Texas Tech took the field against Oklahoma State on Thursday night with its sixth defensive coordinator in six years after Mike Smith took over for Matt Wallerstedt, who stepped down from the position on Sept. 18. Initially, it was reported that Wallerstedt had been fired for being at the football facility under the influence of a substance, but Wallerstedt later refuted the claim, saying he had resigned due to personal reasons. The Red Raiders’ defense has struggled this season, giving up 36.7 points and nearly 300 yards per game on the ground, including 438 rushing yards at home to Arkansas on Sept. 13.

TCU’s Carter candidate for senior CLASS Award

TCU safety Sam Carter is one of 30 candidates for this year’s Senior CLASS Award for notable achievements in the community, classroom, character and competition. Carter, a graduate student, is a two-time All-Big 12 selection and has recorded 10 interceptions in his career with the Horned Frogs. He’s also on the preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik, Bronko Nagurski and Jim Thorpe awards. In addition to his on-field achievements, Carter is president of TCU Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the student ministry, Ignite, and volunteers at Cook Children’s Medical Center. The winner of the award will be named in January.

Cowboys flip LSU recruit Kevin Henry

Oklahoma State scored a victory on the recruiting trail Tuesday when safety Kevin Henry verbally committed to the Cowboys. Henry, a four-star recruit from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was committed to LSU before making the switch. Henry is an ESPN300 recruit, ranked 258th in the class of 2015. Listed at 6 feet 5 inches, 215 pounds, Henry is the 13th commit for Oklahoma State’s 2015 class and its fourth ESPN300 recruit. He will likely be one of only four players from Louisiana on the Cowboys roster once he finalizes his commitment on signing day in February.

Oklahoma’s Perine takes home conference honors

After a breakout game on national television against West Virginia, Oklahoma’s running back Samaje Perine was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. In the 45-33 win, the true freshman led the Sooners’ rushing attack with 34 carries for 242 yards and four touchdowns. Perine was also the first Sooner to run for four touchdowns since former quarterback Blake Bell did it against Texas in 2012, and he posted the fourth-highest single-game rushing total in school history.

Fellow Sooner, sophomore kick returner Alex Ross, was named the conference’s special teams player of the week following his 100-yard kickoff return in the win — the sixth such return in Sooner history. Dakorey Johnson, Kansas State senior linebacker, was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after recording six tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception in a loss to Auburn.