 passes for 223 yards and three scores to help give the Pirates their first win of the season over UConn.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Houston was never out of this game, but they were never really in it at the same time. The Cougars defense continued to compete with any competition, and was really the only reason why Houston was in the game. There were only a few plays in which the defense let up big yardage, but that had more to do with the fact that they were on the field way too much. Why were they on the field for so long? The offense couldn't do much.
Quarterback Kyle Allen struggled mightily on Saturday, and the Cougars had five turnovers and committed penalties that killed drives as well. The offense didn't show any spark until Kyle Postma took over at quarterback, and it was too late at that point. It's safe to say a quarterback battle in looming this week, and the Cougars will need better play at that position going forward. Now, quarterback play wasn't the only problem for Houston, but it was the most obvious deficiency on Saturday.
Let's not forget the shocking performance by Texas Tech's defense through three quarters. The Red Raiders stifled Houston drives all day, and it wasn't until Housotn was in desperation that they yielded bigger plays. If they can continue this type of defense, the Red Raiders could be a competitor in the Big 12. The offense also showed that they are more than just a passing attack as the running game actually looked better than their passing game.
Usually when James Washington gets going, the other team is in trouble. The Cowboys receiver had an 86 yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Boone Pickens Stadium was rocking. But TCU kept competing, and would eventually pull away from the Pokes.
Kenny Hill didn't have his best game for the Horned Frogs, but he did enough to keep them in the game. TCU's rushing attack took over, finishing with four scores, and the defense forced four turnovers. It appears that the Horned Frogs and Oklahoma are now the frontrunners for the conference, but that doesn't mean Oklahoma State is out of the running. With the Big 12 now having a conference championship game, a one loss team seemingly still has a chance at a playoff run as well as a conference championship.
Oklahoma State's offense is still one of the best in the nation despite not winning this game. It's their defense that needs to step up. While the offense had four turnovers, the defense allowed 44 points and didn't have an answer for Horned Frogs running back Darius Anderson. It's safe to say the Big 12 will be wild this year once again, so that should give Cowboys' fans plenty to be hopeful about.
Wow, I certainly didn't expect this. Georgia's defense was good, but I still expected Nick Fitzgerald to play well. That wasn't the case as he went 14-for-29 for just 83 yards and two interceptions. Mississippi State also couldn't stop Georgia's rushing attack, and the game got out of their reach.
Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm only threw 12 passes, but he completed nine of them for 201 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs also let Nick Chubb take some snaps to give Mississippi State a different look, and it was lethal. Chubb finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns, and his team rushed for 203 yards in the game.
So what does this mean for these two teams? For Mississippi State, they can't dwell on what it mean, because they have Auburn this week. Dan Mullen's team will certainly hope for a better showing this week, but there are still things to fix going forward. Georgia appears to be heading towards and SEC East crown, but they won't be satisfied with just that. There isn't another team that has been nearly as impressive as the Bulldogs, so at this point the division is theirs to lose.
Washington has been flying under the radar all season, which is scary to think considering their the seventh best team in the nation. They faced a Colorado team that was looking for revenge after last year's poor showing, but it didn't seem to faze the Huskies.
With concerns about the secondary arising in the offseason, Washington eased those concerns by intercepting three Steven Montez passes. The defense also held the Buffaloes to just three points in the second half, and let the offense pull away after leading 10-7 at halftime. Speaking of other concerns, running back Myles Gaskin shattered any doubt about his abilities this game. The junior ran for 202 yards and two scores to pace the Huskies offense. Washington's domination so far should make them the top team in the conference with USC's struggles so far.
For Colorado, all is not lost. They showed that they're still a competitive team in the Pac 12, and the fact that they were in this game shows how far the program still is from where it was. Last year was a breakthrough year for Mike MacIntyre's team, but they're not just a one year wonder. Montez didn't have the best night, but he showed flashes of how good he can be. Plus, a team with Phillip Lindsay is going to be alright. It's still early in the year, and the Buffs will need to regroup for their road trip to UCLA this week
