Baylor moves to No. 1 in Big 12 Power Rankings

Texas’ loss to California pushed the 3-0 Bears to the top spot in the Big 12 as the conference’s only undefeated team. No. 16 Baylor had another slow start Friday night and was held scoreless in the first quarter by Rice, but exploded for 638 yards to earn the 38-10 victory. 

Senior quarterback Seth Russell threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and junior wide receiver KD Cannon caught nine passes for 213 yards and two scores. Still, Baylor acting head coach Jim Grobe hopes for consistency from the team, especially from players on special teams.

Junior kicker Chris Callahan missed two field goals, one for 47 yards and another for 37.

Next up for the Bears is a home game against Oklahoma State to start Big 12 play. Baylor looks for a quicker start on offense to get a win against a Cowboys defense that ranks No. 4 in yards allowed.

Oklahoma’s playoff chances dwindle

The No. 25 Sooners dropped to 1-2 on the season following their 45-24 loss at home to No. 2 Ohio State. No two-loss team has made the playoff in its two year history, so Oklahoma’s chances at a return trip look minimal. But the Sooners could still turn it around in conference play and win a Big 12 title.

Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield struggled against the Buckeyes, finishing 17-of-32 with 226 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Oklahoma’s run game has underperformed as well. The Sooners ran for 177 yards on Saturday and just 70 yards in the season opener against Houston.

Oklahoma has a bye this week before heading to Fort Worth to kick off its conference season against TCU on Oct. 1. 

Oklahoma State gets back on track

The Cowboys responded to last week’s controversial loss to Central Michigan with a record-setting performance to edge out Pittsburgh for a
45-38 win.

Junior quarterback Mason Rudolph threw for a school record of 540 yards and scored two total touchdowns. The Cowboys also racked up a school-record 467 yards in the first half; Rudolph threw for 372 yards and junior wide receiver James Washington accumulated 231 receiving yards in the half — both Oklahoma State records.

The game was interrupted by an almost two-hour rain delay in the fourth with the score tied at 38–38. With under two minutes left in the game, Rudolph threw an 86 yard pass to senior wide receiver Jhajuan Seales that set up a game-winning touchdown run for senior running back Rennie Childs.

Oklahoma State will take its momentum to Waco this weekend to try and hand Baylor its first loss of the season.