The Big 12 gets their nine-game conference schedule going this weekend
Big 12 Report: Proving time as conference play arrives
Sep 18, 2019, 11:24 pm
The Big 12 gets their nine-game conference schedule going this weekend
Â#KUfball getting some much deserved love on @CollegeGameDay this morning đ pic.twitter.com/EiazcRIPTI
â Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 14, 2019
Kansas 48 Boston College 24
Kansas! YES! KANSAS! They ROCKED Boston College. 500 yards of offense with the majority of it coming on the ground. Their defense pitched a shutout in the second half. This is a huge turnaround for a team that lost to Coastal Carolina the week before. Les Miles might be in for a long haul to get Kansas where they want to go but he's on the right path with a win like this. It was the first Power 5 win on the road in over a decade for the Jayhawks. Awesome. They might add a few surprises to their win-loss record before 2019 is over.
Kansas State 31 Mississippi State 24
Crazy what happens when you hire a coach who lost six games in five years. Chris Klieman has Kansas State rolling putting up huge numbers against non-Power 5 opponents and securing a big win against an SEC foe on the road. I don't know what success is going to look like for Kansas State in 2019 but they're already on the right track to getting back into a bowl game. Heading to the Little Apple won't be an easy win this year.
West Virginia 44 North Carolina State 27
The Wolfpack won nine games last season and though they lost a lot they were favorites over a struggling West Virginia team. Well, Neal Brown and company smoked their ACC opponent just like Kansas did. Austin Kendall finally got going at quarterback and the defense played lights out in the second half. Again, going to West Virginia isn't going to be a cakewalk despite what the first two weeks may have displayed.
ÂWhat a touchdown by @WVUfootball WR Sam James đȘđȘ pic.twitter.com/050pSfg6qA
â FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2019
WVU WR Sam James
Quite the breakout for the youngster. Nine catches led to 155 yards and the above score. He only had 70 yards or so coming into this game. He will be Austin Kendall's best friend going forward.
Kansas RB Khalil Herbert
How about 17 yards per carry? That's what Herbert did on Saturday. He was a monster and has been making the most of his opportunities all year sharing the rock with Pooka Williams. 187 yards total and a touchdown on the day for the senior.
OSU RB Chuba Hubbard
He has been here before. He will be here a bunch. This was as good as his week one performance, maybe better. 256 yards and three more scores. He's already matched his touchdown total from all of last season.
ÂGoing for 6âŁ.
â Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 17, 2019
đ https://t.co/lvciKN6iR2#okstate #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/lRoBV1lE66
Oklahoma State at Texas
Texas got a little reprieve last weekend with Rice on their schedule but just two weeks after squaring off with the dynamic LSU offense another one comes to town. The last time the Longhorns beat the Cowboys was 2014. Oklahoma State held off Texas in 2018 and 2017 saw a low-scoring overtime win by Mike Gundy's crew when Texas QB Sam Ehlinger tried to throw it away and didn't get it away but into a defender's hand.
Texas has no margin for error in the hope for a chance at the playoff and very little room for a loss if they want to win the Big 12 as well. The Cowboys could make a statement
ÂOklahoma State escapes in OT. Hereâs the view from down on the field pic.twitter.com/x0hRXz6o1j
â Max Olson (@max_olson) October 21, 2017
Texas QB Sam Ehlinger
An interception to end the game in 2017. One of his more unimpressive performances last year. It is time for him to go nuts on a defense that is suspect.
Kansas RB Khalil Herbert and WVU WR Sam James
Both these guys were studs of the week and now their teams play each other so ball out again and help your team claw their way out of the Big 12 cellar.
1. Oklahoma
2. Oklahoma State
3. Texas
4. Baylor
5. TCU
6. Kansas State
7. Iowa State
8. West Virginia
9. Kansas
10. Texas Tech
Yes, my Texas Tech Red Raiders are at the bottom. Power 5 road loss and got dominated in it. Also, the starting quarterback is hurt. Rough times for the red and black.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
ÂDepth finally runs dry
ÂIt would be easy to point to a âDodger hangoverâ as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But thatâs not the story here.
Houstonâs energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesdayâs finale.
But scoring isnât everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
ÂCracks in the pitching core
ÂAnd the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasnât spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles werenât isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpenâs collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
ÂInjury handling under fire
ÂHoustonâs injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesdayâs finale. He didnât even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astrosâ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
ÂPressure mounts on Dana Brown
ÂAll eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act â and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. Heâs been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio DubĂłn stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthewsâ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipelineÂÂ
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
â FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
Thereâs also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers donât jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
ÂA final test before the break
ÂBefore the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio â Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown â to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold âStros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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