If you are looking to see who is performing above specs, and who may be performing above or below expectations in college football, this is your place to be this week, as I take a look at each of the FBS conference to examine what each school is doing to improve, and what teams are falling back in the pack. Here is my look at the Big 12:
Surprise
I use the term surprise loosely when referring to Oklahoma, but there were some (NOT ME!) who felt that the Sooners were due for a fall off with Baker Mayfield having been gone. Kyler Murray is all of what we hoped to see in his place, and has been an absolute rock star for the Sooners, as he is passing for 287 yards per game (8:1 TD to INT ratio), and is rushing for 56.33 yards per game to lead the team. He has also added a pair of rushing scores. The Sooners are outscoring opponents 49 to 20 on average, and are once again a clear favorite to win the Big 12.
Oklahoma State showed me a lot when they kicked around Boise State in Stillwater over the weekend. It was, by far, the only real test that the Cowboys have had, and they sailed through it. OSU clicked in all areas of the game, and Mike Gundy's team is allowing just 17 points per game, which is actually a rock solid improvement over last season.
Sure, Baylor is coming off of a letdown loss to Duke over the weekend, but nobody really believed that the Bears would be sitting here at 2-1, with a chance to end September with 3 wins in 4 weeks if they can beat Kansas. Matt Ruhle has done a solid job with this program in an intense environment, and if they can improve the defense that has allowed 29 points per game, they can get that much better.
Speaking of Kansas, the Jayhawks looked like they were hitting rock bottom when they fell to Nicholls State in the opener, but they have hit back with consecutive wins over Central Michigan and Rutgers in dominating fashion, and since making Pooka Williams the focus on offense, everything has changed. If the Jayhawk faithful are not careful, they could end up having to keep embattled coach David Beaty around a while longer. Baylor is coming up this week.
Disappointments
Kansas State has been fairly awful to start the season. They should have been beaten by South Dakota in the opener, and Mississippi State drubbed them at home. The win over a very bad UTSA club was a saving grace for a short time, but if the Wildcats cannot find themselves, Big 12 play could get very ugly for them right out the gate.
Texas got a huge win over USC at home over the weekend, but that is not a great USC team they just beat up on. Another loss to Maryland, and an almost blown win against Tulsa have one wondering how much Tom Herman has done to improve things, because it does not look improved overall.
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