The Big 12 has one undefeated team left and that is No. 10 Oklahoma State.
OSU (3-0, 2-0 in the Big 12) breezed past Kansas Saturday 47-7 and now sits atop the Big 12 Conference, tied with Kansas State (2-1, 2-0) and Iowa State (2-1, 2-0).
The Cowboys now look like the favorite to win the conference title and have a shot at the College Football Playoff in this coronavirus crazy season.
This is the first time OSU has been ranked in the top 10 since week 12 of the 2017 season. Eight ranked teams in last week’s polls lost on Saturday with six of them coming to unranked opponents.
The Cowboys are off this week and will travel to Baylor on October 17.
It was OSU’s highest jump in the AP poll since moving from No. 24 to No. 15 following the third game of the 2018 season.
Oklahoma State is the highest ranked Big 12 team in both of the major polls followed by No. 22 Texas and No. 24 Iowa State. Kansas State, Oklahoma and West Virginia are Big 12 teams receiving votes while OSU’s first opponent, Tulsa, is gaining votes after beating UCF Saturday.
Against Kansas, freshman quarterback Shane Illingworth threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns. All-American running back Chuba Hubbard ran for 145 yards and two more scores.
The Cowboys were so far ahead by the third quarter that they were able to rest most of their starters the final 20 minutes.
Wide receiver Tylan Wallace had nine catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Braylon Johnson had four catches for 74 yards and a TD. OSU led 31-0 at the half.
“We threw the ball well, all the receivers did a great job. Just a great job from the offense all around,” Hubbard said.
After two defensive shows in the first two games, the OSU offense came alive Saturday behind Hubbard and Illingworth, who started the year as a backup.
“Moving the quarterback around and changing linemen around, we couldn’t get in sync,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “Today we looked more like who we’ve been the last 13 or 14 years on offense.”
Oklahoma State had 298 yards through the air and 295 on the ground for 593 yards of total offense.
Oklahoma State has held its first three opponents to a combined total of 27 points. This is the fewest points allowed by OSU in a three-game stretch since the Cowboys limited Missouri State, Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic to 25 points in the first three games of the 2006 season.
Dating back to last season, the Oklahoma State defense has held its last seven Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average.
Oklahoma State has not allowed any of its first three opponents to score more than one touchdown.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels and Miles Kendrick combined for 14 passes in 24 attempts for only 92 yards and one interception. The Jayhawks ran for only 101 yards and had only 12 first downs.
“I didn’t feel like we were overwhelmed. I felt like should we continue to go the course we’re going, we’ll be fine,” Kansas coach Les Miles said. “I like our team and I think we’ll work together and do the things that this school has done before. They are resilient. They want to win. They’re competitive. And I’m going to believe in them and that’s my choice.”
OSU arguably has a tougher schedule coming up with Baylor, Iowa State and Texas left in October. And the coronavirus pandemic could have a devastating impact at any time.
“I don’t think any of us could forget that we can get hit with COVID at any time and could be playing guys that don’t get as many reps,” Gundy said. “So if we’re complicated, essentially we’re putting ourselves behind the eight ball. So we’ll try to stay as simple as possible and get some good quality work this week. Let them have some time to regroup as a team.”
Kansas unveiled statues of Gale Sayers, who died last week at 77, and fellow All-American John Hadl at halftime in front of the nearby Anderson Family Football Complex. Sayers also had his No. 48 emblazoned on the field at the 25-yard line.