The Big 12 Report
Oklahoma back in action with new life after Big 12 leader West Virginia falls in Week 7
Oct 16, 2018, 7:00 am
Kyler Murray and the Sooners try to bounce back. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
After a big weekend of upsets and nail biters throughout college football, the Big 12 lost its only undefeated team in West Virginia when the Mountaineers fell to Iowa State 30-14. Now that West Virginia has been knocked off its pedestal, things are looking very interesting in terms of the Big 12 standings as there are now three very talented one loss teams. Both (9) Oklahoma and (13) West Virginia sit at 5-1, while (7) Texas takes over the top spot at 6-1. With an action-packed Week 7 in the books, only four Big 12 teams will be in action in Week 8. Check out which teams will face off this coming weekend and which players could have significant impacts.
Must watch games Week 8
(11) Oklahoma vs. TCU
After having to sit on their heartbreaking loss to Texas in Week 6, the Sooners will be extremely excited to get back on the gridiron in Week 8 against a struggling TCU team. After starting 2-0, the Horned Frogs seem to have completely lost their identity and confidence as a team. Even though quarterback Shawn Robinson has been fighting through injuries the past couple weeks, TCU has yet to score more than 17 points in its last three games, which is a big contrast to their first three games of the season in which they averaged 41 points per game. There is no doubt that this is an issue of serious concern going into their Week 8 showdown with an Oklahoma team that has one of the most explosive and dynamic offensive attacks in the nation. Not to mention that since the Sooners now have one loss, they have no room for any more mistakes this season and will have extra motivation to win out the rest of their games if they want any chance of keeping their college football playoff hopes alive. Look for OU and Heisman hopeful quarterback Kyler Murray to come out firing on Saturday and jump on TCU early.
Kansas vs. Texas Tech
While three one loss teams sit atop the Big 12 standings, Texas Tech is fighting hard to stay with the pack and in the Big 12 conversations. The Red Raiders hold the fourth spot with a 4-2 record, despite having a quarterback carousel so far this season. After starting quarterback McLane Carter went down early in the first game of the season, Tech struck gold with Freshman Alan Bowman who broke all-time Big 12 passing records on his way to leading the Red Raiders to three straight victories. Unfortunately, Bowman was sidelined in Week 6 due to a collapsed lung, which thrust third string QB Jeff Duffy onto the field and into the starting role vs. TCU in Week 7. Somehow Texas Tech has able to handle and overcome each of these roadblocks and stay relevant amongst the Big 12’s top teams. While Tech is definitely the more intriguing team compared to Kansas, the Jayhawks should not be totally overlooked. Kansas is off to one of their best starts in recent years and despite only having won two games this season, have yet to look overmatched or uncompetitive in any of their games this year.
Players to watch Week 8
Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray: After an emotional loss in Week 6 where his best efforts and an abundance of jaw dropping plays were not enough to carry his team past the Longhorns, Kyler Murray is expected to return with a renewed sense of urgency and motivation. The Sooners loss to Texas not only marked the end of their chances of a perfect season, but also the end of Murray’s unprecedented undefeated streak as a starting quarterback dating back to high school. With a record of 42-0 as a starting QB in high school and 6-0 as a starter to begin his collegiate career, Murray was overcome with emotions after coming up just three points short to UT. This can only be bad news for the Sooners Week 8 opponent TCU, as Murray and the rest of his team will only be more motivated to re-establish their dominance and keep their national championship dream alive.
TCU DE’s Ben Banogu & L.J. Collier: One bright spot in this season for the struggling Horned Frogs is the play of defensive end’s Ben Banogu and L.J. Collier. Coming off their best game of the season vs. Texas Tech where the Banogu and Collier both tallied two sacks a piece, the duo is finally hitting their stride and living up to pre-season expectations as two of the best pass rushers in the Big 12. The two defensive difference makers will need to have a big impact this coming weekend if the Horned Frogs hope to have any chance against the Sooners. Coach Patterson will have to rely heavily on Banogu and Collier to disrupt quarterback Kyler Murray and set the tone for the TCU defense. It is also worthy to note that both Banogu and Collier are Seniors with NFL aspirations, and will be strongly motivated to pad their stats and build their individual draft stock whether their team is winning games or not.
Kansas RB Pooka Williams Jr.: One thing stands out when examining the Jayhawks two victories this season, and that’s the performance of Freshman RB Pooka Williams. Williams has surpassed 100 yards rushing twice so far in 2018 and in both of those games Kansas was able to come out on top. Since those two-early season wins, Williams has yet to secure another 100-yard performance and I am hard pressed to believe that his team’s inability to get another win has no correlation to that. With a daunting task ahead of them in the 4-2 Red Raiders, Williams might just be the key to Kansas getting an upset victory.
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. In the batter’s box he has often looked befuddled. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
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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