Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz has been preaching defense all season, and the Cowboys finally seemed to have listened last week when they held UCF and Iowa State below their season averages.
That all went out the window in a 94-79 loss to Baylor Tuesday.
Oklahoma State (13-4, 1-3 Big 12) will try to get back on track Saturday when it hosts Kansas State (9-8, 0-4) in Stillwater, Okla.
The loss to Baylor left the Cowboys, who had high hopes during nonconference play, behind the 8-ball in the Big 12 race.
‘At the end of the day, if you allow someone to come on your floor and score 94 points, you better look in the mirror,’ Lutz said.
The Cowboys gave up 57 points in the first half and trailed by 18. They cut it to 10 in the second half, but could not get within striking distance of the Bears.
‘You can’t play the game of basketball, especially in the No. 1 league in the country, like it is an AAU game,’ Lutz said. ‘You have to play with intent. We did that a little better in the second half.
‘In college basketball, you can’t start winning until you stop losing. You can’t do things that make you lose. Not defending the 3 makes you lose. Turning the ball over eight times in the first half makes you lose. Getting offensive rebounds and not making them pay. Those are losing qualities. You have to flip that.’
Anthony Roy continues to lead the Cowboys in scoring with 17.6 points, along with 4.2 rebounds per game. Parsa Fallah is scoring 15.1 and pulling down a team-high 6.5 rebounds.
The Wildcats are coming off an 82-73 loss to UCF that kept them winless in the conference.
‘This calling of coaching is not for the faint of heart, especially in this league,’ Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said. ‘In the first eight minutes, we had eight turnovers and a couple of shots that might as well have been turnovers and they were able to get out in transition. When you dig yourself a hole, it is just hard.’
P.J. Haggerty leads the Wildcats with 22.9 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Abdi Bashir Jr., a 44.3% 3-point shooter, had 12 points against UCF on 4-of-13 shooting from distance. His aim has been hot and cold this month, following an 0-for-5 performance at No. 1 Arizona with a 6-for-12 day behind the arc when Kansas State faced Arizona State three days later.
Texas Tech bought the best team on the planet, went 12-1, won the Big 12 title and earned a bye in the College Football Playoff. Utah posted a 10-2 record and beat the Buffs 53-7 in late October.
Sanders’ salary went up by nearly $5 million for 2025 after his new extension kicked in. The House vs. NCAA settlement required CU to share revenues with student-athletes starting this past July 1, with a cap of $20.5 million for this fiscal cycle. Yet it’s hard to imagine good players such as Miller and Byard taking pay cuts at their next ports of call, isn’t it?
Buffs officials saw the train coming years ago, even as the bills keep piling up. Which is why the indoor practice facility is now sponsored by Mountain States Ford Stores. And why artificial turf was installed at Folsom Field — so the stadium could be utilized more often as a host to revenue-driving events outside the athletic calendar.
Concerts and uniform sponsorships — UNLV will reportedly collect about $2.2 million annually over the next five years from Acesso Biologics, its new “Official Jersey Patch Partner” — will only cover so much. The student-athlete revenue sharing pool is expected to increase by 4% next year. Sanders is slated to make $11 million in 2027, $11 million in 2028 and $12 million in 2029.
The Buffs can’t play at the same poker tables as the Red Raiders and Utes — or retain star players — without a serious influx of cash. Utah is pointing the way now. Not CU.
Bowls? Bowls are nothing more than three-hour infomercials for some random chamber of commerce or provincial company you’ve never heard of; exhibitions propped up by Disney stiffs to eat up programming blocks over the holidays. When Iowa State and Kansas State would sooner eat a million bucks in league fines than join in, that ship’s sailed. (Not you, Pop-Tarts Bowl. You’re weirdly perfect. And perfectly weird.)
Fans? Fans are caught in the crossfire, casualties in the battle of dollars over sense. Ticket prices and point-of-entry fees will skyrocket. Pay-per-view will become more the norm than the exception. Universities will pass the cost to the consumer.
The Buffs vow that they won’t cut sports — and with only 13 non-football options offered, they don’t have much room on that front to cut, anyway. They’ve vowed that they won’t lop student-athlete services, although outgoing athletic director Rick George laid off two track coaches last spring.
