Lessons from last week’s Big 12 action
Here’s a look at what’s happening around the Big 12 as we head into Week 8 of college football action.
Houston hysteria
West Virginia and Houston proved a valuable point to the world on week ago: You should never underestimate a single Big 12 matchup.
This is the conference of chaos, after all. It will take your expectations, guarantees and inevitabilities and tear them to shreds right in front of you.
Such was the case when the ground-and-pound Mountaineers visited a mediocre Cougars team still searching for its first league win. Nothing about this pairing jumped off the page as particularly exciting, so naturally it wound up turning into the Big 12’s thriller of the year.
Remember that exciting Red River Showdown two weeks ago? This game made it look like a PBS telethon. West Virginia and Houston traded leads on 10 separate occasions, combining for 10 touchdowns and 80 points on the night to swamp the projected over/under by more than 30. Nice try Vegas, but this chaotic conference laughs at your foolish odds.
Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers stormed back for two touchdowns, the latter of which was a fourth-down, 50-yard stunner that enabled the team to take the lead with 12 seconds remaining. This was West Virginia, the supposed team of destiny, after all. Neal Brown’s squad seemed to always find a way to sneak by.
These sneaky Mountaineers couldn’t elude the referees, however, and were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct — quarterback Garrett Greene removed his helmet in celebration following the go-ahead score — to spot the Cougars a free 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff.
Whatever. Unless you’re Patrick Mahomes, 12 seconds is nothing, right?
Yogi Berra said it best: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Houston had enough time to run two plays. As the clock hit zero, quarterback Donovan Smith launched a prayer deep to the end zone, where the ball was batted around and snatched by Stephon Johnson for a 49-yard Hail Mary. Ballgame.
Final score: Houston 41, West Virginia 39.
It took a full-on miracle to take down the team of destiny Mountaineers. That late celebration penalty definitely helped, too.
With the win, Houston pulled to .500 on the season and became the first Big 12 expansion program to defeat one of the legacy schools. This Cougar offense is a really fun unit, with Smith having passed for 1,601 yards and 13 touchdowns already, and a trio of lethal receiving weapons — Samuel Brown, Joseph Manjack IV and Matthew Golden — putting on a show as well.
It’s a sophomore-heavy Houston roster, one that should contend within the conference next year and beyond. Such a young group clearly matured a few years just from the win over West Virginia. That’s what I call character development.
As for the Mountaineers, their first league loss stings but won’t derail anything just yet. They’re 2-1, and aside from a November trip to Oklahoma, they should be favored in all of their remaining contests. There’s still a feasible path to the Jerryworld title game. The dream is still alive, at least until someone else tries taking off their helmet again. Talk about head games.
Wildcat on the loose
Life comes at you fast.
Just one year ago, Avery Johnson was in the running to be his high school’s homecoming king. This past Saturday in Lubbock, Johnson found himself running all over Texas Tech’s defense to earn royalty status at his new school.
Early offensive frustration had led Kansas State to change quarterbacks in the first quarter. Searching for a spark, the Wildcats plucked Johnson from off the bench and thrust him straight into battle. The true freshman took the unexpected opportunity and ran with it (literally), dashing for 90 yards on 13 carries in a 38-21 victory.
Impressive, right? Wait for it...
Avery Johnson, in his third collegiate game, ran for FIVE touchdowns. On his own. By himself. FIVE!
Kansas State had hoped Johnson would provide a spark, and he went out and practically set the whole field on fire. Such a torching was historic: a true freshman hadn’t tallied five scores in a game since 2014, just a few weeks after Johnson turned 10.
Wait, this kid is how old?
When I was 18, I was failing American Heritage at BYU and getting in trouble for throwing pumpkins out of my Helaman Halls dorm window. Johnson is 18 and making five end zone trips in one game. Kids these days, man.
Wanna feel old? In the past few weeks, ‘NSYNC announced a reunion and “Frasier” debuted its reboot. Both ended their original runs in 2004 ... months before Johnson was born.
What Johnson accomplished against Texas Tech would be impressive at any age. He single-handedly took over the game, shedding tacklers twice his size, making a number of quality throws and even rallying the Wildcats back from a late deficit by dropping 21 unanswered points to close out the contest. The kid is alright!
Prior to Saturday, the Red Raiders had surrendered just four rushing touchdowns all season. Johnson exceeded that number in a single evening. He’ll be living in the nightmares of Lubbock locals for years to come. If you really want to scare a Texas Tech fan, just tell them how much eligibility Johnson has left.
Despite Johnson’s heroics, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman isn’t ready to completely unleash the youngster just yet, instead planning to split the quarterback reps between Johnson and senior Will Howard going forward.
Howard, who led the Wildcats to a Big 12 title last year, has largely underwhelmed in 2023, especially in close losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State. Johnson’s rapid rise makes a quarterback controversy feel inevitable. Such a development could determine Kansas State’s ability to stick in the conference race.
No matter what the Wildcats end up doing at quarterback down the stretch, you better buy all your Johnson stock now. This kid could be running the Big 12 for the foreseeable future.
Related
Panic in Provo
Are we witnessing the beginning of a BYU collapse? Don’t tell your Utah fan friends.
The Cougars may be 4-2, but last week’s 44-11 beatdown from TCU couldn’t have been any more embarrassing. They were exposed to the extreme. This team’s flaws are piling up fast.
BYU’s offense just ain’t what it used to be. Out of 130 FBS schools, the Cougars rank No. 129 in rushing (67.5 yards per game), No. 121 in total offense (306 yards per game) and No. 124 in third down success rate (30.4%). Not even the strongest of blue goggles can spin those numbers.
“Where have you gone, Puka Nacua? Cougar nation turns its lonely eyes to you...”
While the defense has shown improvement under Jay Hill, the Cougars are still giving up 26 points per game and 4.5 yards per carry, and they rank No. 123 nationally in sacks.
Star linebacker Ben Bywater and breakout safety Tanner Wall are both done for the season, and as BYU’s schedule continues to intensify, so shall the injury bug. This unit will be depth-tested like never before.
Simply put, if TCU’s backup quarterback can drop 44 points on BYU, I don’t even want to imagine the damage Texas and Oklahoma could inflict soon. It could be nuclear.
Before the Cougars can worry about the league’s juggernauts, they’ll host Texas Tech in Provo Saturday night. This matchup will make or break the rest of BYU’s season.
A win over the Red Raiders would relieve a great deal of pressure around the program and generate some newfound momentum heading into a brutal forthcoming stretch. A loss, in my opinion, ends all hope for the Cougars to reach bowl eligibility. Seriously.
You may think I’m being overdramatic, but BYU’s last five games of the season are against each of the Big 12’s top five squads (including three road trips!). Texas, West Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are a combined 12-4 in conference play already. I highly doubt that you can find two more wins for the Cougars out of that slate.
Just beat Texas Tech this weekend and the quest for December football becomes much more manageable. Remember, going bowling in year one at the Power 5 level should be considered a major win for the Cougars... unless they get sent to Shreveport again.
