Big 12 Football

The Bijan Robinson-less Texas Longhorns fell to the Washington Huskies 27-20 in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday night, but quarterback Quinn Ewers still put together one of his best performances of the season.

The freshman completed 31-of-47 passes for a career-high 369 yards, in addition to one touchdown in the loss.

Typically, the Longhorns would have relied heavily on Robinson, their junior running back, but he opted to not suit up for the game and declare for the 2023 NFL draft as he's expected to be a first-round pick.

In 2023 and beyond, Texas is going to have to rely more heavily on Ewers to lead the offense, and he gave fans plenty of hope that he can be the guy moving forward, even with the upcoming addition of Arch Manning.

Ewers, who reclassified from the 2022 recruiting class to the 2021 class, initially committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes out of high school. After riding the bench last season, he opted to enter the transfer portal, deciding Texas would be the best fit.

The 19-year-old had an up-and-down first season in Austin. Entering the Alamo Bowl, he had completed just 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,808 yards and 14 touchdowns against six interceptions.

Longhorns fans had questions about how Ewers would perform in the absence of Robinson, but Thursday's performance gave them confidence that he can lead the team to another winning season in 2023 without the star running back.

Class of 2023 5-star safety Peyton Bowen raised some eyebrows when he flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Oregon on Wednesday, but he made an even more surprising decision Thursday.

Bowen announced on social media that he has now committed to Oklahoma. He stated that after his commitment to the Ducks, he "immediately started to rethink my future."

A 6'0", 185-pound safety from John Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, Bowen is ranked as the No. 2 safety and No. 14 overall player in the 2023 class by 247Sports' composite rankings. In his announcement, he cited a desire to stay closer to home as part of his reason for joining the Sooners. He apologized to the fanbases of Oregon and Notre Dame, acknowledging that his decision-making process "could have been handled better."

247Sports recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks describes Bowen as a "sudden athlete with lateral mobility and great initial burst and acceleration" who can be "dangerous as a center fielder thanks to ability to cover territory and make plays on the ball." Bowen also competed in track and field at a high level during his high school career.

Brooks added that the two-sport athlete "projects a potential high-major impact player in the future with immediate special teams value and a long-term ceiling that could lead to the NFL draft."

Bowen's decommitment from Oregon is another loss for Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and his staff. 5-star quarterback Dante Moore, the No. 5 quarterback in his class, flipped from Oregon to UCLA earlier this week.

However, Oregon managed to sign 5-star edge-rusher Matayo Uiagalelei on Wednesday. He is the second 5-star recruit in the Ducks' 2023 class, joining wide receiver Jurrion Dickey.

The Associated Press on Monday named TCU's Sonny Dykes its Coach of the Year for the 2022 season.

The Horned Frogs claimed the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff after going 12-1 in the regular season. Their success helped make Dykes a runaway winner for the award. He collected 37 out of 46 first-place votes.

"It's the ultimate team award," Dykes said to the AP's Ralph D. Russo. "It's indicative of literally everybody in our office, coaches, players, everybody, because more so than ever in college football it is truly a team effort."

Dykes had massive shoes to fill when he made the move to TCU from SMU.

As much as the program had stagnated under Gary Patterson, Patterson is still the program's winningest coach (181-79). Under his watch, the Horned Frogs won six conference titles and earned victories in the 2011 Rose Bowl and 2014 Peach Bowl.

After TCU went 5-7 for the second time in three years in 2021, it looked like Dykes would need at least a year or two to get things on track.

Not only did the 53-year-old provide immediate results, but he also did so without significantly upending the roster through the transfer portal. The Frogs' leading passer (Max Duggan), rusher (Kendre Miller) and receiver (Quentin Johnston) were all holdovers. The same was true for linebacker Dee Winters and safety Bud Clark, who led the team in sacks and interceptions.

Dykes told Russo the Horned Frogs "really had no expectations whatsoever when the year started." That attitude probably changed after his squad dropped 55 points on Oklahoma to improve to 4-0. It was the first of four straight wins over Top 20 opponents.

Regardless of what happens in the playoff, this has been one of TCU's best seasons, and no Power Five program overachieved more.

TCU quarterback Max Duggan is ready to take his talents to the next level.

The senior announced on Twitter that he will be declaring for the 2023 NFL draft after the College Football Playoff. The third-ranked Horned Frogs will face No. 2 Michigan in a semifinal game on Saturday Dec. 31.

While Duggan played in at least 10 games in each of the last four seasons, he still had a full season of eligibility remaining because of COVID-19 and the extra year the NCAA extended to student-athletes. However, it appears he's confident in his chances at being drafted highly after his stellar showing throughout the 2022 campaign.

Duggan led TCU to a 12-1 record, the team's most wins since 2014. However, the Horned Frogs lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship on a game-winning field goal in overtime.

The 6'2", 210-pound signal-caller threw for 3,321 yards, 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions to become the first TCU player since 2014 to be named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the first player in program history to win either accolade.

Duggan was the first TCU player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2000 to be named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He finished second in the voting behind USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

After a banner year, it comes as no surprise that Duggan wants to test his skills at the professional level. His performance against the Wolverines could be an audition for the NFL, as he will be up against one of the top defensive units in the country.

Texas and Oklahoma may be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC sooner than expected.

Brett McMurphy of The Action Network reported the "climate is right" for the two powerhouses to get out of their SEC contracts ahead of the 2024 season. Texas and Oklahoma are currently slated to join the SEC in 2025.

While the Big 12 appeared to be in danger of dissolving in the immediate aftermath of Texas and Oklahoma announcing their departures, the league instead rebounded to add BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston. The addition of those four schools helped the Big 12 land a new television contract and arguably helped pave the way for the Red River Rivals to leave early.

