Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (17) passes against SMU defenders during the second half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A quick look at the Big 12 after the first week of the college football season.
TCU: The Horned Frogs win their only decent non-conference game in a game at Minnesota. It was closer than they would have wanted and TCU failed to get style points in the win. I don’t think the Gophers are that good. QB Boykin had a so-so game with some overthrows. His running was impressive. The TCU defense is just ok with all their new starters. Grade: C
Oklahoma State: Central Michigan played with the Pokes long enough to tell Coach Gundy the team is not a world-beater right now. Mason Rudolph was on target and showed some moxie with a nice TD run. The defense did their job though they were on the field too much in the first half. The Cowboys dominated the final 27 minutes once they fell behind. Grade: C+
Texas: What a mess. Coach Strong has problems on both sides of the ball. Again, another year without a strong quarterback. Nothing will be easy this year and the Horns look like last year was not the bottom of the pit. Notre Dame is good but Texas is really bad. Grade: F
Kansas: They had their most legitimate chance to post a win this year. Losing will be a weekly endeavor and the chance to win a game will be though. The offense did put up some numbers but it was against South Dakota State. Grade: D-
Kansas State: Lackluster game in which you lose your starting quarterback. Mediocre against a lessor team from a lower Division, South Dakota. Nothing special in Manhattan Saturday. Grade: C
Texas Tech: Very disappointing on defense against Sam Houston State. Tech will see some extreme blowouts if they can’t get better on defense. Not a good performance. Grade: D
Oklahoma: First 5 possessions resulted in zilch and three 3 and outs. Then the Sooners got serious and ripped Akron. Good defense against a team that was limited in the passing game. Joe Mixon and Baker Mayfield are the real deal. But against Akron. Grade: C
Iowa State: Take the win and go on. Northern Iowa is not very good but it was a home win to build on. With the weak bottom of the conference, the Cyclones will contend, especially against Texas, Tech and Kansas. Grade: C+
Baylor: Not much different than last year. They are outstanding on offense and Russell and those back and receivers will put up a lot of scores. But the defense didn’t play well and that will cause heartache later on in this league. Grade: B
West Virginia: Good start and the directional Georgia school was not in the same class. The Mountaineers will be tested against Maryland. Grade: B+
The team of the week in the Conference goes to West Virginia with Baylor 2nd. The Texas Longhorns were the most disappointing.
Player of the week: Seth Russell, Baylor
Above picture credit: Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (17) passes against SMU defenders during the second half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
