Big 12: Team-by-Team Analysis After Week 2

It looks like the Big 12 as a whole is better than most gave them credit for heading into the season. The conference is a combined 15-1 on the season, with the only loss a 37-30 overtime loss by Missouri at Arizona State.

The conference's most attention grabbing win was Baylor's 50-48 victory over 14th-ranked TCU. The national attention generated from the win has thrust Bears QB Robert Griffin into the Heisman discussion.

The coming week allows conference members another chance to flex their muscles on national television, as top-ranked Oklahoma takes on No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee, and No. 24 Texas travels to Los Angeles to take on UCLA.

Lets take a look at where each team stands two weeks into the season.

Iowa State

The Iowa State Cyclones had the biggest win of the weekend with their 44-41 triple-overtime victory over Iowa. Paul Rhoads may be the best in the conference at squeezing every last ounce of talent out of his players.

The victory over their B1G foe was a first for Rhoads. Juco transfer QB Steele Jantz has proven to be a solid replacement for Austin Arnaud, throwing for 233 yards per game and five TDs with three interceptions.

Shontrelle Johnson is a solid running threat, averaging 5.0 yards per carry through two games.

Once again, ISU is struggling on defense, allowing 375 yards and 30 points per game.

As you would expect, Rhoads' team will play a physical brand of football and can almost be guaranteed to pull at least one more upset this year. The Cyclones play as hard on the field as any team in the country. The 2-0 start is encouraging for a relatively young team.

Unfortunately, ISU plays five of their conference games on the road. Do not be surprised if ISU pulls an upset or two in the conference and finds their way into a bowl game.

Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks are 2-0. I repeat, the Kansas Jayhawks are 2-0. After an embarrassing start to his tenure in Lawrence with a season-opening loss to a Division II team in 2010, head coach Turner Gill appears to have the program moving in the right direction.

Kansas has been very prolific on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 43.5 points and 490 yards per game. Quarterback Jordan Webb has been spectacular, completing 70 percent of his passes for 213.5 yards per contest with six touchdowns and no interceptions.

The KU rushing attack is averaging 277 yards per game, led by sophomore James Sims and his 214 yards and three TDs.

The issues for KU appear to be on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in the secondary. KU is allowing 441 yards and 33 points per game. The Jayhawks are allowing a 78-percent completion rate and 320 passing yards per game.

KU may win a couple of shootouts this year, but do not expect them to go bowling. KU fans should enjoy the offensive fireworks until basketball season starts again.

Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma State Cowboys entered the season ranked in the top 10 and have done nothing to dissuade voters. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon have been as advertised.

Blackmon will again compete for the Biletnikoff Award as the top WR in the country. The OSU OL has been dominant, clearing the way for 202 rushing yards per game.

With the Cowboys, the question is always, will they be able to stop the opponent? OSU's run defense has been very strong, only allowing 2.6 yards per carry. Their pass defense has been porous, allowing 64.8 percent completions for 309 yards per game.

It may not matter, because most schools are going to struggle to keep up with OSU's offensive attack.

Blackmon is the best WR in the country and leads a very strong WR corps. Weeden's four interceptions bears keeping a close eye, because that is a lot for such an accurate passer.

If they can avoid turnovers, Oklahoma State has a legitimate shot at running the table. Their defense is suspect, but their offense can be unstoppable at times.

Texas

Texas is coming off a 17-16 come from behind win over BYU. It appears that Garrett Gilbert has taken his last snap as a starter for the Longhorns. He was replaced by freshman David Ash and sophomore Case McCoy against the Cougars.

Texas is 2-0 headed into a road game at UCLA. It appears the Horns will be a ground-based offense that will rely on trick plays to move the ball in long-yardage situations. 

Despite multiple top-five recruiting classes in a row, the Longhorns cannot line up and roll over anyone with their OL. They will use misdirection to create confusion and move the chains.Texas fans should be encouraged their OL was able to get a little push against a good BYU defensive line.

Texas is going to run the ball and play defense. They are going to try to shorten games so teams cannot expose their suspect secondary. 

Ashton Dorsey had a couple tackles for loss against BYU and appears to be the answer at DT next to Kheeston Randall.

Jaxson Shipley and Malcolm Brown are impact freshmen and indicate the future is bright on offense.

UCLA is a ground-based offense and should be a good matchup for Texas,

ISU, Baylor, OSU, OU, Missouri and A&M all are possible losses for Texas.

