Big 12 Preview: Week 8

Kansas State @ Texas
Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, TX)
11:00 AM CT (Sat.), FS1
Line: Texas (-6.5)

A month ago if I had told you this game would be crucial for both teams' aspirations of reaching a bowl game, you would have broken into maniacal laughter because Texas and bowl game hahahaha. But that's where we stand right now with Texas looking to build off a shocking upset against Oklahoma two weeks ago while K-State laid a giant turd in getting pasted 55-0 by the same Sooner team. In Manhattan no less. The Longhorns were able to establish an advantage at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the Red River game with OU, something that could either be seen as a one game anomaly or as a sign that the young crop of Horns is actually showing improvement. UT ran for 313 yards and got solid (read: turnover free) play from both Jerrod Heard and Tyrone Swoopes. It will be an interesting matchup when UT has the ball as the Longhorns will probably want to run about 75% of the time while K-State's defense is much stronger against the run than against the pass. Meanwhile, the Wildcat offense has been just downright offensive over the last 6 quarters. After inexplicably getting away from their running game in the 2nd half against TCU two weeks ago, K-State could only manage 110 total yards in the pasting they took from OU. Joe Hubener needs to manage the game effectively for KSU to have a shot and he has been bitten by the turnover bug over the recent stretch. Texas' front seven will look to build off what they did in the OU game and dominate against a sputtering opponent. I think this game may be a bit ugly and sloppy, especially given the expected rainy conditions in Austin, but I think a couple key K-State turnovers turn the tide in Texas' favor.

Prediction: Texas 27 Kansas State 13

Texas Tech @ #17 Oklahoma
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK)
2:30 PM CT, ABC
Line: Oklahoma (-14.5)

Do you like air raid offenses? Then you've come to the right place. Baker Mayfield squares off against his old team as Oklahoma hosts Kliff Kingsbury's Red Raiders. The Mayfield saga is the big storyline around this game but would likely be a much more explosive story if this game was being played in Lubbock. On the field, Mayfield has been a revelation for the Sooners, throwing 19 TDs to just 3 interceptions through the first half of the season and giving OU some stability at the QB spot that Trevor Knight was unable to provide a year ago. Now he gets to go up against a Tech defense that he used to practice against every day. The Red Raiders allow opponents to gain 6.6 yards/play, good for 116th in FBS. With OU's ability to spread the field and get the ball in the hands of guys like Sterling Shepard, Dede Westbrook, Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon, this could be a long day for the Tech defense. Fortunately for the Red Raiders, they can score with anyone, averaging 47.8 points/game behind the brilliance of their Mayfield replacement Pat Mahomes. The dual threat talent has the ability to keep Tech in any ball game and if the Red Raiders can establish a solid running threat to go with their prolific passing attack, they might just be able to give OU a run for their money even in Norman. You might not know that DeAndre Washington is second in the Big 12 in rushing yards and he will need to be a big factor for Tech to have a chance to win. I can see this game going back and forth quite a bit, but I trust Oklahoma's secondary led by Zack Sanchez to make a few stops and Tech scores a late TD to get a backdoor cover.

Prediction: Oklahoma 49 Texas Tech 41

Kansas @ #14 Oklahoma State
Boone Pickens Stadium (Stillwater, OK)
2:30 PM CT, FS1
Line: Oklahoma State (-34.5)

Congratulations Kansas! You showed signs of life last week in putting a scare into Texas Tech, beating the spread by 21 points and only real life losing by 10! I might even have to write about you this week! So here it is folks, here is my in-depth analysis of this week's Jayhawk game: Oklahoma State wins by a lot. The end. Here's Drake playing Wii Tennis.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 45 Kansas 7