By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Big 12 Insider
Every week, the Big 12 coaches hold a conference call with the media. Rattle and Hum Sports points out some of the issues that made the most news.
Texas’ injury situation became a little more known on Monday. Defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat is out for the remainder of the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Meanwhile quarterback David Ash learned X-Rays on his right wrist are negative and he plans on playing against Baylor on Saturday… Coach Mack Brown dealt with another humiliating blowout loss to the Sooners last Saturday. “You gotta learn from it,’’ Brown said. “We’ve got a chance to win the rest of our games and win 10 games. We’re not quitting or giving up.’’…Later in the day, Brown addressed questions on whether he was planning on retiring after the season in wake of the loss to Oklahoma. “I’m way too competitive and have way too much pride to leave something bad,” the Texas coach said. “I’m going to get this fixed.”
By Tuesday, Kansas coach Charlie Weis said he would probably know who his starting quarterback will be for Saturday’s game at Oklahoma. That answer means that Dayne Crist is no longer the automatic first choice. True freshman Michael Cummings has received a lot of playing time in the last couple of week. “It’s going to be about what gives us the best chance of competing and winning against a very good team,’’ Weis said….Crist is completing less than 50 percent of his passes and has thrown only three touchdowns in the first six games….Weis also credited his team’s resiliency in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State when it scored 14 points to nearly erase a 20-0 deficit before falling 20-14.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops quickly pointed out that three of the touchdowns the opposition has scored against the Sooners have come against the second and third teams. Oklahoma has shut down two potent offenses in Texas Tech and Texas. “The defense is very technique oriented and blitz oriented,’’ Stoops said. “You’re not going to play great defense by trying to fool or blitz a lot. You’ll blitz yourself into trouble is you do that. [Brother] Mike [Stoops] and the rest of the defensive staff have had a lot to do with that.
With the win over Kansas on Saturday, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy improved to 62-32 in his career in Stillwater. The win tied him with Pat Jones (62-60-3) for the most of any coach in school history. “I’m happy for the school and the team,’’ Gundy said. “I’ve never been concerned about the thought about the wins. I want the players to be happy and develop themselves as young men on and off the field.’’…While the win was great, Gundy didn’t like the lack of physical play from his offensive line that limited running back Joseph Randle to 80 yards.
Kansas State running back John Hubert may be only 5-7, but he packs a lot of punch. He’s on his way to a 1,000-yard season and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. “He has a strong lower body,’’ coach Bill Snyder said. “He’ll still make yards after contact. He just picks and chooses where he goes. He’s been a steady consistent player.’’…Of course, the attention is centered on Saturday’s game at West Virginia. Texas Tech shut down the Mountaineers to 408 total offensive yards. But that was in Lubbock. This game is in Morgantown. “I don’t know if what Tech is a blueprint,’’ Snyder said. “Every team is different. They have to play in the confines of their schemes. Defensively, up front they changed up some things.’’
What really hurt West Virginia’s performance in Lubbock last week was its inability to run the football. The Mountaineers rushed for only 133 yards. Of course, Texas Tech’s defense has something to do with that. “We weren’t finishing blocks, and not making anybody miss,’’ coach Dana Holgorsen said. “We just never got into a rhythm. We were not mentally ready to handle another shooutout.’’…But Holgorsen said he expects a more spirited effort Saturday night against Kansas State. Holgorsen said he would know more about the availability of wide receiver Stedman Bailey (ankle) later in the week.
Texas Tech’s defense gave more validation to its improvement when it harassed and beat up West Virginia last Saturday in Lubbock. Part of the improvement has come from the play along the defensive line led by Jackson Richards and Kerry Hyder. The duo has combined for 28 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Hyder has three sacks. “They have stepped up and played better,’’ coach Tommy Tuberville said. “But we have two safeties in D.J. Johnson and Cody Davis who have also been very solid.’’…the Red Raiders play TCU Saturday in Fort Worth. It’s the first meeting between the two schools since 2006…. Tuberville also said linebacker Daniel Cobb has been cleared of a felony burglary charge stemming from his arrest in August. Cobb likely may play Saturday against TCU.
Art Briles and his Baylor coaching staff are trying to fix a lot of things with their team. Still, Baylor goes to Texas looking for an unprecedented third consecutive win over Texas. The Bears play in Austin Saturday. “We’re not equating anything from the last couple of years,’’ Briles said. There could more of an opportunity for running back Lache Seastrunk to see more playing time. “He’s been coming along the last two to three weeks,’’ Briles said. “We hope to increase his playing time in the next couple of weeks.
Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein has four interception returns for touchdowns in his career. That ties an NCAA record… following a tough 27-21 loss to Kansas State, the Cyclones came off of Sunday’s practice only to learn that they made the initial BCS rankings. They came in at No. 24. “I feel really good about our morale,’’ coach Paul Rhoads said. “It was a hard and painful loss. But to be greeted by that [BCS ranking] just affirmed everything that we’ve been doing here. We’re a good football team.’’
TCU coach Gary Patterson there might have been a peace that settled over him team once quarterback Casey Pachall left the program and enter a drug and alcohol rehab center. In fact, it looked like the Horned Frogs rallied around redshirt freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin, who threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns in the 49-21 victory at Baylor to snap the Bears’ nine-game home winning streak…All preseason Big 12 defensive end Stansly Maponga limped off the field during Saturday’s game, but Patterson declined to address whether Maponga would be able to play Saturday against Texas Tech.
Related articles
- Big 12 news: Big 12 Conference Coaches Corner – Rattle and Hum Sports (rattleandhumsports.com)
- Big 12 Football Week 7 Recap: WVU Rolled, A Sooner Slaughter in Dallas (rattleandhumsports.com)
RSS
Contact Tommy
Twitter
Facebook
Tommy Smith
R&H Sports TV