Something’s gotta give. Of course, if Coach Prime wanted to help retain student-athletes, he could donate half of his $10 million salary to the revenue-sharing pool. That’s not happening.
In an effort to slow the chaos, FBS scholarships could require a minimum of two years of service at your initial college of choice coming out of high school. But that’s not happening, either.
As of early Friday morning, at least 11 CU players had expressed interest in transferring out. Among the Big 12 programs that didn’t change coaches (Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State), only West Virginia had seen more defections (19) as of mid-December than the Buffs.
Take out CU, the Wildcats, Cyclones and Cowboys, the remaining 12 programs had seen an average of 5.8 guys hit the portal.
“If you get good players, (the Buffs will) be good,” FOX Sports football analyst Geoff Schwartz told me. “It’s not that complicated when it comes to college football.”
Money alone won’t solve all of the Buffs’ football problems right now. It might ease some of the roster hemorrhaging, though. To that end, the Big 12 is close to finalizing a partnership with RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital, YahooSports.com reported, for what’s described as a league-wide credit deal. The firms would provide up to $500 million into a conference pool, from which individual members such as CU could borrow as much as $30 million.
Private investment interests and Title IX, given the degree to which Olympic sports lose money, could prove to be a volatile, and highly litigious, arrangement.
Then again, the Utes didn’t blink. In the Big 12, this is the stage. These are the stakes. And the price of the sizzle is headed in only one direction.
Initial observations from Colorado’s 31-28 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats in a Big 12 showdown in Boulder.
Wildcats gashing: Kansas State’s primary key to victory was running the rock. In the first half alone, junior DJ Giddens trampled the Buffs for 127 yards on 12 carries, good for 10.6 yards a pop. Ex-Buff Dylan Edwards added 17 yards and a TD. Giddens was untacklable at times, and the CU linebackers and secondary had an especially hard time wrapping up in the second and third levels. KSU continued to pound the football and bleed the clock in the second half, starting with nearly an eight-minute TD drive in the third. A Colorado local, Durango graduate and starting right tackle Carver Willis, helped pave the way for an 182-yard rushing night for Giddens.
Hunter, Horn hurt: CU star wideout/cornerback and Heisman Trophy candidate Travis Hunter, who has been central in the Buffs’ 4-1 start coming into Saturday, left the game midway through the second quarter with what ESPN reported as a shoulder injury. Hunter caught a 14-yard pass, but was crunched by KSU safety Daniel Cobbs, and immediately left the game. He didn’t return, and sophomore Colton Hood came on in Hunter’s place on defense (and later picked off K-State). On offense, CU also lost wideout Jimmy Horn Jr. to injury in the first half and Horn didn’t return, either. The absence of those two playmakers, especially Hunter, took some explosiveness out of CU’s offense, even if the Buffs managed to put 28 on the board.
Hood in clutch: No Hunter to play lock-down corner in crunch time? No problem, at least for a moment. Hood came up clutch late in the fourth quarter with an interception and runback that set up CU’s go-ahead touchdown with 3:20 left. On fourth-and-6 at the CU 31-yard line, Avery Johnson’s pass was tipped by Preston Hodge and then corralled by Hood. He ran it back to the KSU 17-yard line, tripping himself up on the grass to come up just short of the pick-six. However, the next drive, Jayce Brown burned Hodge for a 50-yard TD catch.
Shedeur shines: Once again, the CU QB looked like a top draft pick, despite playing without his two top targets in Hunter and Horn. No. 2 completed 16 straight passes across the second and third quarters — a CU record streak — and willed the Buffs back in the game with his arm despite taking some big hits. His lone blemish was an interception on an overthrow, and his final stat line was videogame-esque: 34 of 40 for 338 yards, three touchdowns and a 186.2 rating.
Big sacks: Both team’s defensive lines made noise in the first half, as the Wildcats tallied four sacks for minus-49 yards, while CU’s defense had three sacks for minus-29 yards. Kansas State’s pressure also forced an intentional grounding on CU’s last possession of the half that effectively killed the drive. In the second half, the Wildcats continued to bring the heat, especially as the Buffs all but abandoned the run. KSU had two sacks for minus-25 yards over the final two quarters, finishing with six sacks overall. On a third-quarter sack, KSU defensive end Ryan Davis celebrated with Shedeur Sanders’ signature wristwatch move, holding the pose for a few seconds toward the CU crowd.
