Week 2 action gets under way

Big 12 report: Time for the Texas statement

Big 12 report: Time for the Texas statement
@TexasFootball

The Big 12 is the only undefeated conference in football. There are some solid games to pay attention to this week but before we do that let's take a look back at last week in Big 12 action.

Wins that matter

 

Iowa State 29 Northern Iowa 26

The news clippings almost got the Cyclones! They had to struggle to take down the Panthers after coming in ranked for the first time basically ever. The absence of David Montgomery and Hakeem Butler were apparent. Deshaunte Jones was amazing but the wideouts outside of him didn't bring a ton. The Cyclones have a lot of improvement ahead of them if they want to be taken serious behind the Longhorns and the Sooners.

Oklahoma 49 Houston 31

The Sooners looked like they didn't miss a beat with new quarterback Jalen Hurts under center. They're nasty when it comes to pass catchers and the defense had some early bright spots before they started breaking more than the bent. Lincoln Riley is one of the best coaches in football and the Sooners seem ready to roll again.

Texas 45 Louisiana Tech 14

The Longhorns rolled. They allowed a few yards but made the plays they needed to keep the Bulldogs out of the end zone. The offense rolled despite limitation at running back in the game. Tom Herman and company had a good warm up before the biggest game of the early Big 12 schedule.

Three studs

 

Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard

You can see the video above. He was a freak against the Beavers and Oklahoma State has a dynamic offense with him and quarterback Spencer Sanders leading the way. Hubbard is already to a third of his production from last season.

Texas Tech RB Armand Shyne

A Texas Tech running back? You're damn right. The Red Raiders played a FCS team but almost 700 yards is nothing to sneeze at ever. The ground game rattled off 255 with Shyne accounting for 125 yards on his 11 carries.

Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts

What a debut for the former Alabama quarterback. He accounted for over 500 yards of offense and six touchdowns and my word he looked better than just about ever. He won the "Week One Heisman" is all you need to know.

Must-watch game

 

6 LSU at 9 Texas

What a contest. What a matchup. Just an incredible early schedule game for all of us to consume. Texas has the ability to defeat LSU and hand the Tigers a huge blow to a hopeful season. LSU probably has the offense capable of downing the Horns in Austin, but I don't trust Joe Burrow.

Last year Burrow tossed 16 touchdowns. The above mentioned Sam Ehlinger rushed for 16 touchdowns on top of his 25 passing scores. Burrow accounted for just 23 total scores. Yes, Burrow and the Tigers torched their week one opponent. Let's see if they can do it against Texas. I am worried about the injuries to the Longhorns running backs but if Ehlinger's legs hold up Texas is winning this one.

Who better ball

Texas RB Keaontay Ingram

He's one of the few healthy running backs that is actually a running back and not transitioned there off another position. He will have to be solid and durable for the Longhorns if they're going to win.

West Virginia's Running Backs. All of them.

Awful performance for them against James Madison last week. They rushed for a whopping 34 yards. That has to be better if they'd like to add to Missouri's horrid start.

Big 12 Rankings

1. Oklahoma

2. Texas

3. Oklahoma State

4. Texas Tech

5. Baylor

6. TCU

7. Iowa State

8. Kansas State

9. West Virginia

10. Kansas

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Hunter Brown takes the mound for Houston Tuesday night. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros will look to even their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night at Daikin Park, with ace-in-the-making Hunter Brown taking the mound.

The Astros (55-36) dropped the series opener 7-5 on Monday, snapping a stretch that saw them win six of their last eight games. But they'll have their best arm on the hill in Brown, who enters with a 9-3 record, a sparkling 1.82 ERA, and a microscopic 0.90 WHIP. The right-hander has been the definition of dominant this season, striking out 126 batters and giving Houston a clear edge in any matchup he starts.

Cleveland (41-48) will counter with Joey Cantillo, who has impressed in limited action. The lefty owns a 3.41 ERA and will face a Houston lineup that has been red-hot, batting .298 over the last 10 games and piling up runs behind contributions from Victor Caratini, Cam Smith, and Jose Altuve.

Despite Monday’s setback, the Astros are still 32-15 at home and boast a 43-13 record when outhitting their opponent. Cleveland, meanwhile, has lost nine of its last 10 and is hitting just .187 over that span — though Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan remain threats to change a game with one swing.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Meyers has 15 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 21 RBIs for the Astros. Meyers is dealing with a calf issue and was out of the lineup for Game 1 versus the Guardians.

Caratini is 10 for 38 with two doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.

Tuesday marks the fifth meeting between the two clubs this season, with the series tied 2-2. With Brown on the mound and the offense continuing to click, Houston will try to reclaim control and keep pace atop the American League.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -211, Guardians +173; over/under is 7 runs.

Lineup breakdown

Here's an early look at Houston's lineup for Game 2. Spots 1-6 are the same as Game 1, except Cooper Hummel is playing left field, with Altuve in the DH spot. Mauricio Dubon is hitting seventh and playing second base, with Zack Short (SS) hitting eighth, followed by Taylor Trammell batting ninth and playing center field. Jake Meyers is out of the lineup again with a calf issue.



 

  Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot


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