Happy Thanksgiving Baylor fans! There’s no Big 12 action today, but there will be a lot of VERY important and interesting games starting Friday and carrying into Saturday for the last full week of Big 12 play!

#14 Texas @ Kansas

Friday, November 23rd 11:00 AM CT, FS1

#14 Texas (8-3) controls its destiny to the Big 12 championship. The only thing that stands in their way is Kansas (3-8). Lest we forget, Texas did lose one of the most meme worthy games of this decade to Kansas a few years ago. And Kansas still has some fight in them. They scored 40 on Oklahoma. That being said, Texas should definitely win this game on paper. So I’m picking the Longhorns. But Kansas might put up a fight greater than most expect to give coach David Beaty one last win.

28-7 Texas

#6 Oklahoma @ #13 West Virginia

Friday, November 23rd 7:00 PM CT, ESPN

This is the other game that will decide the Big 12 matchup. If Texas loses to Kansas, then both of these teams will rematch next week. However, given how unlikely that is, the winner of #6 Oklahoma (10-1) and #13 West Virginia (8-2) will make it to the championship. The loser will be out of luck. This is a tough game to pick as both teams had pretty bad games last week. Oklahoma gave up 40 to Kansas, showing just how troubled their defense is. West Virginia lost a game they had in control to Oklahoma State. It’ll be a cold, home night game in Morgantown. I like Will Grier and the Mountaineers over Kyler Murray and the Sooners.

38-35 West Virginia

Baylor vs. Texas Tech

Saturday, November 24th 11:00 AM CT, FS1

This is the closest thing to a wildcard play-in game college football. Both Baylor (5-6) and Texas Tech (5-6) have to win this game to make a post season bowl game. There are massive stakes for both teams and potentially both coaches, with Rhule wanting to set the trajectory for his tenure and Kingsbury wanting to potentially save his job. Both teams had massive offensive woes last week: Texas Tech only scored 6 against Kansas State and Baylor only scored 9 against TCU. Texas Tech is dealing with massive injury problems at quarterback, with their top 3 quarterbacks dealing with injuries. It’s unclear whether Jett Duffey or Colt Garrett will start. Given those injuries, Baylor ought to have an offensive edge. And, even with how bad the offense played last week, the Baylor defense had a pretty great game minus one or two broken plays. I like the Bears here to get bowl eligibility after going 1-11 last year.

28-14 Baylor

Kansas State @ #25 Iowa State

Saturday, November 24th 6:00 PM CT, FS1

Kansas State (5-6) is in a must-win situation for the second week in a row. After beating Texas Tech last week, they now need to go into a night game at Ames and beat #25 Iowa State (6-4). Iowa State had a dismal offensive showing in their loss at Texas last week. They’ll look to get back on track in front of their home crowd. This is a tough game to pick, do I bet against a night game at Jack Trice or Bill Snyder’s possible last game at Kansas State? The Cyclones haven’t won a game against the Wildcats in ten years. I think this is the year they break that streak though.

17-15 Iowa State

Oklahoma State @ TCU

Saturday, November 24th 7:00 PM CT, FOX

Another game with post season implications, TCU (5-6) is in a must win scenario against Oklahoma State (6-5). Oklahoma State has had a wild season of pulling big upsets, with Texas and West Virginia topping that list. At the same time, they’ve accumulated a number of disappointing losses. TCU (5-6) picked up a must-win against Baylor last week. Can they do it again? Given how banged up they are on both sides, I don’t think so.

24-14 Oklahoma State