KSU QB hurt, returns: The Wildcats also had an injury of their own to dual-threat quarterback, but Johnson’s absence was brief. The sophomore suffered what looked like a side injury on KSU’s opening possession of the second half, following an impressive threaded pass that went for 33 yards to Brown. Senior Ta’Quan Roberson spelled Johnson, who returned to the field later in the drive to throw a one-yard TD pass to Brown that made it a two-score lead. That 16-play, 81-yard drive chewed up more than half the third quarter.
Who’s who: As has become the norm with Buffs games under Coach Prime, an array of stars were on the CU sidelines on Saturday night at Folsom Field. That list included current Nugget Russell Westbrook, retired former Nugget Carmelo Anthony (who rocked a Peter Forsberg Avs jersey), former Wizards star John Wall, current NBA stars Kevin Durant and John Wall, and rapper Cam’ron. Plus, former CU football stars and current NFL receivers Laviska Shenault and Juwann Winfree were also on hand.
BOULDER — The NCAA still can’t read a room. But man, can they ever kill one.
Kindyll Wetta and her teammates on the CU women’s basketball team were belles of the ball inside the Dal Ward Center. You shoulda seen it. Balloons. Cheerleaders. Catering. One of the sweetest pep rallies to grace the Touchdown Club since Coach Prime got injected into the Buffs’ bloodstream here some 16 months ago.
As the NCAA Tournament brackets came on the screen, the party hushed. Then when Kansas State came up as a 4 seed and as a host for the first weekend of the women’s Big Dance, it sank.
“It’s definitely a bummer for me because I wanted to play at home and I wanted to be in front of my family,” Wetta, the firebrand of a Buffs guard and former Valor Christian star, told me after CU found out its first stop in Bracketville would be as a 5 seed opposite K-State in the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kan. “I thought this year we really had a great shot of doing that. It’s disappointing in that sense.”
There was a lot of that going around here Sunday night. The mood was even less jovial a few hours earlier up in Fort Collins, where the men’s selection committee decided to take its annual dose of stupid out on the Mountain West as a whole — and on the Rams in particular.
Want a laugh? Committee member Bubba Cunningham contended on CBS that teams selected from the Mountain West, save for San Diego State, got strapped to double-digit seedings because their best wins were over one another.
“(That) made it more challenging for us,” Cunningham explained.
Not half as challenging, apparently, as trying to stay up past 10 p.m. Eastern to do homework on teams west of Lincoln. Poor guy.
At least five teams — lookin’ at you, Oregon, NC State and New Mexico — “stole” bids from more worthy at-larges by winning their respective conference tourneys. But any ‘S’ curve that’s got CSU as the “last team in” gets an automatic F.
Do you watch the games, Bubba? Or do you watch “X” and Instagram and hope for the best? CSU beat Creighton by 21 on a neutral court. The Jays were slotted as a No. 3 seed Sunday. The Rammies (24-10) were unveiled as a 10.
Boise State, who’ll take on Tad Boyle’s CU men on Wednesday night, beat Saint Mary’s on a semi-neutral floor by three. The Gaels are dancing as a 5 seed. The Broncos, like CSUand CU, are a 10 seed having to scrap their way over to the Big Kids’ Bracket by winning in Dayton first.
“To be honest, I was really surprised how most of the Mountain West was seeded,” stunned CSU coach Niko Medved, who’ll face Virginia on Tuesday in Ohio, told reporters.
“But you know what? That’s fine. They always disrespect our league. And now it’s time to go out and do something about it.”
Amen. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Cavaliers (23-10), on paper, are certainly in the Rammies’ weight class. For one thing, unlike Michigan in 2022, UVa doesn’t have a Hunter Dickinson down low, taking up a duplex’s worth of space in the paint. On the surface, it’s the irresistible force (CSU’s shooters) against the immovable object (Tony Bennett’s trademark tire-iron defense), a classic Clark Kellogg “contrast-in-styles” scrum between a Rams offense ranked 42nd nationally by KenPom.com in adjusted offensive efficiency and a Cavs D that’s seventh in adjusted defense. If you’re hopping over to Dayton, take the under and take your pizza square-cut.
