After last weekend's monumental shift in the conference projections, this week will be a little more tame. Baylor will get a chance to rebound against an underacheiving TCU. Texas and Texas Tech will showdown on Thanksgiving Day. Kansas and Kansas State match up in a cross-state rivalry.
Here is a preview of this week's matchups.
#9 Baylor (9-1, 6-1 Big XII) vs. TCU (4-7, 2-6 Big XII)
Baylor is one week removed from having its national title chances demolished on national television in Stillwater. It will be interesting to see how much energy they come out with. Will they come out angry and motivated, or will they play deflated and defeated?
The most important matchup of the game will be Baylor’s backup left tackle against Devonte Fields, TCU’s stud defensive lineman. Fields should have an opportunity to dominate and wreak havoc on Bryce Petty since Baylor’s normal left tackle, Spencer Drango, is out for the season.
The Horned Frogs also have a strong secondary, led by Jason Verrett, that should be able to lock down a portion of Baylor’s passing game. Whichever receiver, between Tevin Reese, Antwan Goodley and Levi Norwood, is running routes opposite of Verrett, will need to get open consistently to give Petty someone to throw to.
Baylor’s running game will also need to be better than last week, when Shock Linwood only rushed for 29 yards. Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin were supposed to return last week, but did not play. This week, they should be ready to go.
Predicted Winner: Baylor
Texas Tech (7-4, 4-4 Big XII) vs. Texas (7-3, 6-1 Big XII)
Texas Tech and Texas matchup on Thanksgiving Day in a matchup could either be full of fireworks or will be a boring match.
The Red Raiders are on a four-game losing streak, but have the potential to put up big points with Baker Mayfield, Jace Amaro and Eric Ward. However, Mayfield tends to make bad decisions and struggles with accuracy at times, which has led to much of the Red Raiders’ struggles.
The Longhorns have played very well since their early struggles against BYU and Ole Miss, and much of that has been because of the running game and Case McCoy’s decision making. However, Jonathan Gray is out for the season and McCoy has made bad decisions in recent weeks, putting the Longhorns into tough positions.
The weather in Austin is uncharacteristically cold for this time of year, so passing the ball will be a struggle. The advantage in pregame plays into the Longhorns’ hands and the running game of Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron and the conservative passing game. However, Kingsbury’s offense can create short passing plays and allow the receivers to make plays in space, minimizing Mayfield’s mistakes.
There is also a little added motivation for Amaro, as he was recently left off the Mackey Award finalist list, despite statistically being better than the other tight ends who made the list. Expect Amaro to come out angry and make some big plays.
Predicted Winner: Texas Tech
Kansas State (6-5, 4-4 Big XII) vs. Kansas (3-8, 1-7 Big XII)
Kansas State is coming off a loss to Oklahoma last week where they were unable to get the run game going early, and would abandon it entirely. Their running game is the focal point of their offense and will need to rely on it.
Fortunately for them, Kansas is coming off a blowout loss to Iowa State, and the Wildcats secondary will be able to shut down the Jayhawks’ passing game, forcing them to be one-dimensional and keep them from getting first downs.
Predicted Winner: Kansas State
Iowa State (2-9, 1-7 Big XII) vs. West Virginia (4-7, 2-6 Big XII)
In this week’s uninteresting matchup, Iowa State faces off against West Virginia. Iowa State is coming off their first conference victory of the season against Kansas. They were able to establish a dominant passing game for the first time since early in the season, with Grant Rohach throwing for 300 yards.
West Virginia has been incredibly inconsistent this season, especially on offense, which is unusual for a Dana Holgorsen-run team. However, the problem has stemmed from poor quarterback play, as none of the three quarterbacks who have played this season have been able to string together good games. With Paul Millard finally being able to start more than two games in a row, plus having a week in practice, expect the Mountaineers offense to have some continuity to it, especially with Charles Sims still in the backfield.
Predicted Winner: West Virginia