Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
BIG 12 ROUNDUP
NO. 6 OKLAHOMA 55, TEXAS TECH 16
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma receivers CeeDee Lamb and Charleston Rambo had envisioned how Saturday’s game against Texas Tech would go for them.
With help from Jalen Hurts, those thoughts became reality. Hurts passed for 415 yards and three touchdowns, Lamb had career highs of 185 yards receiving and three touchdowns, and No. 6 Oklahoma rolled past the Red Raiders 55-16.
Rambo entered the day with the team lead in receptions, yards and touchdowns, but Lamb got the best of their friendly competition on Saturday.
“That’s my roommate, so Thursday we were talking about stuff we were going to do on Saturday and he did it,” Rambo said. “That’s my dog, so I’m happy for him.”
Rambo had 122 yards receiving on just two catches in the first quarter, and Lamb took it from there.
“It’s exciting when you see one of your closest friends doing the things that he wanted to do and it was all planned,” Lamb said. “He’s doing a good job, and I just hope he keeps getting better.”
Hurts also ran for 70 yards and another score for the Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12). His 485 yards of total offense ranks eighth in Oklahoma history. It was the first 400-yard passing game for the senior transfer from Alabama.
“He’s seeing the field really well,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “He’s understanding how we want to attack people. He was a little more confident today, a little bit more steady.”
Trey Sermon ran for 76 yards and two scores for Oklahoma. The Sooners, who entered the game leading the nation in total offense, gained 642 yards. They have totaled at least 600 yards in each game this season.
Hurts passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns and ran eight times for 60 yards and two more scores in the first half to help Oklahoma take a 34-10 lead.
OKLAHOMA STATE 26, NO. 24 KANSAS STATE 13
STILLWATER, Okla. — Chuba Hubbard ran for 296 yards and a touchdown on just 25 carries, and Oklahoma State shut down No. 24 Kansas State’s own vaunted rushing attack in a weather-delayed victory.
Hubbard hardly carried at all in the first quarter for the Cowboys (4-1, 1-1 Big 12), who built a 13-0 lead when the game was halted more than an hour in the second quarter due to lightning. But the breakout star finished with runs of 53, 84 and 44 yards in his dominant performance.
Spencer Sanders added 153 yards passing and a touchdown for Oklahoma State. Most of that went to Tylan Wallace, who hauled in eight passes for 145 yards.
Skylar Thompson was 11 of 23 for 118 yards for the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1), who were coming off a bye following their big win at Mississippi State. But any momentum they gained from their foray into SEC country was wiped out by their return to the Big 12.
By the time lightning hit and the officials ordered everyone off the field, the Cowboys had a 208-32 edge in offensive yardage. And when the game resumed, Kansas State kicked a field goal only for Oklahoma State to answer with a touchdown drive to take a 16-3 lead into halftime.
Hubbard added his 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before the Wildcats tacked on a field goal by Blake Lynch and a short touchdown run by James Gilbert to make it a game.
TCU 51, KANSAS 14
FORT WORTH, Texas — Freshman Max Duggan led touchdown drives on all three of his first-half possessions as TCU scored on every possession before halftime and was never threatened in a victory over Kansas to open Big 12 play.
TCU (3-1, 1-0) dominated in every area of the first half against Kansas (2-3, 0-2), which ended a 48-game road losing streak to Power 5 opponents earlier this season at Boston College.
TCU was locked in from the opening kickoff, coming off a home loss to rival SMU a week ago that knocked the Horned Frogs out of the Top 25. The Horned Frogs had some extra motivation as well after losing last year at Kansas.
“Everybody was practicing hard this week,” TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney said, “and you could tell.”
Duggan started for a second straight game but was replaced midway through the second quarter by graduate transfer Alex Delton with the Horned Frogs in full control at 28-0. Delton, who played last year at Kansas State, led TCU on two scoring drives to end the first half for a 38-0 lead.
Duggan, who played all but one snap a week ago against SMU after sharing time the first two weeks, was in for the first two second-half drives before giving way to Delton.
Delton led his first touchdown drive of the season in the second quarter and finished 10-for-15 passing for 186 yards.
TCU coach Gary Patterson said he thought Delton looked more comfortable than Duggan. Patterson said he was pleased that his young team played well before halftime considering the morning kickoff.
“Good first half; I wasn’t particularly very happy with the second one,” Patterson said. “You want to be a great football team you have to finish.”
The Horned Frogs’ defense never gave Kansas a chance to get going. Kansas finished with only 159 yards on 47 plays and was 1 for 11 on thirddown attempts. The Jayhawks had only 55 yards on 34 plays heading into the fourth quarter.
Kansas lost its 46th consecutive Big 12 road game. The Jayhawks’ last Big 12 road win came Oct. 4, 2008 at Iowa State.
TCU leading receiver Jalen Reagor ended the first quarter with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown after he initially muffed the football, giving the Horned Frogs’ a 21-0 lead.
Darius Anderson had a third consecutive 100-yard rushing game for the Frogs, finishing with 115 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
BAYLOR 23, IOWA STATE 21
WACO, Texas — John Mayers kicked a 38-yarder with 21 seconds left for the first field goal of the redshirt freshman’s career, lifting Baylor to a victory over Iowa State after the Bears blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The win in the Big 12 opener for both teams was the second in a row for the Bears (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), who won their sixth straight game going back to last season and are off to their best start in three years under coach Matt Rhule.
Brock Purdy rallied the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1) with three TD drives after trailing 20-0 in the fourth quarter. But Iowa State couldn’t stop Baylor’s 54-yard drive to the winning points while losing a Big 12 opener for the 16th time in 18 seasons — including all four under coach Matt Campbell.
The Bears fell behind for the first time this season on Purdy’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Kolar with less than four minutes to go.
Charlie Brewer answered with three third-down conversions on the 14-play march, which included completions of 15 and 13 yards to Tyquan Thornton. Mayers’ kick into the wind was just inside the right post after he missed badly from the same distance — 38 yards — in the first half.
Baylor was behind because of a botched PAT attempt after the second of three touchdown passes from Brewer when the snap went through holder Skyler Wetzel’s hands.
Thornton had 11 catches for 141 yards and the last Baylor touchdown. Denzel Mims scored the first TDs and had 106 yards on six grabs.
After a rough start, Purdy finished 27 of 45 for 342 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Johnnie Lang had a touchdown rushing and another receiving.