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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BIG 12 POWER RANKINGS
DAN HARMSEN
@udk_dan
After pandemonium all across the conference last week, the plot in the chase for the Big 12 title is thickening game-by-game. Four favored teams, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Baylor needed late-game heroics to escape the week with their championship aspirations still alive.
Each of the five games featuring a Big 12 opponent was decided by seven points or less, heading into a Week 8 that could separate the league into three tiers: the great, the good and the bad.
The Big 12 enters the weekend with just one team in the top 10, but with five in the top-15. There is a bit of a logjam for second in the conference behind Baylor. Who will be the first to draw Bear blood? The Horned Frogs came close, falling 61-58 on a field goal as time expired.
1. NO. 4 BAYLOR 6-0 (3-O BIG 12)
LAST TIME OUT: WON VS. TCU
61-58
It's one thing to be trailing by multiple scores when your offense struggles to score points. It's entirely different to be trailing by multiple scores when your offense averages 52.7 points per game, best in the land. In front of a sellout home crowd, quarterback Bryce Petty had a moment — a Heisman moment — much to the delight of the Bear faithful who greeted him and his teammates on the field in the wackiest, most influential games of the season thus far. Petty threw for 510 yards and six touchdowns, and the Bears needed all of it.
After over-exerting itself in the 21-point comeback, a road-trip to Morgantown, W.Va., could be troublesome.
Trending: Up
frending: up
Next up: at West Virginia
2. NO. 12 TCU 4-1 (1-1)
LAST TIME OUT: LOST AT
BAYLOR 58-61
Oh, how things can turn on a dime.
With just 11:38 until victory, leading
No. 5 Baylor 58-37 on the road in Waco, Texas, TCU was well on its way to a No.1 national ranking and the driver's seat in the Big 12.
At that point in the game, those possibilities had a 98.1 percent chance of becoming realities according to ESPN's win-probability measurement.
TCU's offense impressed, and gives you reason to think that the Horned Frogs could still contend for the championship. The Frogs went for 485 total yards, but during the last 11:38, TCU gained just 48 yards and three first downs to Baylor's 227 and 14.
Trending: Same
Next up: vs. Oklahoma State
3. NO. 11 OKLAHOMA 5-1 (2-1)
LAST TIME OUT, WON VS.
TEXAS 31-26
Oklahoma was outgained by Texas 482 to 232. I repeat, Oklahoma was outgained by Texas ... and still won. Quarterback Trevor Knight completed just 12 passes for 129 yards, but the Sooners stole scores through other avenues. Alex Ross took a first-quarter kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, and Zack Sanchez brought a 43-yard interception the distance. OU led 31-13 in the fourth quarter, but surrendered two late touchdowns. Texas had the ball with a chance to win, but was denied.
Oklahoma better not have a Texas-hangover as Kansas State travels to Norman, Okla., on Saturday, hungry off its bye week.
Trending: Same
Next up: vs. Kansas State
4. NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 4-1 (2-0)
LAST TIME OUT: WON VS.
TEXAS TECH 45-13
So much of the attention is being focused on Baylor, TCU and even Oklahoma after the weekend's dramatics. Rightly so, but here sit the Wildcats, a snake in the tall grass after the bye week last week, still undefeated in conference play.
Quarterback Jake Waters leads Kansas State in both passing and rushing. Kansas State's offense averages 40.8 points per game, No. 16
in the nation, but it will be tested against a ferocious Sooner bunch.
Trending: Same Next up: at Oklahoma
o. NO. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE 5-11
(3-0)
LAST TIME OUT: WON VS.
KANSAS 27-20
In its first true road game of the season, Oklahoma State did what it needed to do, but it won't win any beauty contests because of it. If not for Tyreek Hill's 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with about six minutes left in a tie game—his second in back-to-back weeks—the Cowboys were on prime upset alert in Lawrence. After seizing a 20-7 halftime lead, the Oklahoma State offense went silent in the second half and gained just 11 total yards in the fourth quarter.
The road challenge takes a step up, or four, this week as Oklahoma State heads to Fort Worth, Texas, to play TCU.
Trending: Same Next up: at TCU
6. WEST VIRGINIA 4-2 (2-1)
LAST TIME OUT: WON AT
TEXAS TECH 37-34
West Virginia did its best Baylor impression with a high-wire act, scoring 17 points in the last six-plus minutes of the game, escaping Lubbock, Texas, with a three-point victory.
Quarterback Clint Trickett was good, hitting on 28 of his 44 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns, but he'll have to be better against Baylor. The similarities between Baylor and Texas Tech begin and end with the fact that they are both from the Lone Star State.
Trending: Same
Next up: vs. Baylor
The Longhorns fought nobly in the Red River Rivalry, but came up on the short end of the stick. Tyrone Swoopes is looking less like a body to bridge the gap at quarterback and more like a legitimate option down the road. Swoopes went 27-of-44 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His one interception was costly, though, as Oklahoma took it for a touchdown.
