College GameDay Makes Official Predictions for Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech
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Thanks to the College Football Playoff rankings, Saturday’s game between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech is a Top 25 showdown.
That means the ESPN College Gameday crew had to pick the game.
The No. 25 Cowboys (6-3, 4-2 in Big 12) and the No. 12 Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1) are set to face each other at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. It’s one of a pair of ranked games in the Big 12 that will take plays in the evening. A showdown between No. 2 Utah and No. 23 Arizona will kick off in Tucson after the Cowboys-Red Raiders.
The Cowboys still have faint hopes of reaching the Big 12 Championship game. The Colorado Buffaloes delivered them a gift on Friday night by beating Houston, a team the Cowboys needed to lose due to tiebreakers. For Oklahoma State to have any chance of reaching the Big 12 Championship game they must win out and get help.
Meanwhile the Red Raiders control their own destiny with just one league loss. So long as Texas Tech wins its final three games, then it will have the opportunity to defend its Big 12 championship next month in Arlington.
ESPN's College GameDay was in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday morning to preview the Oregon State-Boise State game. The crew of Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and celebrity guest picker Ian Desmond all revealed their game picks.
Here are the predictions:
Desmond Howard: Oklahoma State
The former Michigan Wolverines Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP selected the Cowboys.
“It’s a shootout,” Howard said. “It comes to which team has the ball last.”
Pat McAfee: Texas Tech
The former Indianapolis Colts punter-turned-ubiquitous TV and online personality — who played his college football at West Virginis — called the over/under for the game “hilarious.” He was the only member of the panel to take Texas Tech.
“I think (mega-booster) Cody Campbell and quarterback Thomas Castellanos will get a big time win,” McAfee said.
Nick Saban: Oklahoma State
The legendary college football coach, who led both LSU and Alabama to national championships, said he predicted the Cowboys because of quarterback Drew Mestmaker.
“The matchup between Oklahoma State’s quarterback against Texas Tech’s secondary is going to be the difference in the game,” Saban said.
Kirk Herbstreit: Oklahoma State
ESPN’s top game analyst and former Ohio State quarterback went with the Cowboys, saying that this would be a “chaos Saturday.”
“Texas Tech is a great football team but they’re not the same defense they had last year,” Herbstreit said.
Ian Desmond: Oklahoma State
The legendary Boise State running back was the guest picker on Saturday and he selected the Cowboys.
“I believe this is going to be a high-scoring game,” Desmond said. “I’m going with the quarterback that leads the nation in total touchdowns.”
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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