Around the Big 12: Week 8

Week 8 of the Big 12 showed how competitive the conference can be. There was only one matchup that was a blowout in the eighth week of the season.

No. 6 Oklahoma prevailed in a tight 31-29 victory over UCF.

UCF proved they belong in the Big 12, despite still being winless in Big 12 play. They held a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

John Rhys Plumlee accounted for all three touchdowns for the Knights and was a big factor in keeping them in this game.

However, Dillon Gabriel willed his team to victory leading two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

Nic Anderson was Gabriel’s go-to receiver, racking up 105 yards with two touchdown receptions.

UCF scored to bring it within two points, with a minute left on the game clock but failed to convert the two-point conversion to tie it up.

Like UCF, Cincinnati is still looking for their first win in Big 12 play.

Baylor defeated the Bearcats 32-29 on the road.

Blake Shapen found his groove in this game, completing 25 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown.

The defense of Baylor shut down a potential game-winning drive from Cincinnati at the end of the game.

Cincinnati running backs Corey Kiner and Myles Montgomery each rushed at least 10 times and both over 100 yards on the ground.

Baylor will look to build off of this win as they return home to face Iowa State.

Oklahoma State traveled into Morgantown and defeated West Virginia 48-34, in the highest-scoring Big 12 matchup of the week.

Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene did everything he could for the offense. He passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 116 yards.

It was not enough to keep up with Oklahoma State’s rushing attack.

Oklahoma State’s offense was a showcase of Ollie Gordon II. The running back ran it 29 times for 282 yards and four touchdowns. The West Virginia defense could not slow him down.

Any chance they had to stop him, quarterback Alan Bowman pulled it back and threw it, amounting to 216 yards and two touchdown passes.

After a great start to the season for West Virginia, it has come to a screeching halt after losing two games in a row.

No. 8 Texas was in for a scare as the Longhorns barely survived in Houston, winning 31-24.

The big storyline in this game was quarterback Quinn Ewers going down with an injury. Backup quarterback Maalik Murphy took over for the injured Ewers, despite the hype of freshman quarterback Arch Manning.

The Longhorns relied on running back Jonathon Brooks. Brooks carried the ball 20 times for 99 yards.

Houston quarterback Donovan Smith is the reason the Cougars stayed in this game. He threw for a career-high 378 yards.

It was just not enough to pull off the upset over the No. 8 team in the country.

Kansas State and TCU featured the lone blowout game of the week, in a rematch of last year’s Big 12 Title Game. Kansas State won, once again, 41-3 over TCU.

It was a big rushing day for the Wildcats as nine different players had at least one carry in the game. Treshaun Ward led the way with 89 yards.

The Horned Frogs could not get revenge for the loss in the Big 12 title game a year ago.

In the final matchup of the day, BYU continued to prove they belong in the Big 12 by taking down Texas Tech, 27-14.

It was the defense of BYU that won the game, forcing Texas Tech to five turnovers, including one that was returned for a touchdown by cornerback Eddie Heckard.

BYU prevented any comeback attempt in the fourth quarter through the toughness of their defense.

Oklahoma still leads the conference commandingly undefeated with four teams behind the Sooners vying for the other spot in the championship game.

Andrew Deal is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email asd5765@psu.edu