Big 12 FanNation Week 7 Staff Predictions
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are off this week. But what about the rest of the Big 12 this weekend?
Staff members from Longhorns Country, Inside the Bears and Red Raider Review provide their picks for each of the other Big 12 games this week.
Baylor at West Virginia, 6 p.m. CT, Thursday, FS1
Collier Logan, Staff Writer: Baylor should take care of business in their Thursday night showdown with the Mountaineers. Baylor 35, West Virginia 13
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: I covered this game on a Thursday night in Morgantown a few years ago. That time, Baylor was rebuilding under Matt Rhule and the Mountaineers were as good as they would be under then-coach Dana Holgorsen. Now? Baylor is entrenched as a Big 12 contender and the Mountaineers are trying to land their first Big 12 victory. Both teams have been off for a week. Who did the better job of tuning up the past 10 days? I’m betting it’s Baylor. Baylor 33, West Virginia 26
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Despite coming off a bye week, playing in Morgantown is tricky. You saw last season how the Mountaineers struggled to pick up wins on the road but went 4-2 when playing at Milan Puskar Stadium. It'll be close, but the Mountaineers improve to .500 against Baylor. West Virginia 24, Baylor 20
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: West Virginia enters its matchup against Baylor looking to move to 1-2 in Big 12 play. Doing so, though, will be much easier said than done. The Baylor offense should have no trouble putting up points on the West Virginia defense, as the Bears look to bounce back from a loss to Oklahoma State. Baylor 49, West Virginia 21
No. 19 Kansas at Oklahoma, 11 a.m. CT, Saturday, ESPN2
Collier Logan, Staff Writer: Oklahoma’s tough losing streak will continue in this one, even with the Sooners at home. Kansas 28, Oklahoma 24
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: The tables have turned. Kansas is ranked and Oklahoma is not. The mind boggles. It sounds like OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel may play. If so, I think the Sooners break the losing streak. Oklahoma 27, Kansas 23
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: This is a must-win game for coach Brent Venables and the Sooners. Kansas will likely be without starting quarterback Jalon Daniels, but his back-up, Jason Bean, looked competent a week ago against TCU's secondary. Call it close, but if Oklahoma gets back Gabriel, it finds a way to pull away late. At least the Jayhawks were ranked for two weeks, right? Oklahoma 37, Kansas 31
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: While the undefeated Kansas Cinderella story came to an end last week at the hands of TCU, now the Jayhawks have a chance to bounce back against a reeling Oklahoma team. Despite this being a road game, and Kansas potentially starting a backup quarterback, the Jayhawks will dispatch Oklahoma to reach bowl eligibility and send the Sooners spiraling even further. Kansas 38, Oklahoma 24
Iowa State at No. 22 Texas, 11 a.m. CT, Saturday, ABC
Collier Logan, Staff Writer: The Longhorns are back at full force with the return of quarterback Quinn Ewers. They just took rival Oklahoma to the woodshed so they’re riding quite a bit of momentum now too. They should roll past Iowa State without much problem. Texas 38, Iowa State 20
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: Iowa State is a team in transition, with a new quarterback in Hunter Dekkers. Still, there’s plenty of talent and their past two losses have been decided by a combined four points. So Iowa State will be competitive … to a point. The return of Quinn Ewers made it clear how different this Texas offense is with him at the controls. I expect running back Bijan Robinson to have another big game as the Longhorns start slow but pull away in the second half. Texas 37, Iowa State 27
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Iowa State's defense ranks 14th nationally in scoring. Last season, this was the game where defensive line coach Bo Davis' rant went viral, and the Longhorns got the message that inadequate play wasn't going to fly. The fact that Ewers looked superhuman last week only strengthens the Horns' case of keeping their winning streak alive for the foreseeable future. Robinson scores three touchdowns and Texas wins by two scores. Texas 38, Iowa State 24
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: Iowa State is a perfect example of a tale of two teams. The Cyclones feature an anemic offense but a defense that can shut down opponents enough to keep themselves in the game. However, stopping Ewers and the Texas offense will be an entirely different animal. Texas will be slowed some, but in the end the offensive firepower will simply be too much for the Iowa State defense. Texas 35, Iowa State 10
No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13, TCU, 2:30 p.m. CT, Saturday, ABC
Collier Logan, Staff Writer: The Cowboys are still this conference’s best team and they’ll stay undefeated against TCU. Oklahoma State 30, TCU 22
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: These two offenses are in the Top 10 in points scored per game. The defenses? Ehhh… they could be better. Get ready for a shootout. Oklahoma State 48, TCU 45
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Two things we know for sure — there's going to be a winner and there's going to be a loser. Which undefeated team prevails? Last week, the Horned Frogs allowed Kansas' backup quarterback to throw for 282 yards and four touchdowns. The Pokes' defense totaled 14 tackles for loss against Texas Tech, while quarterback Spencer Sanders completed six passes of 20-plus yards. It's not pretty, but the Cowboys wrangle TCU early to keep its winning ways alive for another week. Oklahoma State 42, TCU 38
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: There is no bigger game in the Big 12 this week than the matchup between Oklahoma State and TCU. The winner moves to 6-0 and has an inside track to not only the Big 12 title game, but possibly the College Football Playoff. This will undoubtedly be a thrilling game but look for Oklahoma State to pull out a narrow victory. Oklahoma State 31, TCU 28
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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