DALLAS—The chase for San Antonio is on.
Colorado and Texas A&M have claimed the early lead in the race for the Big 12 championship, but Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas all picked up big wins over divisional rivals this weekend as the title chase started to take shape.
The Sooners (5-1, 1-1 Big 12) downed Texas 28-21 in the annual Red River Rivalry between the two teams that have won the last eight Big 12 South titles.
“One of our goals was to win the Big 12 South, and it’s kind of hard to win the Big 12 South and be 0-2,” Oklahoma wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias said. “This game, that puts you a leg up. Even with a loss the week before, it puts you a leg up because it seems like it’s always either us or them that comes from the South.”
Even though the Sooners trail Texas A&M (5-1, 2-0) by a game, the defending Big 12 champions still control their own destiny since their loss came against North foe Colorado last week. Oklahoma hosts the Aggies on Nov. 3.
“We knew we let ourselves down and we knew we couldn’t let it happen again,” Iglesias said. “We can’t come out flat again, or any team any given day can beat you.”
Next up for the No. 6 Sooners is a showdown against 11th-ranked Missouri (5-0, 1-0), which made its opening salvo in conference play with a resounding 41-6 victory against Nebraska. It was the Tigers’ most lopsided win in the series since 1947 and the first time since 1959 that the Cornhuskers didn’t score a touchdown against Missouri.
“This is the closest we’ve been to playing a complete game,” Tigers receiver Jeremy Maclin said.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino felt his team’s 30-24 win against then-No. 24 Kansas State silenced anyone who criticized the Jayhawks (5-0, 1-0) for a weak nonconference schedule played entirely at home. The Jayhawks are 5-0 for the first time since 1995—which was also the last time Kansas beat a ranked team on the road—and moved into the rankings this week at No. 20.
“That might be one of the highlights of my career,” said Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib, who had the game-clinching interception. “This win at K-State is the first since 1989. It doesn’t get any better than that. It’s just one of those games that proves to everybody in college football that KU is one of those teams to beat.”
Colorado (4-2, 2-0) has a one-win jump on both Missouri and Kansas, who each had a bye last week. The Buffaloes beat Baylor 43-23 for their second straight win over a South foe, but were disappointed with the way the game ended.
The Bears racked up 255 yards on their final four drives, and could’ve had three touchdowns in that span if Justin Akers hadn’t dropped a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play.
“You could tell in the locker room we were very disappointed in the game we played,” Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley said. “We enjoyed the win, but the bar has been raised.”
Down in Austin, the Longhorns (4-2, 0-2) are reeling after losing their fourth straight conference game. They’re tied with Baylor in the Big 12 South cellar.
No South team has ever come back to win the division after an 0-2 start, although it happened in back-to-back years in the North in 2003 and 2004. Texas bounced back from a 1-2 start in 1996 to win the Big 12 title.
“Everybody still has their heads up high and we can’t just put our heads down right now,” Longhorns receiver Nate Jones said.
Oklahoma State (3-3, 1-1), which also had a shot at the Big 12 South lead after being one of only two teams in the division to win their first league game, fell one point short against Texas A&M for the second straight year in a 24-23 loss in College Station. The Cowboys would’ve had a chance to go for the win, but a critical personal foul penalty for roughing the punter allowed the Aggies to keep possession and run out the clock.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, bounced back with a 42-17 win against Iowa State that featured receiver Michael Crabtree setting an NCAA freshman record with his 17th touchdown catch.
“I don’t think we’ve reached our plateau,” Texas Tech coach Mike Leach said. “I think that we’re going to continue to improve steadily and we just need to make that process happen the best we can, as fast as we can, as efficiently as we can.”
Nebraska and Kansas State find themselves in a similar position in the North, at 1-1 in league play and one game off of Colorado’s lead.
“We’re certainly not out of this,” said coach Bill Callahan of defending North champion Nebraska. “This is a conference game that is important to us, but certainly we’re still in this conference race. We’re in the Big 12 North race. Anything can happen now.”
