TODAY’S OTHER GAMES
Alcorn St. at Prairie View
When/where: 1 p.m.; Panther Stadium, Prairie View. Radio: 91.3 FM. Records: Alcorn State 3-4, 3-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference; Prairie View A&M 5-3, 5-1. Series: Alcorn State leads 46-21. Storyline: Second-year Panthers coach Willie Simmons formerly was Alcorn State’s offensive coordinator and is 1-0 against the Braves. Alcorn State, which is tied for first in the SWAC East, is the two-time defending conference champion. Alcorn wins if: The Braves can sustain a ground game to complement the passing of Lenorris Footman. Twice this season, Prairie View A&M has held an opponent to negative rushing yards. Prairie View wins if: The Panthers get another outstanding defensive performance. In last week’s 28-14 win at Jackson State, they limited the Tigers to minus-3 yards rushing.
TCU at Baylor When/where: 2:30 p.m.; McLane Stadium, Waco. TV/radio: Fox; 1070 AM. Records: Baylor 6-1, 3-1 Big 12; TCU 4-4, 2-3. Series: Tied 52-52-7. Storyline: The No. 17 Bears need to bounce back from last week’s loss at Texas to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive. A win over its rival would help TCU salvage a season that hasn’t met expectations. TCU wins if: The defense puts in a performance similar to last week when it stymied Texas Tech, and running back Kyle Hicks is at full strength after twisting an ankle. The Horned Frogs also need consistency from quarterback Kenny Hill, who was benched for part of the Tech game. Baylor wins if: Quarterback Seth Russell is 100 percent after going through concussion protocol and running back Shock Linwood is over lingering hamstring problems. The Baylor defense has 16 takeaways, second in the Big 12.
Texas Southern at Southern When/where: 4 p.m.; Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. Radio: 90.9 FM. Records: TSU 3-5, 3-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference; Southern 5-2, 5-0. Series: Southern leads 46-20-4. Storyline: A week after losing to FCS top-ranked Sam Houston State, TSU plays a team that shares first place in the West Division with Grambling State. TSU has lost three consecutive games. TSU wins if: It puts last week’s 66-17 drubbing to Sam Houston State behind. Southern wins if: Running back Lenard Tillery has another big game. Last week, he broke the SWAC all-time rushing record.
McNeese St. at Sam Houston When/where: 6 p.m.; Bowers Stadium, Huntsville. Records: McNeese State 5-4, 4-3 Southland; Sam Houston 8-0, 6-0. Series: McNeese State leads 26-11-1. Storyline: The No.1-ranked Bearkats put their unbeaten record on the line. Last year, the Cowboys won 27-10 in the regular season, but Sam Houston State defeated McNeese 34-29 in the second round of the FCS playoffs. McNeese State wins if: The Cowboys jump out to an early lead, and their talented wide receivers take advantage of their speed and make big plays. Sam Houston wins if: It continues to blow out the opposition, outscoring SLC foes 189-37 in the first half, and the Kats’ defensive continues to progress.
Houston Baptist at UTEP When/where: 7 p.m.; Sun Bowl, El Paso. Records: HBU 3-5; UTEP 2-6. Series: First meeting. Storyline: HBU plays its second FBS and Conference USA foe of the season. The Huskies are coming off their most significant win in program history — a 24-17 victory at Lamar that was its first Southland Conference road win. UTEP needs to win its last four games for bowl eligibility. HBU wins if: The Huskies can limit pre-snap penalties. Against Lamar, the Huskies had three on offense and two on defense. UTEP wins if: Its undersized defense yields less than its 38.2-points-per-game average, and a one-dimensional offense centered around RB Aaron Jones gets the passing game untracked.