Baylor

Baylor had a signature win in the first week of the season with a 50-48 track meet against TCU. The win propelled Robert Griffin onto the national stage and into Heisman consideration.

Terrance Gannaway had a strong game at RB, with 120 yards against the Horned Frogs. Kendall Wright is one of the top four WRs in the conference. With his performance on national TV, maybe he will begin to come out of the shadow of Blackmon, Broyles and Fuller.

Baylor hired Phil Bennett to fix their defense. He needs more time if the first game is any indication. Allowing 466 yards and 48 points to TCU is not getting the job done.

Much like OSU, BU is going to have to outscore most of their opponents this year. Baylor has enough athletes on defense to make enough stops where they should be able to win seven to eight games and go bowling again this year.

Kansas State

Hard to say what to expect out of KSU. With Bill Snyder, you expect a physical team that moves the ball through a punishing option offense and excellent defense and special teams. Last year, KSU did not hold up their end on defense, as they were a sieve against the run.

In their opener against Eastern Kentucky, they stopped the run to the tune of 10 yards on 27 carries.

The problem was that KSU could not get their offense going and scraped by in a 10-7 win on a late touchdown.

Bryce Brown, who the media selected as preseason all conference, rushed for 17 yards on three carries.

The Kent State game should tell us a lot about the Wildcats. If KSU struggles to score against the Golden Flashes, then do not expect a bowl season in Manhattan this year.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is the No. 1-ranked team in the country and they were dominant in a season-opening 47-14 win over Tulsa.

The Sooners may have found their next great RB in walk-on transfer Dominique Whaley. The junior transfer from Langston (Okla.) University ran for 131 yards on 18 carries against the Golden Hurricane.

The running game is a vast improvement over last year, when the Sooners only averaged 3.1 yards per carry.

The Sooners defense allowed 400 yards of offense to Tulsa. They have two weeks to get ready for their showdown with Florida State in Tallahassee.

Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles are both Heisman candidates.The Sooners have the offensive firepower to score with anyone in the country. The question is whether they have a championship-level defense.

If the Sooners beat FSU in Tallahassee, then they deserve their ranking.

Texas A&M

The Aggies defeated SMU 46-14 in the first week of the season.The A&M offense was dominant, showing the ability to move the ball on the ground and through the air.

Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael combined for 217 yards at over six yards per carry.

Ryan Tannehill distributed the ball to his playmakers without throwing an interception.

The defense had some lapses, struggling to contain Zach Line and busting three coverages.

The Aggies have a tune up this weekend at home against Idaho before they take on top 10 Oklahoma State in two weeks.

Look for a more complete performance from the Aggies against the Vandals. Expect to see some of the younger players to get experience against Idaho.

Texas Tech

Texas Tech beat Texas State 50-10. Tech trailed the Bobcats 10-9 at half.

Much like KSU, it is hard to tell what you have with Tech after this win.

Darwin Moore was a revelation for the Red Raiders. The junior from Irving had 12 receptions for 221 yards and a TD against the Bobcats. Eric Stephens continued to show why he is one of the best RBs in the conference with 118 yards and two TDs on 21 carries. Seth Doege was an efficient 23 for 33 for 326 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.

The Red Raider defense was looking for improvement under new DC Chad Glasgow. Texas State shredded the Tech defense on the ground with 256 rushing yards at 5.1 yards a pop. For some reason, Glasgow did not expect a Dennis Franchione team to run the option on offense.

Tech has games at New Mexico and home against Nevada coming up. The Red Raiders should be 3-0 when they open conference play against the Jayhawks. Hope the scoreboard has enough light bulbs for that game. 

Missouri

Missouri dropped a 37-30 road game to Arizona State in overtime. The Tigers are 1-1 on the season.

Mizzou played much better on offense against ASU than they did in the first week of the season.

James Franlin went a long way towards proving himself under center against the Sun Devils, passing for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Franklin also rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown.

The Tigers are down to one healthy RB after De'Vion Moore was injured against ASU. Kendial Lawrence has yet to play this season.

The Missouri defense has been strong against the run, allowing only 2.7 yards per carry so far this season. The Tigers allowed 388 yards passing to Brock Osweiler of ASU, but he will make a lot of secondaries look bad this year.

If you can run and stop the run, you can win football games. Mizzou can stop the run, and if they get their RBs healthy, they will have no problem running the ball. Looks like another eight- or nine-win season minimum and a bowl game for the Tigers.

If Mizzou gets healthy, they could make some noise in the conference race.