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Five Thoughts on the Big 12: Week 9

By Brian Spaen

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1. It was hard to hear the news of Jake Knott likely being out for the year. The senior linebacker from Waukee, Iowa, has an outside chance of being in a bowl game, but he leaves on as good of terms as possible. He was awarded the Big 12 defensive player of the week award, registering 11 tackles in his 19th game with double-digit tackles and his 10th forced fumble in his four-year career. Regardless whether or not Knott will be back in a bowl game, he was one of the best fighters Iowa State has had on defense in their history.

October 27, 2012; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Steele Jantz (2) runs away from Baylor Bears defensive back Mike Hicks (17) at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa State beat Baylor 35-21. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-US PRESSWIRE

2. Steele Jantz turned around his touchdown/interception ratio quickly in one game – five touchdowns to one pick – in the 35-21 victory over Baylor. It further cemented the Bears’ defense into the worst slot in the nation. What should be focused on more is the Cyclones’ ability to keep the Bears off the scoreboard so much. Compared to Baylor’s 124th-ranked total defense in the nation, they are 3rd in total offense.

3. Kansas State has an obvious case for being in the national title game after their 55-24 beatdown of Texas Tech . Collin Klein wins Big 12 offensive player of the week for the third time this season (and third straight), this time showing off his passing efficiency (19-26 for 233 yards and two touchdowns) and running ability (83 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns) against a very good Red Raiders defense that’s now ranked 12th in the nation. Do they control their destiny? Well, they have to hope that Oklahoma State and Texas continue to win down the stretch.

4. No, there shouldn’t be a quarterback controversy in Texas. David Ash had one bad day on offense (excuse the Oklahoma beatdown) and just because Case McCoy comes in on the final drive and wins the game doesn’t mean he should automatically get the start. Trust Cyclone fans, they’ve seen plenty of backups come into a game and win it for their team. Perhaps if Kansas did better than 3-9 passing on the day, they wouldn’t have lost 21-17 to the Longhorns

5. Yup, I was wrong on Notre Dame – they matched up physically against Oklahoma and beat them 30-13. It was a final score that looked worse than the game actually was, but the Irish are an obvious title contender. Let’s face it…Oklahoma doesn’t play up to their potential in big games anymore except the Red River Rivalry.

  • Oklahoma State 36, TCU 14 – Quinn Sharp won the Big 12 special teams player of the week after rebounding from last week against Iowa State. He hit all five field goal attempts and two punts were nailed inside the 20. This is his second award in the past three weeks.

Big 12 Power Rankings

  1. Kansas State (8-0, 5-0) LW: 1
  2. Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1) LW: 4
  3. Oklahoma (5-2, 3-1) LW: 2
  4. Texas (6-2, 3-2) LW: 5
  5. Texas Tech (6-2, 3-2) LW: 3
  6. Iowa State (5-3, 2-3) LW: 8
  7. TCU (5-3, 2-3) LW: 6
  8. West Virginia (5-2, 2-2) LW: 7
  9. Baylor (3-4, 0-4) LW: 9
  10. Kansas (1-7, 0-5) LW: 10

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Clones Confidential. Keep up with the latest sports fails and disdain toward the Big Ten by following him on Twitter.

Read his other work on the Oregon Ducks blog, Autzen Zoo, and Lacrosse the Web.

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