Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

Instead of staying for his senior season or transferring to a lower-division school, Oklahoma St. QB Bobby Reid is reportedly declaring for the NFL draft.

Reid entered his junior season highly-rated after a sophomore season that saw him throw for 2,266 yards and 24 touchdowns (with 11 interceptions) and run for 500 yards and five touchdowns.

But, after going down with an injury in a win over Florida Atlantic, Reid lost his job to sophomore Zac Robinson, who, like Reid, is a dual-threat QB.

Robinson went on to throw for 2,847 yards and 23 touchdowns, and run for 847 yards and nine touchdowns, while Reid saw action in only three more games, finishing his season 26 of 49 passing for 275 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

He might have gained more national recognition for anything that he ever did on the field for coach Mike Gundy’s infamous rant after a 49-45 win over Texas Tech, when he vociferously defended Reid over an article by a local columnist that seemed to question Reid’s manhood. Gundy famously said, ‘I’m a man! I’m 40!’ in a video that yes, even I, have seen on Youtube.

Boy or not, Reid has the talent to be an NFL quarterback, though it may not have hurt to go to a small school, where he could have had a big year and greatly built up his draft stock.

However, with his size and skills with both his arm and his legs, Reid should garner some attention, especially if he can perform well in workouts leading up to the draft.

Some might say that Reid could have stayed in Stillwater and fought for his job, but given how things took such a turn for him, and that he’d be fighting an uphill battle to replace Robinson, though given how Robinson overtook Reid after the season that Reid had in ‘06, anything’s possible.

One factor that may have played into Reid’s decision is the fact that he’s already graduated from OSU, so he may just be content to move on and try to get his shot at the NFL, even if it is a year earlier than expected.

My oh my, Virginia Tech just got out-Beamer Balled.

Upstart Kansas proved that they were anything but, using great defense, big special teams plays, and offensive efficiency to topple Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange Bowl.

The Hokies did have an 84-yard punt return for a score in the third quarter, and they also sacked Todd Reesing five times.

That might be good enough on most nights, but not on this one, because Kansas was just a little better at every facet of the game.

On defense, the Jayhawks registered five sacks and picked off three passes, including one that star corner Aqib Talib returned 60 yards for a touchdown, and another that Justin Thornton returned to the two, setting up Todd Reesing’s decisive two-yard touchdown run that made it 24-14 early in the fourth.

Despite giving up the punt return for a score, Kansas also came up big on special teams, blocking a field goal and using a fake punt to get a first down on another drive.

And, on offense, the Jayhawks didn’t crumble against the tenacious Tech defense, turning the ball over only once and picking up 343 total yards against a defense that was allowing only 293.3 coming into tonight.

All of those efforts combined to lead Kansas to one of the biggest victories in school history, and dispelled any doubts about whether or not they deserved to be in the BCS.

And, there’s a good chance they could be here again this time next season.

They’ll lose a lot of offensive production in Brandon McAnderson and Marcus Henry, but they’ll return receivers Dexton Fields and Kerry Meier (who’s also the backup QB), running back Jake Sharp, and most importantly, Reesing, who threw for 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions in his first season as a starter.

And, on defense, they may lose Talib to the draft, but will nearly all of the unit’s key players and leading tacklers.

They will have to replace placekicker Scott Webb and punter Kyle Tucker, but that might be the only unit that will see drastic changes.

So, it might be a strange sight right now, but get used to it, because these Jayhawks don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

Kansas may be a newcomer to the BCS, but they’re certainly not playing like it.

The Jayhawks have gotten off to a fast start on both sides of the ball, and are up 17-0 over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

All-American corner Aqib Talib has been active all night, as he returned an interception 60 yards for a score to get the scoring started, returned a punt 17 yards to set the Jayhawks up with a short field, which they capitalized on to get into the end zone to take a 17-0 lead, and he also had a long return on a missed field goal.

The Kansas defense has been a nightmare for the Virginia Tech offense, with two interceptions and four sacks already.

And, on offense, Todd Reesing is 12 of 19 for 107 yards and a touchdown, with his 13-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Henry setting a new school record of 36.

