POWER RANKINGS
1) Oklahoma State: What will be the bigger distraction this week? Visiting Lamar or the SI report on the program?
2) Oklahoma: Oklahoma has completed 24 passes through two games. Landry Jones broke that mark in a single game eight times in 2012.
3) Baylor: Quarterback goes 13-of-16 for 338 yards. Running back gets 150 yards and three TDs. This offense is humming.
4) TCU: Casey Pachall's forearm fracture thrusts Trevone Boykin into the starting QB spot for the second straight season.
5) Texas Tech: TCU visits for Thursday-night league opener. Last time Horned Frogs played in Lubbock, Red Raiders scored 70 points on them.
6) Texas: What's the difference between leaving Provo, Utah, in September and the Cotton Bowl in October? Probably not much recently for the Longhorns.
7) Kansas State: Bill Snyder with the coolest move so far in 2013. He sent a handwritten letter to North Dakota State QB Brock Jenson following NDSU's win at K-State.
8) West Virginia: Dana Holgorsen has to be growing impatient with his stagnant offense. Mountaineers struggled to hit 24 in week one, nearly shut out at OU.
9) Kansas: KU trailed early to South Dakota before getting the win. For a while, it appeared the Dakotas were going to rename the state of Kansas "Deep South Dakota."
10) Iowa State: Division I football in Iowa is tough to watch these days. Cyclones going for a third straight win over Hawkeyes.
Best game of the week
Mississippi at Texas, 7 p.m., Longhorn Network
This is a dangerous time for Texas football. The Longhorns are coming off an embarrassing game at BYU and follow up with an SEC opponent foaming for this opportunity. Forget representing the Big 12; Texas is probably playing for its own life in this one.
Worst game of the week
Massachusetts at Kansas State, 6 p.m.
Kansas State won't take any opponent lightly following a season-opening loss to FCS North Dakota State. UMass, which is making the move to FBS, is coming off a loss to Maine and should be outmatched in Manhattan. But, as Bill Snyder knows, stranger things have happened.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: J.W. Walsh, Oklahoma
State
Set a school record by completing
88.9 percent of his passes in Oklahoma
State’s 56-35 win at UTSA. He
connected on 24-of-27 passes for
326 yards and four touchdowns. The
sophomore added a rushing touchdown
as well. Walsh’s 239.20 pass efficiency
mark in the contest was good
for the fourth-best single-game mark
in school history and his QBR of 98.1 is
the highest for any Big 12 quarterback
in a game this year, according to ESPN
Stats and Information.
Defensive: Gabe Lynn, Oklahoma
Jenks graduate had three tackles, a
fumble recovery and an interception
in Oklahoma’s 16-7 win over West
Virginia. He returned his first career
interception six yards and his second
career fumble recovery 27 yards. The
OU defense has allowed seven total
points in its first two games.
Special teams: Tramaine Thompson,
K-State
Jenks graduate racked up 234 allpurpose
yards in K-State’s 48-27 win
over Southeastern Louisiana. He had
94 in kick returns, 94 in punt returns
and 46 receiving. The senior returned
the second-half kickoff 94 yards for a
touchdown, giving K-State at least one
kick return for a touchdown in each of
the last nine seasons, a streak that currently
leads the nation. Thompson then
added a 79-yard punt return which set
up another Wildcat touchdown. With
the kickoff-return score, Thompson
became the third player in school history
to have rushing, receiving, punt
return and kickoff return touchdowns
during their careers (Mack Herron and
Yamon Figurs).
Other Sports
A legislative panel put the spotlight on critics of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association on Tuesday.
Deadspin.com hosted a chat with Sports Illustrated managing editor Chris Stone and executive editor Jon Wertheim on Tuesday regarding the investigative report on Oklahoma State football and the response.