If the Oppenheimers on the men’s committee dinged CSU for its 4-7 mark away from Moby Madness, their counterparts on the women’s side docked the Buffs (22-9) for losing six of their last eight, including a maddening, come-from-ahead loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 tourney.
In March, you make your own luck. The Buffs women — despite being one of the best draws in all of college basketball, male or female — didn’t.
“I mean, (it’s) definitely frustrating,” Wetta said. “But like (Coach JR Payne) said, you can’t dwell on that, because (now) it’s completely different conferences, completely different teams, styles of play.”
CU women’s basketball players react to being selected as the fifth seed for the NCAA tournament during a watch party in the Touchdown Club at Dal Ward at the University of Colorado at Boulder in Boulder, Colorado on March 17, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
At least Wetta and her teammates know the drill. Payne’s Buffs got shipped to third seed and host Duke at this time last year and earned their Sweet 16 berth the hard way, stomping 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee and then shocking the Blue Devils in overtime to advance out of Durham.
“I feel like the same situation’s happened to us the past two years, where we thought we should’ve been a higher seed and we weren’t,” Wetta reflected. “So, again, it’s nothing new. Disappointing, but we’re used to it.
“I think we definitely do better with underdog mentality. So I think that’s a good thing going into the NCAA Tournament. It just adds a little bit of fuel to the fire.”
Why bust brackets when you can burn ’em? Pack your bags, kids. And your grudges. This dance just got personal.
At risk of blowing a late lead at Kansas State, TCU guard Jameer Nelson Jr. stepped up and delivered one of the biggest clutch shots of the season as his last second 3-pointer lifted the Horned Frogs to a 75-72 win at Kansas State on Saturday.
With 41 seconds remaining in the game TCU seemed poise to pull away for a needed Big 12 road win. However, Horned Frogs’ miscues, including missed free throws and a turnover by Micah Peavy with 15.6 seconds left, allowed Kansas State to claw back to 72-70.
Nelson then was called for a loose ball foul on the inbound pass despite one official calling a five-second violation at roughly the same time. The Wildcats’ Cam Carter made both free throws to tie the game, 72-72.
Nelson, a senior guard made up for the foul, in the best way as he walked the ball up the court, passed it to Emanuel Miller, who gave it right back to him with 4.8 seconds on the clock. Matched up against Carter, Nelson rose up and drilled the 3-pointer through contact with 1.1 seconds remaining.
Tyloer Perry’s last second heave fell short as TCU avoided a las- minute collapse. It was Coach Jamie Dixon’s 157th win at TCU and moves him into second place in program history as the Horned Frogs improved to 18-7 overall, 7-5 in the Big 12.
Peavy’s masterpiece
With the game hanging in the balance, Micah Peavy had his best performance of the year with a career-high 26 points. Peavy was fantastic on both ends in the second half as he helped TCU battle back from an eight0point deficit with 12:30 remaining in the game. After a Xavier Cork bucket inside, Peavy knocked down a 3-pointer to get himself going.
Cork tied the game at 49 and then Peavy scored the next nine points for the Horned Frogs as a 49-41 deficit turned into a 57-51 lead with just over eight minutes in the game. While he was getting to the lane regularly he was also playing suffocating defense as he was credited for three blocks during the crucial run.
Peavy, who is only a 55 percent free throw shooter, came through time and time again as he made eight of his 10 free throw attempts. Peavy’s confidence and aggression put TCU in position to pick up the victory as he was one of just two Horned Frogs to score in double digits.
Grimy first half
The first 10 minutes of the game went as Kansas State hoped as the Wildcats kept the pace of the game sluggish and TCU’s offense was initially rattled. The Horned Frogs went more than four minutes without a point as Kansas State took a 14-4 lead with 12:05 left in the half. Micah Peavy would lead the comeback as he began to force the issue by getting into the lane.
TCU used a 11-0 run to take the lead and Peavy scored seven of those points. After a Kansas State bucket stopped the run, Jameer Nelson answered with two straight shots including a fast break dunk that lifted TCU to a 19-16 advantage with just over five minutes remaining before halftime. Leading 22-20 after a Chuck O’Bannon 3, TCU’s offense went into another small drought as the Wildcats used a 8-0 run to take back control of the game.
