Texas Tech @ TCU

Thursday, October 11th 6:30 PM CT, ESPN

Texas Tech (3-2) and TCU (3-2) are both coming into this game after bye weeks, but that doesn’t mean either team is fresh. Each squad will likely be missing their starting quarterback, with TCU’s Shawn Robinson injuring his shoulder in their win against Iowa State and Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman suffering a partially collapsed lung in their loss to West Virginia. As such, it’s somewhat hard to say what each team’s offense will look like. Defensively, TCU has been stronger so far than Tech, so I think that will make the difference with questions all around on the offensive side of things.

21-13 TCU

Oklahoma State @ Kansas State

Saturday, October 11th 11:00 AM CT, ESPNU

The battle of teams suffering derailing losses takes place in Manhattan, KS as Oklahoma State (4-2) takes on Kansas State (2-4). Oklahoma State suffered an offensive smack down at the hands of Iowa State’s 3rd string quarterback at home last weekend. Kansas State lost in the last second in their trip to Baylor. The Wildcats had explosive offensive plays but couldn’t consistently stop the Bears. Oklahoma State also had good offensive production against Iowa State but not nearly good enough defense. Ultimately, Oklahoma State still has the better team talent wise. Whether or not they’re there mentally will remain to be seen.

35-31 Oklahoma State

Baylor @ #9 Texas

Saturday, October 13th 2:30 PM CT, ESPN

Both of these teams are hot off of last-second field goal victories. #9 Texas (5-1) picked up a huge win over rival Oklahoma. The Longhorns were able to build a large lead, before watching it vanish in the 4th quarter. Luckily for them, the offense had just enough left in it to get a game winning field goal. Baylor (4-2), similarly, let up a lot of explosive offensive plays but was able to ride out the punches and garner enough offense to get a game winning kick as well. Texas is the better team in this match up, Baylor is still deep in a rebuilding process. But there is a lot of bad blood between these teams. I imagine the Bears are going to play their hearts out. With the possibility of Texas still basking in the glory of its upset win last week, this matchup is definitely on trap game alert. However, I’ll stick with the safe pick: prove me wrong Baylor.

38-21 Texas

#6 West Virginia @ Iowa State

Saturday, October 13th 6:00 PM CT, FS1

This is a game that is far more interesting than the records would indicate. #6 West Virginia (5-0) has looked extremely impressive this year behind quarterback Will Grier. While they played Kansas a little close for comfort, I don’t think that’s very indicative of the team’s overall talent. Iowa State (2-3) is surging after their dominating road win over then ranked Oklahoma State. The biggest storyline is that Iowa State put in true freshman quarterback Brock Purdy, and he absolutely lit it up. He went 18 of 23 for 318 yards, four passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown. Anyone who followed Purdy’s recruitment shouldn’t be surprised, however, as he had offers from a wide array of schools including Alabama. The quarterback situation might get extra interesting as injured starting quarterback Kyle Kempt is expected to be recovered for this game. Do the Cyclones respect Kempt’s position as one that shouldn’t be lost to injury or do they stick with the on fire freshman? Hard to say. But with the home atmosphere of a night game, I’m going with the big upset.

38-35 Iowa State