By Jacob Seliga
College Football Writer
Week 3 of the college football season has come and gone. With that, for all but two teams in the Big 12 conference, that means it’s time for conference play to kickoff.
But last week saw a unique ending to non-conference play for most and a wildly entertaining start to conference play for some, this is the Big 12 week in review.
Kansas State is the No. 1 team
We saw a clear separation finally appear at the top of the conference between the top tier teams and the rest of the pack this past weekend.
Kansas State absolutely dominated the visiting Arizona Wildcats, 31-7, behind a ferocious and opportunistic defense that held Arizona to its worst offensive performance in the last season and change. For the Purple and White Wildcats, the game was clicking in all three phases as the special teams unit, led by return man Dylan Edwards, scored a 71-yard touchdown that gave Kansas State a lead they would not relinquish.
For Arizona, this game showcased the flaws of Dino Babers as an offensive play caller. The Red and Blue Wildcats for the second week in a row could not get anything going offensively outside of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. And for a team that looked to build upon a 10-win 2023 season, the season looks like it could get out of hand quickly if they do not fix the issue.
A “Golden” comeback
UCF in the third quarter of its matchup against TCU found itself trailing 28-7 after four punts and two blocked field goals that led to two Horned Frog touchdowns.
The Knights, however, were not determined to lose this game. Arkansas transfer KJ Jefferson connected with wide receiver Kobe Hudson for two touchdowns, as potential conference player of the year RJ Harvey rushed for two touchdowns and a bulk of his 180 yards during the second half. In a twist of irony, TCU’s field goal attempt at the end of regulation was no good. Great special teams defense by the Horned Frogs was stopped by their own offensive unit.
The preseason “Cinderellas” have hit midnight
Prior to the start of the season, the two biggest “Cinderella” teams and potential dark horses by most pundits were the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Kansas Jayhawks. Through three games, both squads have fallen short of expectations.
Kansas, for the second week in a row, shot itself in the foot with turnovers as Jalon Daniels continues to throw more interceptions than touchdowns as an opportunistic UNLV squad went to Kansas City and knocked off the Jayhawks in a rematch of last season’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
West Virginia faced off against Pitt in the “Backyard Brawl” rivalry game and led 34-24 over the Panthers with under five minutes left in the game. West Virginia then proceeded to concede a touchdown, punt the ball, concede another touchdown, then turned the ball over on downs to end the game. Prior to last season, Neil Brown was considered to be on the hot seat and following this loss he might be heading towards it again.
Big-12 Game of the Week: No. 12 Utah at No. 14 Oklahoma State, 1 PM, Fox
In a potential conference championship preview, No. 12 Utah will travel to Stillwater and face the Cowboys in what may be the national game of the week.
The big wild card in this matchup will be the status of Utah quarterback Cam Rising, who missed the Utes matchup against in-state rival Utah State on Saturday. Isaac Wilson led the Utes offense in place of Rising and threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns. The other wild card will be whether or not Cowboy running back Ollie Gordon can hit his stride. Through three games, Gordon has only rushed for 216 yards on 3.5 yards per carry and hasn’t looked like the Heisman trophy caliber player he should be.
This game is massive, as both have tough matchups next week with the Utes hosting Arizona and the Cowboys facing Kansas State following this game.
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