Big 12 Preview: Week 12

Iowa State @ Kansas State
Bill Snyder Family Stadium (Manhattan, KS)
11:00 AM CT, FS1
Line: Kansas State (-6)

It's now or never for the Snydercats. K-State must win their last 3 games in order to reach bowl eligibility but the games left on their schedule are all winnable. It begins on Saturday in the Little Apple as the Wildcats host Iowa State, who officially lost their bowl opportunity with a hard fought 35-31 loss last week to undefeated Oklahoma State and saw their record fall to 3-7. Both of these teams are not what you would call explosive on offense but both have shown the proclivity to move the ball on the ground in recent weeks, especially the Cyclones. ISU has really found a new gear on offense since Joel Lanning took over at QB. Lanning sort of fits the Collin Klein starter kit in that his passing ability isn't really there yet but he is more than capable of beating you up on the ground in 3-5 yard chunks. Kansas State's front has been inconsistent in defending the run, so we'll see which Wildcat defense shows up on Saturday. I'm inclined to take the easy way out and take K-State at home but I think that after a while, it really begins to wear on a team when you haven't won in two months. So I'm going to go against convention and pick Iowa State to win in Manhattan, something they haven't done since 2004.

Prediction: Iowa State 28 Kansas State 24

West Virginia @ Kansas
Memorial Stadium (Lawrence, KS)
11:00 AM CT, FSN
Line: West Virginia (-28)

This is our second to last opportunity to not talk about Kansas. Here's DMX llama.

Prediction: West Virginia 35 Kansas 13

#18 TCU @ #7 Oklahoma
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK)
7:00 PM CT, ABC
Line: Oklahoma (-11)

Alongside Baylor/Oklahoma State, this is the other game in the Big 12 with conference and national championship implications as a wounded TCU team goes up to Norman to battle red-hot Oklahoma. With the win in Waco last Saturday, OU has firmly put itself into the College Football Playoff discussion and knows it needs to impress the committee in its last two games to be able to sneak into the top 4. Baker Mayfield is playing his way into Heisman talk and the Sooners defense has played lights out since their loss to Texas on October 10 that gets more puzzling with every passing week. OU will look to continue their roll against TCU, who might show up with about seven healthy players. Josh Doctson has been ruled out for the rest of the season, a crushing blow to an offense that leans on Doctson to be able to win 1-on-1 battles downfield in tight coverage. To compound the issue, Trevone Boykin has been listed as questionable with a high ankle sprain suffered against Kansas last week. Even if he is able to go, he likely won't be able to make as many plays outside the pocket as we are accustomed to seeing from Boykin. TCU OC Doug Meachem has been known to dial up some creative offensive plays and I would fully expect that he'll empty out his bag o' tricks if the Frogs need a big play to stay in this game. But I just think the Sooners are too balanced and powerful on offense for TCU to be able to keep up for 60 minutes without their stars healthy. And if Boykin can't go and Gary Patterson has to roll Foster Sawyer out there? This could get real ugly for Frogs. OU makes another strong statement.

Prediction: Oklahoma 52 TCU 28