Big 12 Week 1 Recap: OU, Baylor Roll; Texas Struggles Mightily

Fans of the Big 12 Conference got their first look at each team for the 2015 season this weekend as college football finally returned. Lets’s take a closer look at each game.

OU-Akron

After kickoff, OU struggled to move the ball at all and only managed to put up three points after the first quarter. Lincoln Riley made his debut as the Sooners’ new offensive coordinator, but his “Air Raid” attack had a failure to launch early on.

The Sooners punted four times and picked up a mere three first downs in the first quarter. The running game was completely shut down as well, with Samaje Perine hardly showing up. By halftime, they had built a 17-3 lead, but still were failing to impress many.

However, it only took the Sooners one offensive play after halftime for quarterback Baker Mayfield to connect with Joe Mixon on a 76-yard touchdown reception. After that, the rout was on.

Joe Mixon shone brightly in his debut game with three receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown. He also carried the ball five times for 27 yards. The Sooners moved to 1-0 and will face Tennessee next.

https://twitter.com/Joe_Buettner/status/640683285006278656/photo/1

Final Score

OU: 43
Akron: 3

Next OU game: Tennessee

TCU-Minnesota

Moving farther down south, the No. 2 ranked TCU Horned Frogs kicked off their season opener on Thursday night with a game against Minnesota.

The Horned Frogs opened the game with a 10-0 lead and had many onlookers already convinced that they were going to blow out the Gophers without any resistance. However, TCU began to slow down as Minnesota started to make things messy for their offense.

Trevone Boykin, TCU’s star quarterback who dominated the 2014 season, opened up the second half with a touchdown run to give his team a 17-3 cushion. Although it looked like they might once again run away with the victory, the Gophers remained determined and eventually fought back to make it 17-10.

https://vine.co/v/eTgz6v06WPu

Unfortunately for Minnesota, TCU was able to hit a field goal and get a safety, which would both effectively end the game.

Boykin finished his season debut with 246 yards passing and one touchdown and one interception. He was also the leading rusher with 92 yards and one score. Boykin showed that he isn’t perfect, but TCU’s defense played well enough and didn’t display too much regression from 2014. The Horned Frogs will go on to face Stephen F. Austin next week.

Final Score

TCU: 23
Minnesota: 17

Next TCU game: Stephen F. Austin

Baylor-SMU

Baylor got the first chance to move past their Cotton Bowl disaster that ended last season in their game against the SMU Mustangs, and did so with a 56-21 victory.

Quarterback Seth Russell took over the reins from previous starter Bryce Petty and kept the Bears mighty offense moving, throwing for 376 yards and five touchdowns. One of his touchdowns included a short run into the end zone.

The Bears, who have been known for their powerful offense and have led all teams in yards and points the past two seasons, racked up 723 yards against the Mustangs.

"La Madeline isn't doesn't open until noon on Sundays?!" pic.twitter.com/AarkQAMc2r

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) September 5, 2015

Baylor didn’t play a perfect game, and had to overcome many early troubles to pull out the win. The game featured two ties, and the Bears didn’t completely pull away from SMU until the second half. A 19-yard run from running back Devin Chafin on a third-and-18 for Baylor perfectly set up a short yardage touchdown pass which helped tip the odds in Baylor’s favor.

Final Score

Baylor: 56
SMU: 21

Next Baylor game: Lamar

West Virginia-Georgia Southern

Two Big 12 teams managed to pull off shutouts against their opponents in week one. Those teams were Kansas State and West Virginia, who both executed well.

In similar fashion to the teams previously mentioned, West Virginia struggled to make much happen early. The Mountaineers experienced many woes in the red zone and on third down, only converting three of 10 third downs and getting three field goals on five trips to the red zone.

However, West Virginia safety Karl Joseph made sure Georgia Southern would remember his name after Saturday. He recorded three interceptions in the third quarter and had a fumble recovery in the first half.

The Mountaineers scored four touchdowns in the second half and took over the game.

Final Score

WVU: 44
Georgia Southern: 0

Next WVU game: Liberty

Kansas State-South Dakota

There weren’t many signs that K-State was missing Tyler Lockett from the moment the opening kickoff was received, as defensive back Morgan Burns ran the kick back 103 yards for a touchdown.

Dominique Heath also performed admirably as a punt returner, averaging 17.3 yards per return. Kicker Matthew McCrane was perfect on field goal attempts and PAT tries. Also, punter Nick Walsh averaged 44.8 yards punting the ball four times. Therefore, even though Big 12 special teams player of the year Tyler Lockett is now shining like a star in Seattle, K-State’s special teams strength hasn’t seemed to drop much.

Final Score

Kansas State: 34
South Dakota: 0

Next Kansas State game: UTSA

Texas Tech-Sam Houston State

In the final hour before kickoff, Tech named Patrick Mahomes its starting quarterback. That decision helped Tech earn the victory, especially after how lackluster their defense played.

Mahomes had no issue finding a way to earn points for his team. Passing for 425 yards, rushing for 48 yards and scoring four touchdowns, the numbers spoke for themselves.

However, the season opener also showed that Tech still faces several problems on defense. David Gibbs, the new defensive coordinator, watched as Sam Houston beat his team for some long gains. The Bearkats put up 671 yards against the Red Raiders, which became the third-most recorded in school history.

Final Score

Texas Tech: 59
SHSU: 45

Kansas-South Dakota State

Many had actually picked South Dakota to knock off Kansas, which proved to be true. The Jayhawks held on for most of the game, only down 34-28 heading into the fourth. Nick Bartolotta hit a 23-yard field goal to make it 34-31, and then both teams scored again to make it 41-38. Kansas had a chance to win on the final play, but that didn’t work out.

The Jayhawks lost the game in perfect Jayhawks style—a fumbled snap with 10 seconds left in the game on a snap that could have set up a game tying field goal. Kansas seems to have hit rock bottom, and the 2015 season could be a long one for the team.

https://vine.co/v/eTEv1IK2Jih

Final Score

Kansas: 38
South Dakota State: 41

Next Kansas game: Memphis

Texas-Notre Dame

The Longhorns are clearly doing nothing but regressing. They have been outscored 117-20 in their last three games, and show no signs of picking things up in the near future.

Texas has failed to score a TD three times in the last decade. Two of those have come in the Longhorns' last 7 games.

— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) September 6, 2015

Second-year coach Charlie Strong’s defense allowed 527 yards against No. 11 Notre Dame. During the second half, the Irish scored three touchdowns on three straight possessions, while Texas failed to score a touchdown throughout all four quarters. The Longhorns were also only able to gain 163 total yards.

Final Score

Notre Dame: 38
Texas: 3