The Wildcats were aided by a hook and hold call on O’Bannon aided the run, but ultimately TCU went into the half down 28-24 despite shooting below 30 percent in the first half.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – Michael Penix Jr. of the Washington Huskies stands in the pocket during the … [+] second quarter of the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Husky Stadium on September 24, 2022. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
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The grass has proven to be greener for many quarterbacks who transferred to their current schools ahead of the 2022 season. In fact, three of the top five in passing yards and four of the top 11 in touchdown passes are transfers. For others, well, the change of scenery has been little more than just that.
Here is an alphabetical look at many of the QBs who switched schools for 2022 and how they have performed heading into the final weekend of October.
Connor Bazelak, Indiana/Missouri
Bazelak has thrown at least one interception in each game during the Hoosiers’ current five-game skid, including a pick six in a 24-17 loss at Rutgers last week. His nine interceptions are tied for fourth-most nationally and contribute toward a pass efficiency rating that is 113th among 117 qualified quarterbacks. Indiana (3-5/1-4 Big Ten) has an open week followed by a visit from Penn State and a trip to Ohio State.
Gerry Bohanon, USF/Baylor
A dismal season got worse for USF (1-6/0-3 AAC) when Bohanon was lost for the duration with a shoulder injury sustained against Tulane on October 15. After a miserable first four games in which he threw six interceptions without a touchdown pass, Bohanon was on a roll having totaled 751 yards and eight TDs in two-plus games when he went down.
Ben Bryant, Cincinnati/Eastern Michigan
Bryant’s second tour of duty at UC – he served as Desmond Ridder’s backup prior to transferring to EMU, where he started last season – has been solid with an average of 252 passing yards per game and 15 touchdowns through seven weeks. He had his worst outing statistically in the Bearcats’ (6-1/3-0 AAC) win at SMU last week. He will be tested by UCF’s defense in Orlando on Saturday.
Todd Centeio, James Madison/Colorado State
Centeio, who began his career at Temple, is leading JMU (5-2/3-2 SBC) to a nice showing so far in its first year of FBS affiliation. He has thrown at least two touchdown passes in five of six games and has totaled 22 TDs (five on the ground) to place among the nation’s leaders in points responsible for. He threw just a single pick before being intercepted three times in the Dukes’ loss to Georgia Southern, their first loss of the season, on October 15.
Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State/Hawaii
Cordeiro’s completion percentage is only 56.8, but he leads the Mountain West with an average of 13.7 yards per completion. He has thrown only one interception while totaling 13 touchdowns, six on the ground. While it is not all on him, Cordeiro has been sacked 22 times in the Spartans’ (4-2/2-1 MWC) first six games. (The Spartans’ game at New Mexico State last week was postponed due to the death of SJSU’s Camden McWright.) Cordeiro’s renews acquaintance with his former Hawaii teammates Thanksgiving weekend in San Jose.
Jayden Daniels, LSU/Arizona State
Clearly growing more comfortable as this season progresses, Daniels had an eye-opening performance in the Tigers’ (6-2/4-1 SEC) win last week against visiting Ole Miss when he totaled 369 yards and five touchdowns, with three of the scores on the ground. He has totaled 21 TDs (12 passing) and has thrown only one interception through eight games.
JT Daniels, West Virginia/Georgia
Daniels threw three interceptions in an unpardonable blowout loss at Texas Tech. That left the Mountaineers (3-4/1-3 Big 12) scrambling for bowl eligibility while they still have to play TCU (Saturday), Oklahoma, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. A problem has been getting the ball down field as Daniels is averaging only 10.4 yards per completion, which is 103rd nationally.
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss/USC
Dart has had his ups and downs in his first full season as a starter at Ole Miss (7-1/3-1 SEC) while learning a new offense under Lane Kiffin. He had 448 yards and three TDs against Vanderbilt, but also threw two picks. He completed only nine passes against Auburn, but three were for touchdowns. Dart, who is averaging an impressive 14.9 yards per completion to place fifth nationally, has topped 100 yards rushing twice.
