By Shehan Jeyarajah Sports Writer No. 20 Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2) at Kansas State (6-4, 4-3) Oklahoma was largely eliminated from…
Browsing: Big 12 Preview
TCU (3-6, 1-5) at Iowa State (1-7, 0-5)
Texas Christian has struggled mightily after coming into the season ranked in the top 20. The Horned Frogs are on a three-game losing streak, and have lost four of their last five and six of their last eight. TCU is coming off a tough overtime loss against West Virginia in Fort Worth, where their offense managed only 60 yards of rushing. Senior quarterback Casey Pachall has entered back into the offense, but the Horned Frogs still have one of the worst offenses in football. The defense has been solid, but a defense can only do so much when an offense averages only 23.4 points per game.
No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0) vs. Texas (3-2)
Since junior quarterback Blake Bell took over as starter, he has thrown for 797 yards, 70.4 percent accuracy and six touchdowns over three games. The Sooners are 3-0 in that span, including an impressive victory over No. 22 Notre Dame in South Bend. OU is sixth in the country in scoring defense and ninth in total yardage defense.
Kansas (1-1) vs. Louisiana Tech (1-2)
So far this season, the Kansas Jayhawks have been decidedly poor. After taking care of business against a bad South Dakota team, Kansas was soundly defeated by Rice a week later. While Rice is not a bad team, it is not the type of team that should be beating Big 12 opponents. Kansas has struggled mightily throwing the ball with 140.0 passing yards a game.
The No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners (5-2, 3-1) are looking to bounce back after their home loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Iowa State Cyclones (5-3, 2-3) are hoping to sustain momentum after defeating Baylor 35-21. Cyclones senior quarterback Steele Jantz threw for five touchdowns last week against Baylor, but the Oklahoma defense will present more of a challenge for Iowa State. Oklahoma played Notre Dame tough last week before Notre Dame broke the game open in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma is clearly the second- best team in the Big 12 after Kansas State and they’ll be ready to play a complete game in Ames. Iowa State is dealing with a tough injury blow as the pillar of their defense, senior linebacker Jake Knott, is lost for the season after shoulder surgery. Iowa State has proven to be a resilient and competitive program under Paul Rhoads. The Sooners’ stingy defense and spread-attack offense should take care of business against Iowa State. Prediction: Oklahoma 35, Iowa State 24