Baylor continues to fly under the radar

Big 12 Report: Red River center stage

Big 12 Report: Red River center stage
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Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts

Results that matter

Texas Tech 45 Oklahoma State 35

It was the first home win over a ranked team for the Red Raiders since 2013. That's an incredible stretch for a place that in the early 2000's was a hard place to play. Jett Duffey didn't start the year as the starter but injuries led to him taking over and against Oklahoma it was a rough go. He got it going against Oklahoma State to the tune of 424 yards and four touchdowns. This was a huge win for first year Red Raiders head coach Matt Wells.

Baylor 31 Kansas State 12

This was a close one that saw the Bears struggle to get going but eventually finish off Kansas State. It wasn't the prettiest game at all, but it moved the Bears to 5-0 and led to them being ranked yet again. Head coach Matt Rhule got a contract extension before this game and now the Bears have a shot to factor into the Big 12 race. They face a Texas Tech team riding high after a big win. The Bears are in the conversation, until they aren't. Fun stuff for a team that struggled to be relevant for a few years.

Studs of the week

Texas Tech DB Douglas Coleman

Two interceptions but when they happened were key. The Red Raiders were up 13-0 and had just missed a field goal when Coleman came up with his first interception. Momentum was on the Cowboys side but Coleman took it back. His second one ended the Cowboys chances at a comeback in the fourth quarter. He's the nation's leader in interceptions.

Texas Tech LB Jordyn Brooks

19 tackles. 3 sacks. 4 tackles for loss. What a line for the linebacker. My goodness. What a freaking day for Brooks. He was all over the field and a big key in the Red Raiders keeping the Cowboys at bay throughout the contest.

Texas RB Roschon Johnson

What a great performance from the former quarterback turned running back. With injuries devastating the depth at running back the Longhorns have had Johnson playing for a few weeks now. With Keaontay Ingram banged up, he helped the Horns move the ball to the tune of 21 carries for 121 yards in their win over West Virginia.

Must-watch game: 

6 Oklahoma 11 Texas

Red. River. Shootout. NOT rivalry. Come on now. Loved the name but love the game even more. No matter what the records this is always must-watch TV for the rest of the Big 12 conference. For the Sooners, beat Texas and keep rolling and hope you have their number should they show up in the Big 12 Championship game. For Texas, you have no more room for error if you have desires on making the college football playoff. A loss here likely eliminates you from contention for one of the four playoff spots.

Who better ball?

Texas QB Sam Ehlinger

Can Ehlinger make it 3 for 3 in outplaying Heisman Trophy contending Oklahoma quarterbacks? He has done it the past two years no reason to think he can't do it again. He will have to, honestly. The Longhorns will need Super Sam against the Sooners if they want to win this one.

Big 12 Rankings

1. Oklahoma

2. Texas

3. Baylor

4. Iowa State

5. Texas Tech

6. Oklahoma State

7. West Virginia

8. TCU

9. Kansas State

10. Kansas

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A whole new ballgame. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

As of 9:42 Central Daylight Saving Time Friday night, the Astros (and all other baseball players) are officially the Boys of Summer, officially so far as the season is concerned anyway. When the summer solstice arrived last year the Astros were nine games off the lead in the American League West. So in addressing the rhetorical axiom “what a difference a year makes,” the difference in the Astros’ case is a whopping 14 games as they start the weekend atop their division by five games. At this point in the season last year the Astros’ record in one-run games was a brutal 5-14. In 2025 they are 13-7 in games decided by the narrowest of margins.

That the Astros are just 4-5 in road games against the two worst teams in the American League is no big deal, other than that every game counts in the standings. Still, just as was losing two out of three at the pathetic White Sox earlier this season, it is no doubt disappointing to the Astros to have only gotten a split of their four-game set with the Athletics. The A’s had gone 9-28 in their last 37 games before the Astros arrived in West Sacramento. The former-Oaklanders took the first game and the finale, as the Astros’ offense played bi-polar ball over the four nights. Two stat-padding explosion games that totaled 24 runs and 35 hits were bookended by a puny one-run output Monday and Thursday’s 5-4 10-inning loss. Baseball happens. Nevertheless, as the Astros open their weekend set versus the Angels, they have gone 17-7 over their last 24 games to forge their five-game division lead.

The New York Yankees’ offense has been by a healthy margin the best attack in the American League so far this season. The reigning AL champions snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday. The Yankees mustered a total of six runs over those six losses, including being shutout in three consecutive games. The baseball season is the defining “it’s a marathon not a sprint” sport. With 162 games on the schedule, combined with the fact that the gap in winning percentage between the best teams and the worst teams is smaller than in any other sport, making much about a series, or week or two of games is misguided, apart from all the results mattering.

The future is now

Without context, statistics can tell very misleading stories. Cam Smith is having a fine rookie season and has the looks of a guy who can blossom into a bonafide star and be an Astro mainstay into the 2030s. But it’s silliness that has anyone talking about the big month of June he’s having. Superficially, sure, going into Thursday’s game Smith’s stat line for the month read a .321 batting average and .874 OPS. Alas, that was mostly about Smith’s two monster games in the consecutive routs of the Athletics. Over those two games Cam went seven for nine with two home runs and two doubles. Over the other 14 games he’s played this month Smith is batting .213 with an OPS below .540.

Cam Smith is a long-term contender for best acquisition of Dana Brown’s tenure as General Manager. If his career was a single game Smith is still in the first inning, but if his career was a stock it’s a buy and hold. If the Astros were for some reason forced to part with all but two players in the organization, I think the two they would hold on to are Smith and Hunter Brown. Jeremy Pena would be another strong candidate, but he turns 28 in September and is two seasons from free agency (unless the rules change in the next collective bargaining agreement). Smith is 22 and under Astros’ control for another five seasons, he’s not even presently eligible for salary arbitration until the 2028 season. Brown turns 27 in August and is currently ineligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.

Angels in the outfield

Hunter Brown pitches opposite Yusei Kikuchi Friday night. Kikuchi was Dana Brown’s big in-season move last season, and Kikuchi was excellent with the Astros which set up to get the three-year 63 million dollar deal he landed with the Halos. After a slow start to his season Kikuchi has been outstanding the past month and a half, with a 2.28 earned run average over his last nine starts. Brown’s 1.88 season ERA is second-best in the big leagues among pitchers with the innings pitched to qualify in the category. Only Pirates’ stud Paul Skenes has a better mark, barely so at 1.85.

Kikuchi was a stellar rental who helped the Astros stretch their consecutive postseasons streak to eight. There was an absurd amount of vitriol over what Dana Brown gave up for him. Joey Loperfido is 26 years old and having a middling season at AAA. Will Wagner is 26 years old and back in the minors after batting .186 with the Blue Jays. Jake Bloss is the one guy who maaaaaybe some day the Astros wish they still had. Bloss is out into 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!

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