Big 12’s Week Five Winners and Losers

Week five of the college football regular season is in the books and it produced some surprising results. In the Big 12, Oklahoma State took a big step forward, while Oklahoma stumbled. Kansas finally cracked the Top-25 and Kansas State continued to roll. Here are the winners and losers from a busy week.

Winners

Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas has been a surprising storyline early in the season, especially within the Big 12. Following their 5-0 start, the Jayhawks find themselves ranked No. 19 in the recent Top-25 poll, their first ranking since 2009.

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It wasn’t pretty, but Kansas edged out their fifth straight win to start the year against Iowa State 14-11. Jalon Daniels has been extremely impressive this season, but he regressed slightly against the Cyclones. He threw for a season-low 93 yards on just seven completions and was held to just nine yards on the ground. However, he did run for a score and had zero turnovers to help the Jayhawks squeak out the victory.

For the first time in history, ESPN’s College Gameday will head to Lawrence, Kansas, next week when No. 17 TCU heads into town. The biggest winners of the week will look for their first ranked win under head coach Lance Leipold.

TCU Horned Frogs

TCU shocked the nation with the way they performed against the Oklahoma Sooners in their 55-24 win. They move into the poll at No. 17, this week.

Quarterback Max Duggan led the way for the Horned Frogs, finding the endzone five times and totaling over 400 total yards from scrimmage.

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Some very explosive plays made a previously impressive Sooner defense look slow and ineffective. TCU managed to score four touchdowns of 50+ yards, including an impressive 67-yard score on the ground.

Back in the poll for the first time since 2019, TCU heads into the second of four straight games against ranked opponents when they travel to Kansas on Saturday.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State needed a massive win in Waco against No. 16 Baylor to remain as the clear frontrunner to win the Big 12. They did just that, knocking off the Bears 36-25. They moved up to No. 7 in the new poll.

Oklahoma State beats Baylor 36-25 in Waco.

You’re looking at the best team in the Big 12. #OKState pic.twitter.com/6ym9ooJkR2

— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) October 1, 2022

With the fall-off of Oklahoma and Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma State moved into prime position to head to the Big 12 Championship game. The winner of the head-to-head matchup would take an even larger step forward, and it was the Cowboys.

Although quarterback Spencer Sanders didn’t have his best performance, he played at a high enough level to push Oklahoma State forward. The senior quarterback went 20/29 throwing for 181 yards along with one touchdown and one interception.

It’s still not an easy road from here on out for Oklahoma State, with three ranked opponents in their next five matchups. Not to mention, a heated rivalry game against Oklahoma in late November. Nonetheless, the big road win finds the Cowboys as big winners.

Losers

Oklahoma Sooners

No. 18 Oklahoma needed a bounce-back performance to reconcile their loss against Kansas State, last week. However, TCU had no problems dealing with the Sooners as OU fell 55-24. They fell out of the Top-25, as a result.

Dillon Gabriel was knocked out early in the game after taking a high hit that looked like it might spark Oklahoma. However, the Horned Frogs put the pressure right back on the Sooners and continued to do so through the final whistle. There will be major questions moving forward if Gabriel is unable to play in their upcoming games.

Davis Beville stepped in after Gabriel left the game, but was not very effective in his action. He went 7/16 for just 50 yards.

A bigger question for the Sooners is what the defense will do moving forward. After giving up just 30 points through the first three games, the Sooner defense has given up more than 40 in each of the last two contests.

It's been a tough two weeks for Oklahoma fans pic.twitter.com/E1DEDv8mAv

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2022

They will need to figure it out quickly, as the rest of their Big 12 schedule will pose significant threats on offense. The Sooners can’t afford to lose any more games down the stretch if they have any Big 12 Championship hopes.

Baylor Bears

The Bears had a huge opportunity to be winners this week with a home contest against No. 9 Oklahoma State. However, the Cowboys answered the call, holding off Baylor 36-25. The Bears dropped out of the poll, this week.

Baylor’s offense looked slow early but fought back behind Blake Shapen and Richard Reese. Shapen ended the day with 345 passing yards and two touchdowns but did have two interceptions late in the game. Reese found the endzone on the ground for the third straight game to go along with 85 rushing yards.

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There is still a lot of hope in Waco. Each Big 12 Championship game participant since 2017 has come into the game with at least one loss. The loss against Oklahoma State does not end Baylor’s chance, but it does add pressure heading into each game moving forward.

The Bears will look to bounce back against West Virginia on Saturday.