If anyone out there can find a trio of teams from one of the major BCS conferences playing worse than Kansas State, Colorado and Iowa State, please enlighten me.
I don’t know many more teams struggling more than these three.
Colorado won’t be winning 10 games, much to the chagrin of coach Dan Hawkins. The Buffs (0-2) may lose 10, though. Their defense was dreadful on Friday in a 54-38 pasting at Toledo. The schedule won’t be forgiving these next few weeks, either. Colorado is home to Wyoming next week, which should be a win, but then travels to West Virginia, Texas, and is home to Kansas. One-and-5? It’s probable.
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Folks who are wondering why Colorado hasn’t fired Hawkins yet should realize CU signed him to an extension through the 2012 season. The buyout could be too expensive.
As for K-State, I don’t know where to begin. You know the personnel isn’t there when Louisiana-Lafayette prevails and it’s barely considered an upset. The instability at quarterback is a huge question mark. Carson Coffman or Grant Gregory? The kicking game was less than stellar: two missed field goals and a missed extra point. In a 17-15 game, that’s a major issue. The Cats (1-1) are at UCLA next week and are long shots to make a bowl game at this point.
And finally, Iowa State. Not much to say here. The Cyclones were waxed, 35-3, in front of their home crowd against Iowa. Quarterback Austen Arnaud was pulled after throwing four interceptions and ISU rarely threatened on offense.
As for answers to my initial question, my first inclination is to look at the Big Ten, but I’d probably take Indiana, Illinois and (insert third-worst team here … Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State?) over KSU, ISU and CU.
Latest update from ConferenceChatterTV: I sadly went 7-3 this weekend (Hey, who saw that Houston upset over Okie State coming … aside from Lee Corso?). Feel free to check out the video below for my week 2 reaction:
Moving on to the weekly awards for week 2, a shaky weekend with mixed results in the Big 12.
Performer of the week: Taylor Potts, Texas Tech
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Against Rice, the junior signal caller threw for 456 yards and seven touchdowns, one shy of the school record. And at a school known for its prominent aerial attack, that’s a heck of a performance. Another significant stat for Potts: zero interceptions. He threw three in week 1.
Biggest surprise of the week: Oklahoma State losing at home to Houston
Something’s not right with OSU. I don’t know what exactly it is. Perhaps it’s the defense, which was praised after holding Georgia to 10 points, but surrendered 45 against Houston.
Maybe it’s the loss of Kendall Hunter, who was seen on the sidelines wearing a walking boot on his right leg in the second half. The reigning Big 12 rushing champ may miss time.
Or maybe Zac Robinson’s a little off. He was only 18 of 31 and the lack of a second receiving option behind Dez Bryant may have hindered his performance on Saturday.
OSU was a heavy favorite against Houston and dropped from No. 5 in the country to No. 16 after the loss.
Sleeper alert: Lyle Leong, Texas Tech
It seems there’s a national perception that just because Michael Crabtree’s gone, Tech doesn’t have depth at wide receiver. Not true. Leong, a 6-foot-1 junior, caught nine passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday. Leong’s a name not many people know, but he’s becoming one of Potts’ favorite receivers.
Most significant win of the week: Kansas 34, UTEP 7
A very nice road statement game for the Jayhawks. Their defense played great, registering six sacks and an interception.
The offense was efficient in Dezmon Briscoe’s return. He caught eight passes for 154 yards. The running game was on point with Jake Sharp (16-104-2) and Toben Opurum (16-62-1).
Kansas looks like the most balanced team in the Big 12 North right now.
Here’s the latest Sorrentino Scale to close this entry. The number in parentheses is what the team was ranked last week.
As always, discuss.