Jayden De Laura, Arizona/Washington State
De Laura has passed for at least 400 yards three times and equaled a school mark with six touchdown passes against Colorado. He is fifth nationally with an average of 325 yards passing per game and his 19 touchdown passes are tied for eighth. He is on pace to post the second-most passing yards in a single season in Arizona (3-4/1-3 Pac 12) school history. USC, Utah and UCLA are the next three opponents. De Laura then faces his former Cougars teammates November 19 in Tucson.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – Tommy DeVito of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks to pass against the Wyoming … [+] Cowboys during the second half at Memorial Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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Tommy DeVito, Illinois/Syracuse
DeVito has led the Fighting Illini (6-1/3-1 Big Ten) to its best start since 1953. He does not have the gaudy numbers as many other quarterbacks on this list. What DeVito has done, though, is limit turnovers (only two INTs) while completing 75 percent of his passes in three of the last four games to improve to 10th nationally with a 70.4 completion percentage. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and ran for four, including three in a win over Wisconsin.
Quinn Ewers, Texas/Ohio State
Ewers went from a two-week stretch in which he threw seven touchdowns against Oklahoma and Iowa State to completing 19-of-49 with three interceptions in a lost at Oklahoma State. Coach Steve Sarkisian is sticking with Ewers (11 TDs, 5 INTs) instead of going with Hudson Card, who has battled injuries this season and nearly led the Longhorns (5-3/3-2) past Alabama earlier this season when he came on for the injured Ewers.
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma/UCF
A concussion resulted in Gabriel missing OU’s (4-3/1-3 Big 12) debacle against Texas after exiting the week before against TCU. He returned against Kansas and promptly picked up where he left off in a season in which he has thrown 13 touchdown passes with only one interception. Gabriel, who also has three rushing touchdowns, is 13th nationally in pass efficiency.
Layne Hatcher, Texas State/Arkansas State
Hatcher transferred within the Sun Belt, which will make for an obvious storyline when the Bobcats (3-5/1-3 SBC) host the Red Wolves on November 19. Hatcher has 16 touchdown passes in eight games and has thrown for at least two TDs in five of them. He is averaging only 10.4 yards per completion placing him toward the bottom in that category. He has thrown eight interceptions.
Emory Jones, Arizona State/Florida
Jones transferred to Arizona State (2-5. 1-3 Pac-12) amid an NCAA investigation (recruiting violations) hovering over the program and with quite a shakeup on the coaching staff and several players transferring out of the program. Then, Herm Edwards was fired after an embarrassing loss to visiting Eastern Michigan on September 17. It has been a struggle for an offense that ranks 99th nationally in total offense and with Jones throwing just five TD passes in seven games, though only four picks.
Adrian Martinez, Kansas State/Nebraska
Martinez was injured on the Wildcats’ (5-2/3-1 Big 12) first possession in last Saturday’s loss at TCU. He did not return and his status for this week’s game against visiting Oklahoma State is uncertain. In four of his six full games, Martinez has thrown for 150 yards or less and has just 907 passing yards on the season. However, he has not been intercepted and leads the nation’s quarterbacks with 565 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
Bo Nix, Oregon/Auburn
Nix has twice thrown five touchdown passes to join Justin Herbert and Marcus Mariota as the only Oregon (6-1/4-0 Pac-12) quarterbacks to do that in a single season. He threw three of his five TD passes against UCLA last week in the second quarter. Nix, who has been sacked just once, has totaled 25 touchdowns (17 passing) and is sixth nationally in points responsible for while completing 71.5 percent of his passes. He should pad his stats the next two weeks against Cal and Colorado.
Michael Penix, Washington/Indiana
November 12 at Oregon (Nix) should make for an entertaining matchup among transfer QBs. A healthy Penix leads the nation with 367 passing yards per game and is fourth with 22 touchdown passes. He has topped 300 yards passing in all eight games and has thrown four TD passes in four games. In an October 15 win over Arizona, he set UW (6-2/3-2 Pac-12) single-game marks with 455 passing yards and 529 total yards.
