Baylor @ #13 West Virginia

Thursday, October 25th 6:00 PM CT, FS1

#13 West Virginia (5-1) had a long bye week to sit on the absolutely devastating loss to Iowa State they suffered two weeks ago. Will Grier and the Mountaineers offense couldn’t get anything going in Ames. Baylor (4-3) likewise had a bye to contemplate their loss to Texas. While that loss was also painful, it was a ultimately a positive step forward as the Bears had a chance to win it at the end. It’s hard to predict how each team will respond to these difficulties and the bye week. Baylor should come out swinging and could take early advantage of a demoralized West Virginia squad. While the home field advantage is enough to push this game in favor of West Virginia, Baylor could surprise us all.

28-24 West Virginia

Texas Tech @ Iowa State

Saturday, October 27th 11:00 AM CT, ESPN2

Believe it or not, this game could end up being really important for the Big 12 title race. Iowa State (3-3) is in a position where they would likely make the Big 12 championship if they win out. They’ve been playing lights out, knocking off then #6 West Virginia two weeks ago and have the easiest portion of their schedule coming up. Texas Tech (5-2) also controls its own destiny with only one conference loss. Tech thoroughly trounced Kansas last week, thanks in part to the return of starting quarterback Alan Bowman. Both teams are hitting their stride. The question is if Iowa State’s defense can make Alan Bowman look silly like they did with Will Grier. I think they can to a degree, especially at home.

31-27 Iowa State

Kansas State @ #8 Oklahoma

Saturday, October 27th 1:30 PM CT, FOX

After falling in Waco, Kansas State (3-4) bounced back strong with a dominating win over Oklahoma State. They now travel to #8 Oklahoma (6-1) who put on an offensive display against TCU last week. The Wildcats seemed to finally accept that their team simply isn’t going to succeed very much throwing the ball. They have to run the ball, getting it to the extremely explosive Alex Barnes as much as physically possible. You know where Oklahoma has had problems defensively? Stopping the run against teams that try to control the time of possession. That’s K-State’s specialty. ESPN only gives the Wildcats a 6% chance of victory. But if I just went with the percentages this would be a boring article. This feels like the perfect trap game, so I’m going to call the HUGE upset (and might look really silly next week).

24-21 Kansas State

TCU @ Kansas

Saturday, October 27th 2:00 PM CT, FS1

Lots of news this week out of TCU (3-4). After losing to Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs have named Michael Collins the starting quarterback over Shawn Robinson. Further, TCU’s very best play maker, KaVontae Turpin, was arrested Sunday for assault. He has been kicked off the team and there’s some off the field suspicions starting to swirl. Kansas (2-5) struggled heavily against Texas Tech. While this might be a tempting game to pick an upset given how close Kansas tends to play TCU and all the turmoil the Horned Frogs are facing, TCU’s defense is still good enough to totally shut down Kansas’s offense.

17-3 TCU

#6 Texas @ Oklahoma State

Saturday, October 27th 7:00 PM CT, ABC

#6 Texas (6-1) keeps steadily climbing up the polls, at the cusp of the top 5. Oklahoma State (4-3) has taken a sudden, hard fall from grace, getting badly beaten by Iowa State and Kansas State in back to back weeks. This game being in Stillwater might help the Cowboys some, but I think Texas’ receiving corps will ultimately be too much for Oklahoma State. Although Texas has seemed to play up and down to its opponents. I would not be the least bit shocked if Oklahoma State pulled off an upset here. But my head tells me to pick the Longhorns.

42-28 Texas