7. TEXAS 2-4 (1-2)
LAST TIME OUT: LOST VS.
OKLAHOMA 26-31
If Charlie Strong wants to make a bowl game in his debut season as head coach, this is a must-win game. No question. A loss and Strong may get to know a different side of Texas administration.
Next up: vs. Iowa State
B. TEXAS TECH 2-4 (0-3)
LAST TIME OUT: LOST VS.
WEST VIRGINIA 34-37
Texas Tech is about as close to dead in the water as any team in this conference.
Hey, TCU! Anything you can do I can do better. Leading by 14 with six minutes left in the game, Texas Tech folded like a good lawn chair. The Red Raiders committed two 15-yard penalties on the Mountaineers game-tying touchdown drive and are averaging the most penalties in the nation (11 per game).
Kiff Kingsbury started out 7-0 last season, but lost his last five regular season games. He started 2-0 this season, and has lost his next four. Texas Tech is becoming known as the team you prefer to play on the last game of the season.
Trending: Down Next up: vs. Kansas
9. IOWA STATE 2-4 (0-3)
LAST TIME OUT: WON V.S.
TOLEDO 37-30
A loss to Toledo at home would have all but sealed the Cyclones' bowl fate. Carried by quarterback Sam Richardson's 351-yard, three-touchdown performance, Iowa State escaped with a mid-season non-conference victory. Every opponent but one, the Iowa Hawkeyes, has scored 30 points or more against the Iowa State defense.
Iowa State will have to find a quick remedy for its running game that ranks 113th in the nation if it wants to knock off the Longhorns on the road.
Trending: Same
Next up: at Texas
Women's Leadership Series 2014 WOMEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE
SUNDAY, OCT. 19
SUNDAY, OCT.26
SUNDAY, NOV.2
TUESDAY.NOV.4
5:30 PM
5:30 PM
5:30 PM
VOTE
FOLLOW-UP SESSION:
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5 7:00 PM ALL SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE DOLE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
Three exciting sessions will focus on women running for office in Kansas and nationally.
We will discuss the different races and predict the winners.
During the first session you will have the opportunity to choose a candidate, follow her campaign, and share information with others.
Mary Banwart Associate professor of communication studies
Kansas will look to tighten the screws on a kick coverage unit that ranks as one of the worst in the country. If they can do that, the infamous road losing streak may come to an end in Lubbock, Texas.
10. KANSAS 2-4 (0-3)
LAST TIME OUT: LOST VS.
OKLAHOMA STATE 20-27
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO RSVP CONTACT THE DOLE INSTITUTE AT 864-4900 OR DOLEINSTITUTE@KU.EDU
Speakers Barbara Ballard Associate Director Dale Institute of Politics
Different quarterback. Different story. Redshirt junior Michael Cummings sparked an offense that outgained a Big 12 opponent for the first time since 2012 with 288 passing yards. Kansas rallied from 13 points down, in large part due to a suffocating defense that allowed just over 2 yards per play to the Oklahoma State offense in the second half.
Trending: Up
Next up: at Texas Tech
Edited by Brian Hillix
RENT BURFORD/KANSAN
Freshman cross country runner Alaina Schroeder races to the finish at Bob Timmons Dual Classic on Aug. 30 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
Cross country to preview tough Nationals track
The Pre-Nationals race is hosted by Indiana State University and will take place at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The course is seated on a former coal mine, which leads to deceiving hills, sharp turns, and switchback-like turns to make things interesting for the runners. The course also had trees removed to make viewing of the races easier for spectators, which can result in brutal winds that can become another obstacle for runners. The straightaways at both the beginning and the end of the course make for a great start for runners and an interesting finish for both the spectators and racers.
This weekend the cross country teams will head to Terre Haute, Ind., for Pre-Nationals, getting its first look at the course that will host the NCAA Championships in November.
JOEY ANGUIANO
@Joey_Anguiano
The meet is jampacked with talent on both sides. The men's races feature five top-30 teams, including Colorado and Oregon, who are currently ranked No.1 and No.2, respectively, in the nation.
On the women's side, the competition looks to be just as stiff, featuring six top-30 teams, with four of them falling in the top seven in the nation.
As far as the Jayhawks go on the men's side, once again expect a solid outing from junior Jacob Morgan as he looks to build off his first place finish in the Rim Rock Classic. Along with Morgan, senior James Wilson and freshman Chris Melgares will look to lead the Jayhawk pack.
On the women's side, the team has been running in packs all season long, a strategy that has been working well for them, so they will likely continue that in Terre Haute. Expect freshman Nashia Baker to continue to string along great finishes and lead the team, as she seems to be hitting her stride. Along with Nashia Baker, look for freshman Malika Baker and junior Hayley Francis to be among the top Kansas finishers.
The Pre-Nationals Races will start at 11 a.m. with the Women's 6K, while the first men's race of the day will start at 11:35 a.m.
Edited by Lyndsey Havens
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