There’s still plenty of time to go, but the Jayhawks are certainly off to an excellent start all-around.

Pat White and West Virginia’s offense was just too much for a depleted Oklahoma defense last night as the Mountaineers trounced the Sooners 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Oklahoma was missing starters Reggie Smith (injury), Lendy Holmes (academic ineligibility), and DeMarcus Granger (sent home for shoplifting), and the Mountaineers capitalized, rushing for 349 yards and totaling 525 yards. 

It was the Sooners’ fourth straight loss in a BCS bowl game.  There was one bright spot in the loss, however, in junior wide receiver Quentin Chaney, who came into the game with only five catches for 56 yards and one touchdown on the season, but caught four passes for 129 yards and a touchdown last night. 

Tonight, 11-1 Kansas looks to cap their storybook season with a happy ending as they take on ACC champion Virginia Tech (11-2) in the Orange Bowl. 

It’s a two-score game yet again, as Oklahoma quickly drove down the field, with Bradford hooking up with Iglesias on a 15-yard score to close the deficit again.

It’s now 41-28 West Virginia with 10 minutes to play. A quick stop for the Sooners is a must.

Just as I say that, the Mountaineers may have just sealed the win, as Devine goes 65 yards for a score.

It’s 48-28 with nine minutes to play, and OU is now in need of a minor miracle, or to at least come up with a couple of quick-strike scores of their own, along with a turnover or two..

Just when OU looked to be getting back into the game, pulling within 34-21 on a Sam Bradford touchdown pass to Quentin Chaney, West Virginia may have all but sealed the victory with Pat White’s 79-yard touchdown pass to Tito Gonzales on the next play from scrimmage.

It’s 41-21 West Virginia with 13 minutes to play. Still not over, but the Sooners are going to have score quickly and buckle down on defense to give themselves a chance to make a comeback.

As quickly as Oklahoma got themselves back in the game, they may have lost it.

After the questionable onside kick call that backfired, and the resulting touchdown by West Virginia, a penalty on the kickoff gave the Sooners bad field position, and after a three-and-out, the Mountaineers needed only three plays to get into the end zone, with receiver Darius Reynaud scoring on a 30-yard run.

34-15 Mountaineers at the end of the third. The Sooners aren‘t going to lay down though, as Juaquin Iglesias just returned the kickoff near midfield, and the Sooners are already inside the West Virginia 30 after a pass interference penalty.

Oklahoma got off to a slow start, falling behind 20-6 at halftime to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl, but it looks like the Bob Stoops lit a fire under his guys in the locker room, as they’ve stopped the Mountaineers on two straight possessions coming out of the locker room, and trimmed the deficit to 20-9 with a Garrett Hartley field goal on their first offensive possession.

The Sooners were down 28-10 in the third quarter against Boise State in last season’s Fiesta Bowl, and came back to take a 35-28 lead before losing 43-42 in overtime, so there’s plenty of time and plenty of fight left in OU.

They’re moving the ball yet again, and are already at the West Virginia 15. Make that the 1-yard line after Chris Brown just broke off a 14-yard run, and now they’re into the end zone as Brown finished off the drive by getting in from one yard out to make it 20-15 with 6:27 to go in the third.

Oklahoma went for the two-point conversion and didn’t get it, but they’ve quickly tightened this one up. The onus is now on the Mountaineers to get something going on offense, and for the defense to start getting to Sam Bradford like they did in the first half, when they sacked him three times.

That blocked field goal at the end of the first half, when WVU could’ve gone up 23-6, was a real momentum swinger, because it put a good capper on a subpar first half on both sides of the ball.

OU just gave back all the momentum they’d gotten by attempting an onside kick that West Virginia recovered, and with the short field, the Mountaineers fully capitalized, as freshman running back Noel Devine went 17 yards for a touchdown, and it’s 27-15 West Virginia with 3:40 to go in the third.

Time for the Sooners to respond.

