Big 12 Week Six Football Preview

Kansas State @ Oklahoma State

Friday, October 6th 6:30 PM CT, ESPN

Kansas State (3-1, 1-0) and Oklahoma State (2-2, 0-1) kickoff this weekend of Big 12 action with a Friday night game. Both teams are coming off of bye weeks, with Kansas State having most recently beat UCF, 44-31. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is on a nasty, two-game losing streak with losses to South Alabama and Iowa State. The wheels seem to be falling off for the Cowboys, so I certainly like Kansas State in this one. The Wildcats are 12.5 point favorites, which seems about right.

31-17 Kansas State

#12 Oklahoma vs. #3 Texas

Saturday, October 7th 11:00 AM CT, ABC

The Red River Rivalry is renewed once again, with plenty at stake for the conference race. #3 Texas (5-0, 2-0) is the clear favorite to win the conference at this point, with solid wins over Baylor and Kansas. #12 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0) is in the number 2 spot, with a win over Cincinnati and a 50-20 blowout of Iowa State last week. This game is always incredibly difficult to pick because wacky rivalry shenanigans are almost always afoot. That being said, I like Texas to win this one as the more complete team on both sides of the ball. Texas is a 5.5 point favorite, which I think they cover.

35-28 Texas

UCF @ Kansas

Saturday, October 7th 3:00 PM CT, FOX

Kansas (4-1, 1-1) was putting up a real good fight against Texas last week until the fourth quarter, when the wheels just fell off for the Jayhawks, losing 40-14. SPEAKING OF THE WHEELS FALLING OFF IN THE FOURTH QUARTER, welcome to the Big 12, UCF (3-2, 0-2). The Knights had Baylor down 35-7 late in the third quarter, before letting the Bears score 29 straight, leading to a 36-35 loss for UCF. The Knights will need to rally quick, as they might be fighting for the bottom of the Big 12 after that extremely deflating loss. I don’t think they rally on the road against a pretty solid Kansas squad. Kansas is a three point favorite, which I have them covering and then some.

38-27 Kansas

Texas Tech @ Baylor

Saturday, October 7th 7:00 PM CT, ESPN2

BU-TT makes its return, as Baylor (2-3, 1-1) and Texas Tech (2-3, 1-1) both come in with a much needed boost off of a big win last week. Baylor’s came in very dramatic fashion, rallying from 28 points down late in the third to win, 36-35. Tech was in a dogfight with Houston until the second half, where the Red Raiders pitched a shutout and added two of their own touchdowns to win, 49-28. This is an extremely pivotal game for both teams, as they’re going to have to scrap to get to bowl eligibility. But with the momentum Baylor is carrying with quarterback Blake Shapen back, and with Tech having to rely on backup quarterback Behren Morton, I like Baylor to win this at home. The line is one point in favor of Texas Tech. Baylor covers and wins.

35-31 Baylor

TCU @ Iowa State

Saturday, October 7th 7:00 PM CT, FS2

Both Iowa State (2-3, 1-1) and TCU (3-2, 1-1) are coming off of tough losses last week that they’ll be looking to bounce back from. Iowa State was in an early shootout with Oklahoma, before the Cyclones offense lost steam and the Sooners ended up wining, 50-20. TCU took a 21-14 lead into the half against West Virginia, before getting shutout in the second half to lose, 24-21. I think TCU is the better overall team here, but something is telling me to pick Iowa State with the offensive improvements we’ve been seeing the last couple of games. TCU is a six point favorite, but I’ve got the Cyclones winning outright.

28-25 Iowa State