By : Carson Zoller
(Photo/Sabri Haidar-The Mojo Network)
The Colorado Buffaloes(4-2) are not at the top of the Big 12 Conference but they are in the front of many college football fans minds. Travis Hunter, the star wide receiver and Heisman Hopeful has proven himself this season. The Buffaloes have suffered 2 losses this season, one coming to The Nebraska Corn Huskers and the second coming to a fellow team in The Big 12 The Kansas State Wildcats. As Coach Prime and his team continue through conference play they hope for only the best.
The Cincinnati Bearcats(4-2) also have suffered 2 losses but they have been very close games, a three point loss to Texas Tech in a high scoring battle and a 1 point loss to Pitt. Sophomore Quarterback Brendan Sorsby is closing in on the 2,000 passing yards mark, he has found his favorite target in senior wide receiver Xzavier Henderson, with almost 500 yards on the season thus far. The Bearcats are looking to take down The Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend at Noon.
BYU(6-0) is having an outstanding season, they stand untouched. Their most dominant win was 41-19 over Arizona, Jake Retzlaff is having an impressive season this far, leading the Cougars in both passing and rushing yards. The BYU defense is something to take note of, holding 5 of the 6 teams that they have played under 20 points, CB Jakob Robinson has 2 interceptions on the season.
The Iowa State Cyclones(6-0) are also undefeated, they claimed their most recent win over The West Virginia Mountaineers. Jaylin Noel had a solid game, 5 receptions for 77 yards, Noel is having a good season with 528 yards through 5 games. The Cyclones left Morgantown with smiles on their faces and another win in the books.
Texas Tech(5-1) has only lost one game so far, they are a winning team, especially in the Big 12. Upon the initial look, The Red Raiders have the ability to spread the ball around, Running Back Tahj Brooks has rushed for 679 yards on 124 carries, Josh Kelly the leading receiver for the raiders with 514 yards on 44 catches, Wide Receivers Caleb Douglass and Coy Eakin have also contributed to the high powered offense, Douglass has been targeted 21 times for 320 yards and Eakin has 319 yards on 19 catches. The Red Raiders look forward to taking on the Baylor Bears at Home this Saturday.
Kansas State(5-1) has only fallen short of victory one time this season, their first loss came to the BYU Cougars, a Big 12 powerhouse. The Wildcats have been led by none other than Junior Running back DJ Giddens, Giddens is having an efficient rushing season, rushing for 786 yards on 108 carries. Quarterback Avery Johnson has also contributed to the powerful ground game, coming in with 306 yards in 6 games. Dylan Edwards is doing his part this season as well, coming in for Giddens when necessary and performing. Kansas State will kick off against West Virginia under the lights this Saturday and will look to continue their dominant run game.
While we are on the topic of dominant backfields, West Virginia(3-3) has proved to be proficient. WVU has 3 players with over 375 rushing yards, Quarterback Garrett Greene with 382, Running Back Jaheim White with 398 and last but certainly not least Running Back C.J. Donaldson Jr. with 378. The Mountaineers may be .500 but they have everything figured out on offense, their lowest scoring game being 28 and their highest being 49. Hudson Clement has been targeted 22 times for a total of 334 receiving yards, that alone is impressive but Garrett Greene has shared the love, WR Traylon Ray and TE Kole Taylor both have upwards of 200 yards receiving. Saturday at 7:30 is their next game, it should be a fun one!
The Arizona Wildcats(3-3) are coming off a tough loss to the BYU Cougars and will look ahead to hosting Coach Prime and The Buffaloes this weekend. The WIldcats have been slow to get going, sitting at 3-3 and 1-2 in conference play. The crisp connection between Sophomore Noah Fifita and Star Wide Receiver Tetairoa McMillan has been a fun one to watch this season, McMillian has been targeted by Fifita in %6o percent of his passes, McMillian has totaled 784 receiving yards thus far. Tetairoa McMillian and The Wildcats will look to improve throughout the rest of the season.
The UCF Knights(3-3) have many standout studs, QB: K.J. Jefferson, RB: R.J. Harvey, WR: Kobe Hudson and finally, a defensive menace in Line Backer: Deshawn Pace. From top to bottom, Jefferson has just over 1,000 passing, Harvey is closing in on 700 rushing yards, Hudson is averaging 20.7 yards per catch, 23 receptions for 477 yards and last but not least, the man making the defensive plays, Pace has 28tkls and 2 interceptions. The biggest thing for the Knights has been putting up points, it sounds simple but when they score, and do it a lot, they win. Plain and simple. In every game UCF has put up 35 points or more, they have won and on the flip side, every game they’ve scored less than 25 they have lost, this week's game against No. 9 ranked Iowa St. will be a test.
The Houston Cougars(2-4) have found themselves towards the bottom of the Big 12, they have struggled to score, two games scoreless, two games with only a touchdown and one game with 12 points. Donovan Smith, the senior signal caller for The Cougars has only been able to put together 694 total passing yards, Stacy Sneed and Re’Shaun Sanford II have equally shared the backfield, 40 carries each and just above 200 yards. Houston will travel to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks this Saturday.
The Utah Utes(4-2) are having a good year but have struggled in the Big 12, QB Issac Wilson has had a productive first 6 games with 830 yards passing, Wide Receiver Micah Bernard has earned himself 434 total yards, Tight End Brant Kuithe has been targeted 20 times for 313 yards and Running Back has ran for 434 yards. The Utes started off hot, 4 straight with wins but recently, they have fallen short to two Arizona teams. This Saturday The Utes will have a late night out against TCU.
The TCU Horned Toads(3-3) are in the same boat as Utah, they sit at 1-2 in conference play. Josh Hoover has had an impressive season just passing 2000 passing yards in his most recent game against Houston, his favorite target has been Jack Bech, he has been targeted 39 times for 702 yards, J.P. Richardson, Savion Williams and Eric McAlister have all surpassed 300+ receiving yards.
Oklahoma State(3-3) started off by winning their first 3 games and since have lost their last 3, Alan Bowman has put together 1,653 passing yards and 12 touchdowns, Ollie Gordon was a highly anticipated pre-season player but has yet to truly shine in The Cowboys offense, De’Zhaun Stribling is averaging 19.2 yards per catch with 29 receptions for 556 yards, Brennan Presley, Rashod Owens and Tayln Shettron have all strung together a couple hundred yards. They look to advance above .500 in their next game.
The Baylor Bears(3-3) have yet to secure a win in The Big 12 or have a standout player. Running backs Bryson Washington and Dawson Pendergrass have split the carries down the middle, 40 and 40, each have reached just past 180 yards through 6 games, Wide Receivers Josh Cameron, Ashtyn Hawkins and Hal Presley all stand at 200+ yards receiving. Baylor will travel to Texas this weekend for their next game.
Kansas(1-5) has been unable to catch a break since week 1, in 3 of the last 5 games that The Jayhawks have lost their opponents have put up 30 or more points. Running Back Devin Neal is averaging 5.8 yards, 100 carries for 584 total rushing yards, Daniel Hishaw Jr. is also putting up numbers, with 48 carries and 310 yards, Hishaw Jr. will be a good replacement next year when Neal graduates. The Kansas Jayhawks will look ahead to this Saturday where they will take on the Houston Cougars.