Darren McFadden and Chase Daniel were supposed to be the headliners,

Temple ran for a Cotton Bowl-record 281 yards and four touchdowns to lead Missouri (12-2) to 38-7 rout of McFadden and Arkansas (8-5) to a 38-7 victory.

Temple ran for touchdowns in each quarter - 22 yards in the first, 4 yards in the second, 4 yards in the third, and a 40-yarder to cap off his big day in the fourth.

While Temple was having a huge day, McFadden was held to only 105 yards on 21 carries and Arkansas’ lone touchdown, which came late in the third, a three-yarder on a fourth-down play. His compatriot in the Razorbacks’ backfield, Felix Jones, was held to 45 yards on 10 carries, as Missouri’s defense backed up Temple’s big effort with a great performance of their own, which included a pick-six by William Moore that made it 28-0 before the Razorbacks were finally able to dent the scoreboard.

It’d been an up and down year for Temple, who ran for more than 1,000 yards this season, but entered the bowl game with 758. He must have had 1,000 on his mind, as he went over 1,000 with his performance, and bested his 1,036 yards from last year by three.

The senior has a knack for big performances in bowl games, as his previous career-high came in last season’s Sun Bowl, when he ran for 194 yards and two touchdowns in a 39-38 loss to Oregon St.

Temple is a senior, but due to an injury late in his freshman season in 2004, he’s reportedly trying to apply for a medical redshirt to get that year back, but if he’s not able to, he certainly helped his draft stock with a tremendous performance, which looks even better considering who his opposite numbers were.

As for the other Big 12 team that was in action early today, Texas Tech just completed an amazing comeback to win the Gator Bowl in the waning moments. The Red Raiders were down 28-14 late in the fourth, but scored 17 points in the final 3:31, benefiting from a crucial fumble by the Cavaliers that allowed Texas Tech to tie the game at 28, and then after a big defensive stop, Tech drove down the field for a game-winning 41-yard field goal by Alex Trlica with two seconds left. I’ll have more on that game later.

The Big 12 is now 4-2 in the bowl season, with Oklahoma’s Fiesta Bowl matchup against West Virginia coming up Wednesday and Kansas going up against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.

In last night’s Insight Bowl, Oklahoma St. got out to a huge early lead and capped off their 2007 with a winning record by defeated Indiana 49-33. Zac Robinson had a monster game, going 24 of 34 for 302 yards and three touchdowns through the air, and adding 70 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Freshman Dez Bryant caught nine passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, and two OSU seniors closed out their careers with solid outings, as running back Dantrell Savage ran for 100 yards and a touchdown, and receiver Adarius Bowman caught six passes for 74 yards and a score.

Just as impressive as their offensive output was the fact that the defense held Indiana receiver James Hardy, one of the country’s top receivers - and biggest at 6′7, to only five catches for 50 yards and no touchdowns.

As we kick off the New Year, a couple of Big 12 teams are in action already. Missouri has put in a tremendous defensive performance in holding Arkansas running back Darren McFadden to only 86 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and Tigers running back Tony Temple is showing that McFadden and Felix Jones aren’t the only top-notch backs at the Cotton Bowl, as Temple has run for 261 yards and three scores to help Missouri to a 31-7 lead in the fourth. Chase Daniel has had an off-day, going only 11 of 29 for 127 yards and an interception, but thanks to the great game by Temple and the great defensive effort - Arkansas didn’t get on the board until late in the third, when it was already 28-0), Missouri’s looking at a 12-win season.

It’s not going as good for Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl, as they’re down 21-7 to Virginia at halftime. The Cavaliers have done a great job in shutting down Tech’s high-powered offense, outside of the Red Raiders’ second drive of the game, which they scored on to take a 7-0 lead. Since then, Virginia has scored 21 straight points, and have moved the ball well on Tech’s defense, and got a couple of big plays, one on defense in a safety on an intentional grounding penalty on Graham Harrell, and the other on a 96-yard touchdown run by Mikell Simpson. One bright spot for the Red Raiders is that they’ve held Virginia defensive end Chris Long without a sack thus far, though Harrell has been sacked twice.