All 10 teams are in action this week, including one game featuring two ranked opponents. Oklahoma and the unbeaten Texas Tech face off in an attempt to gain leverage in the battle to win the Big XII championship.
Here is a preview of this week's matchups.
#8 Baylor vs. Kansas
Baylor is looking to continue their winning streak against a Kansas team that has not won a conference game since 2010. However, this task may not be as simple as many think.
Kansas is currently 40th in the nation in pass defense, even after playing teams like Oklahoma and Texas Tech, so the Bears may have to use Bryce Petty, Antwan Goodley and Tevin Reese sparingly.
Fortunately for them, Baylor has Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin to carry the ball. They are currently eighth in the nation, averaging 299 yards per game on the ground. Seastrunk has been the feature back, with Martin being the power, short-yardage guy.
At the end of the day, Baylor’s offense is just too explosive for Kansas to keep up, especially when Jayhawks’ quarterback Jake Heaps only threw for 16 yards last week.
Predicted Winner: Baylor
#10 Texas Tech vs. #15 Oklahoma
This week’s key matchup features the undefeated Red Raiders and one-loss Oklahoma. Texas Tech has been one of the biggest surprises in the country this season, led by coach Kliff Kingsbury.
However, the last time Tech played a team with as good of a secondary as the Sooners, TCU held them to 20 points, with half of those coming late in the game. Backup quarterback Davis Webb will have his hands full with Aaron Colvin.
The Red Raiders also have the 32nd ranked defense in the country, so Blake Bell will have a tough time shaking off his streak of poor outings. They will need to rely heavily on their stable of running backs to set up Bell if they want to have a chance.
It will be interesting to see how this game turns out, because it will either be very exciting or very boring.
Predicted Winner: Texas Tech
#19 Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State
One week after getting torn apart by Baylor’s passing attack, Iowa State gets to have Oklahoma State come to Ames.
Though J.W. Walsh was pulled from last week’s game, Clint Chelf did not do much to secure the job, so Walsh will likely be the one to start. Luckily, whoever plays quarterback will have Josh Stewart to throw to. Stewart has the speed to be able to beat the Cyclone’s secondary, similar to how Goodley and Reese did last week.
Iowa State is having quarterback issues of their own, and unfortunately, they don’t have the superior talent like Oklahoma State to plug-and-play as well as the Cowboys can.
Predicted Winner: Oklahoma State
Texas vs. TCU
Texas, despite all of their ups and downs this season, are still undefeated in conference play, and they have a good chance to continue their winning streak against TCU and their anemic offense.
The Longhorns will have to focus on their ground game, since Case McCoy will struggle against the dominant TCU secondary. Fortunately, they have Jonathan Gray, Malcolm Brown, Daje Johnson and Joe Bergeron to help establish a strong running game.
While the Texas defense has had its struggles against the run game, Trevone Boykin has struggled all season, so Texas will be able to stack the box and dare the Horned Frogs to throw the ball.
Projected Winner: Texas
West Virginia vs. Kansas State
The focus on the Mountaineers will be watching to see how well Clint Trickett performs after playing well last weekend. Every time a Mountaineer quarterback has played well this season, he has followed up that poor performance and subsequently gotten pulled from the game.
Kansas State has had its own quarterback issues this season, switching back and forth between Jake Waters and Daniel Sams. Sams is much more mobile, but Waters has been the more accurate passer. Recently, the Wildcats have used Sams in significantly more snaps due to focusing on ball control.
It will be interesting to watch and count how many different quarterbacks enter the game on Saturday.
Predicted Winner: Kansas State