The SEC may also be motivated to bring Texas and Oklahoma into the fold in 2024 ahead of the College Football Playoff's expansion to 12 teams. The Big Ten will add USC and UCLA in 2024, potentially getting a year headstart on the "superconference" trend.

Adding Texas and Oklahoma in 2024 would keep the SEC on equal footing with the Big Ten. The SEC's new television contract with ESPN also starts in 2024 and includes a clause that requires the network to increase the value of the deal for new members.

"The Big 12 would like it to happen a year early, the SEC would like OU and Texas a year early, but FOX could care less and I'm not sure what ESPN will do," a source told McMurphy.

ESPN's desire to start paying out the Texas-and-Oklahoma-sized pay checks may ultimately wind up deciding whether the two schools wind up in the SEC in 2024 or have to wait.

After missing a chance to win the Big 12 championship and all but assure itself a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 31-28 overtime loss to Kansas State on Saturday, TCU finds itself at the mercy of the selection committee to make the Top Four when the final rankings are announced.

Speaking to reporters following his team's defeat, head coach Sonny Dykes was asked if the Horned Frogs deserve to be in the playoff.

"For sure I do," he responded.

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman agreed with Dykes' assessment of TCU's playoff chances.

TCU entered Saturday's conference title game with a 12-0 record and ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff standings.

The playoff rankings were already in for a shake-up after Friday when No. 4 USC got blown out by Utah 47-24 in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Trojans' defeat certainly helps TCU because it gives the selection committee two spots it has to think about.

Georgia and Michigan are the top two teams in the rankings and will play their conference title games later in the day.

The top two teams on the outside of the playoff in the most recent rankings were Ohio State at No. 5 and Alabama at No. 6.

USA Today's Dan Wolken laid out the reasons why he is skeptical that a two-loss Alabama team would jump TCU when the final rankings are released:

TCU's regular-season schedule does work to its advantage if there is a debate. It entered Saturday with the best strength of record in the country, per ESPN.com. Its record includes a previous win over Kansas State on Oct. 22 and No. 20 Texas.

If you want to find a way for the selection committee to knock TCU, its schedule doesn't look as impressive as it once did.

The Horned Frogs' victories over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas looked good at the time when those teams were all ranked in the Top 20 of the Associated Press poll, but they finished the season with a combined 19-17 record.

Of course, the same argument can be made for Alabama. The Crimson Tide also hold a victory over Texas, but its only other win against a team in the current playoff Top 25 was over No. 24 Mississippi State.

Dykes is certainly biased in campaigning for his own team, but it's hard to argue any of the teams that could potentially be in the mix have a strong enough resume to leapfrog TCU.

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled Sunday at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Missouri Tigers had the opportunity to reignite their longstanding rivalry with the Kansas Jayhawks in the Liberty Bowl this year, but the team reportedly refused.

According to Brett McMurphy of Action Network, while the Jayhawks "were not opposed" to facing the Tigers for the first time since 2011, Missouri simply "didn't want to play Kansas."

Both Kansas and Missouri went 6-6 in the regular season. The Jayhawks will be making their first bowl game appearance since 2008, which was the last time the team had a record above .500. Kansas had opened the 2022 season with five straight wins before a tough 1-5 stretch to close the year.

Missouri had an up-and-down season but closed the year with back-to-back wins. The Tigers' 29-27 win over Arkansas in rivalry week punched their ticket to bowl eligibility.

The Kansas-Missouri rivalry dated back to 1907 and came to an end in 2011 when the Tigers departed the Big 12 to join the SEC. In 2020, it was announced that the two schools will resume their rivalry in the future, scheduling four games beginning in 2025.

The Liberty Bowl, which is one of three bowl games that features SEC vs. Big 12 teams, would have been a prime chance to give fans a preview of the series between Kansas and Missouri before it officially gets restarted. Thanks to the Tigers' decision, it now appears they will have to wait a few years to see themselves and the Jayhawks clash on the field.

Oklahoma added one of the top playmakers in the 2023 class in receiver Jaquaize Pettaway, and the 4-star prospect should have a significant impact right away.

The 247Sports' composite rankings considers Pettaway the No. 61 overall prospect in the country and the 10th-best receiver.

The 5'11", 170-pound wideout doesn't have elite size, but he more than makes up for it with his blazing speed. The track star competed in the 100-meter dash, posting a time of 10.41 seconds as a high school junior.

The Houston native uses this speed to his advantage on the football field, making him a threat whenever he gets the ball in his hands. He especially thrives as a deep threat who can also turn screens into long plays.

Pettaway became a hot commodity on the recruiting trail with most of the top teams in the SEC, Big 12 and beyond offering scholarships to the Langham Creek High star, including LSU, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

His commitment to Oklahoma in July gives the program an important piece as it tries to move forward under Brett Venables.

The Sooners (6-6) have been up-and-down offensively in the first season without Lincoln Riley as their head coach, and the passing attack could further suffer if Marvin Mims Jr. declares for the NFL draft. With Drake Stoops graduating, there will be few proven options returning in the receiving corps.

Jalil Farooq and Theo Wease should get an increase in playing time, but Oklahoma should do its best to get Pettaway on the field as soon as possible as a game-changing player with the ball in his hands.

The incoming freshman might need to add strength and refine his route-running before reaching his potential, but he can help the team early even in limited snaps. The coaching staff should create opportunities for him on screens and quick passes, allowing him to use his speed to do the rest.

If he can stay healthy, Pettaway could provide a significant boost in 2023.