Big 12 roundup: Oklahoma storms past West Virginia with freshman running back

Oklahoma defeated West Virginia in the Big 12’s second conference game this season, and Kansas did what it had to do to get past (Directional) Michigan.

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Oklahoma 45, West Virginia 33

Oklahoma’s freshman running back Samaje Perine stole the show as the Sooners cruised to their first Big 12 victory of the season over West Virginia.

Listed as the third best back entering the season, an injury to Keith Ford gave Perine the opportunity to make a name for himself, and he certainly did that in the Big 12 opener.

From the AP recap:

"”We did a good job of hitting the holes,” said Perine, who averaged 7.1 yards on 34 carries. ”Coach (Bob) Stoops told me that he had confidence that I could get the job done and I just went out there and did my best.”Perine was Oklahoma’s No. 3 back entering the season. He’s already built a reputation as a weight room beast, and his power showed against the Mountaineers."

West Virginia QB Clint Trickett dazzled in the first half, but cooled off due to Perine pounding it down their throats for 242 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Mountaineers simply had no answer on defense to stop the bruising back.

Again, the defense will be the problem for WVU this season as they’ve got their offense figured out. They can expect to be in multiple shootouts over the course of the season.

Kansas 24, Central Michigan 10

The Jayhawks scored a couple touchdowns in the fourth quarter, finally creating the difference in an offensively lackluster game. Kansas had just 15 first downs, but converted 9 of those on third down. Both touchdowns in the fourth quarter were by KU QB Montell Cozart‘s arm, amazingly enough. Cozart had a 60-yard bomb to Justin McCay and backed it up with a 30-yard score to Corey Avery. Cozart did finish above 50 percent passing (23-of-33) and had over 200 yards passing.

Of course, Iowa State, like many other Big 12 teams, didn’t play this weekend. A near full conference slate begins next week culminating with the Cyclones’ game against Baylor.