Kellis Robinett’s Big 12 Report (Sept. 15)

When media members across the Big 12 picked West Virginia to finish eighth in their preseason conference poll, they expected the Mountaineers to have an average quarterback.

Three weeks into the season, West Virginia is playing well above that prediction. Its quarterback is the main reason.

Clint Trickett looked anything but average while leading the Mountaineers to a 40-37 victory at Maryland on Saturday. The senior who started his career at Florida State threw for 511 yards and four touchdowns while completing 37 of 49 passes. A week earlier, he completed 35 of 40 passes against Towson. The 365 yards he piled up against Alabama were no fluke.

With 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns, Trickett is the Big 12’s early offensive star.

“Clint Trickett is the biggest difference,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “He is playing really well.”

Oklahoma travels to West Virginia on Saturday in what should be an enticing conference game. The Mountaineers have played the Sooners tough in each of the past two seasons, losing close games. Perhaps a big game from Trickett will be enough for them to pull an upset.

That many are giving West Virginia a puncher’s chance against Oklahoma is a testament to Trickett. He looked lost a year ago, competing for playing time and throwing for 1,605 yards. But with that year of experience pushing him throughout the offseason, he is now completing 75.4 percent of his passes. Only Mississippi’s Bo Wallace has a better throwing percentage at 75.5.

“Last year he got to campus in August, so going through camp it was all new to him,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He didn’t have a relationship with players and the coaching staff, which makes it tough at that position where you are forced into a leadership role.

“He is much better now. The relationship he has with me and the coaching staff is strong. The offensive line wants to protect him a whole lot more ... It’s night and day to where he was a year ago.”

It will be interesting to see how Trickett holds up against Big 12 competition. Though his hot start against Alabama suggests he has the ability to put up numbers against any defense, the Crimson Tide didn’t know him the way conference foes will.

One thing’s for sure: If he continues to play this well, West Virginia will finish higher than eighth in the Big 12.

It happened

Two strange plays occurred in the Big 12 last weekend.

The first helped Iowa State defeat Iowa 20-17 on a last-second field goal. With time winding down, Cyclones kicker Cole Netten lined up for a 42-yard field goal. The kick looked good as it left his foot, but it hooked left and missed. None of that mattered, though, when Iowa called a timeout moments before the snap. Netten got another dry and split the uprights to give his team its first victory of the season.

The second wasn’t even a play, but it was more bizarre than the double kick. Before the start of UCLA’s come-from-behind victory over Texas, the Longhorns decided to kick to the Bruins even though UCLA won the coin toss and deferred its choice to the second half. The mistake in judgment meant UCLA started the first and third quarters with the ball. Texas coach Charlie Strong blamed the choice on his captains being overly excited for the game. UCLA won 20-17.

Quote of the week

“I have no idea. We played Samford and then played a Big Ten team.” – TCU coach Gary Patterson on his expectations for the Horned Frogs’ offense once Big 12 games start.

Power Rankings

1. Oklahoma (3-0, 0-0): Two nice victories over SEC opponents in the same calendar year.

2. Baylor (3-0, 0-0): Crushed three nonconference opponents 178-27.

3. Kansas State (2-0, 1-0): All eyes on Manhattan when Auburn visits.

4. West Virginia (2-1, 0-0): Trickett led the Mountaineers to a solid road victory.

5. Oklahoma State (2-1, 0-0): Handling Texas-San Antonio isn’t a given. Nice effort by the Cowboys.

6. TCU (2-0, 0-0): If Minnesota turns out to be good, TCU could turn out to be really good.

7. Iowa State (1-2, 0-1): Gutsy win at Iowa, especially after two early home losses.

8. Texas Tech (2-1, 0-0): Red Raiders wore nifty throwback uniforms against Arkansas. Nothing else looked good.

9. Texas (1-2, 0-0): Showed improvement against UCLA, but it wasn’t enough.

10. Kansas (1-1, 0-0): Has KU made progress under Charlie Weis? Losing big at Duke suggests no.

This story was originally published September 15, 2014 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Kellis Robinett’s Big 12 Report (Sept. 15)."