John Rhys Plumlee, UCF/Ole Miss
Plumlee had four 300-yard passing efforts in his first six games with the Knights (5-2/2-1 AAC) and totaled 18 touchdowns (11 passing) with only three interceptions. Things suddenly went south last week at ECU as Plumlee was picked three times in a lopsided defeat. He enters a critical matchup against visiting Cincinnati on Saturday ninth nationally with an average of 331 yards of total offense per game.
Jack Plummer, Cal/Purdue
In his first full season as a starter, Plummer has established career highs in virtually every major passing category, including 12 touchdowns. Three times this season he has thrown three TD passes, including last week’s loss to Penix and Washington. Plummer will likely have to come up big as the Golden Bears’ (3-4/1-3 Pac-12) next three games are against Oregon, USC and Oregon State.
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina/Oklahoma
Rattler has looked great at times and lost at others. Yet, the Gamecocks (5-2/2-2 SEC) are ranked for the first time in four years. Rattler is 92nd nationally in pass efficiency and has thrown just five touchdown passes with eight interceptions, including 2/4 against SEC opponents. He is ninth among SEC quarterbacks in yards passing per game with 209.
BLOOMINGTON, IN – Austin Reed of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers rolls out of the pocket to pass … [+] during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
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Austin Reed, Western Kentucky/West Florida
A great story as Reed transferred from the Division II Argonauts to the FBS. He won the job in preseason camp and has not looked back. In fact, he threw at least two touchdown passes in each of the Hilltoppers’ (5-3/3-1 CUSA) first seven games before being blanked in last week’s win against UAB, when he ran for two scores. Reed has thrown 21 TD passes, good for fifth nationally, and is eighth in throwing for 306 yards per game.
Kedon Slovis, Pitt/USC
Coach Pat Narduzzi is sticking with Slovis to the lead the Pitt (4-3/1-2 ACC) offense despite throwing for only 328 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions the last two games. A two-pick performance in a loss last week against a Louisville team that had struggled in defending the pass was a low point. On the season, Slovis, who missed a game in September due to injury, has thrown only five TD passes with three of them coming in a loss to Georgia Tech. He is 91st nationally in pass efficiency.
Casey Thompson, Nebraska/Texas
Thompson has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all eight games, though that has not prevented the close losses from continuing to pile up in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers (3-4/2-2 Big Ten) have, at least, pulled out a couple of close ones and have two Big Ten wins for the first time since 2018. Thompson, who has also thrown two interceptions in each of the last two games and has eight on the season, has totaled 16 TDs, including five on the ground.
Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern/Buffalo
Vantrease is second nationally in passing yards to Michael Penix with 2,704, or 338 per game. He threw for a school record 578 yards in a win over James Madison on October 15, a game in which also threw four touchdown passes, something he has done twice this season. Vantrease, though, leads the nation with 12 interceptions, including four in GSU’s (5-3/2-2 SBC) eight-point loss to Georgia State.
Cameron Ward, Washington State/Incarnate Ward
Ward has 16 TD passes through seven games in his FBS debut season. He is also averaging 280 passing yards per game, good for fourth in the Pac-12 and 21st nationally. His high-water mark was 375 yards in a shootout loss against Oregon, a game in which he completed nearly 80 percent of his passes, but threw a pair of picks. The last couple of games have not gone so well as he was sacked a combined 11 times in the Cougars’ (4-3/1-3 Pac 12) losses at Oregon State and USC.
Grant Wells, Virginia Tech/Marshall
It’s not just Wells who has been subpar during a four-game losing streak in which the Hokies (2-5/1-3 ACC) have scored all of 63 points. Yet, he has too often not helped the cause during a season in which he ranks 105th in pass efficiency. Getting the ball down field (10.2 yards per completion) has been an issue for an offense that is averaging 19.1 points (115th). Wells has thrown seven touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
Caleb Williams, USC/Oklahoma
To say things are going very well for both Williams and Lincoln Riley at USC (6-1/4-1 Pac-12) would be an understatement. After all, the former has thrown 19 touchdown passes (tied for eighth nationally) and only one interception in seven games with the Trojans. He threw five TD passes in a loss to Utah and has thrown at least two TD passes on six occasions. Williams has thrown for 1,971 yards, or 282 per game, and threw for a season high 381 yards against the Utes.
