Four Big 12 coaches named to award watch list
The Big 12 has been lost in the craziness of college football this season, but four coaches in the conference are on the radar for one postseason award. Art Briles, Bob Stoops, Mike Gundy and Gary Patterson were named to the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award Watch List last Friday. Briles, Gundy and Patterson have each helped their respective teams to undefeated records so far this season. The winner of the award will be named during the week leading up to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Sooners endure eight-hour wait for flight
Oklahoma left no doubt who the better team was Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas, beating Kansas State 55-0. However, the most interesting part of the Sooners’ weekend came 24 hours before kickoff. What normally is a short flight from Oklahoma City turned into an eight-hour ordeal for the Sooners. Their original charter flight was late arriving to the airport and delayed for a mechanical issue. The back up plane also had mechanical issues, adding to the delay. By the time Oklahoma finally took off, they had boarded four different airplanes. The Sooners finally got to their hotel at 11:45 p.m.
Russell highlights conference awards
After leading the Bears to a home win over West Virginia on Saturday, junior quarterback Seth Russell was named the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Russell threw for 380 yards and six touchdowns in the win and added 160 yards rushing. He was also named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week. Oklahoma junior cornerback Zack Sanchez took home the Defensive Player of the Week honor after picking off two passes and returning one for a touchdown in the No. 19 Sooners’ win over Kansas State. West Virginia sophomore kick returner Shelton Gibson rounded out the weekly awards as the Special Teams Player of the Week. Gibson accumulated 185 return yards and had a 100-yard return for a touchdown in the loss to Baylor.
Baylor closes in on Ohio State in AP poll
Despite a 62-38 rout at home against West Virginia, Baylor struggled to climb higher in the latest Associated Press Poll. While the Bears held onto their No. 2 ranking, the Bears lost a first-place vote and lost ground to No. 1 Ohio State. Fellow conference contender TCU dropped a spot to No. 4 despite beating Iowa State 45-21 in Ames, Iowa. Utah took over the No. 3 spot. Oklahoma State moved up two spots to No. 14 after getting a break from play this weekend. Oklahoma rebounded from its loss to Texas with a 55-0 win at Kansas State to move up to No. 17. Texas Tech received votes.
