WVU has to win for Big 12 chance; Texas wants 6th win

Some things to watch in the Big 12 Conference during Week 12, the second-to-last Saturday of the regular season:

GAME OF THE WEEK

Texas (5-5, 4-3) at No. 24 West Virginia (7-3, 5-2). The Mountaineers need help to get into the Big 12 championship game, but first they have to win their own games. Texas is still trying to get bowl eligible in coach Tom Herman’s first season. “I’m putting everybody on high alert on this 5-5 thing,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “We’re sitting here at 7-3 with three losses to top-15 teams, or whatever it is. They aren’t any different. Those guys have lost close games to the likes of Southern Cal, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU.” The Mountaineers have won four of their last five games, the last three wins by a total of 12 points.

BEST MATCHUP

Remember when TCU last went to Texas Tech two years ago? The No. 11 Horned Frogs (8-2, 5-2, No. 12 CFP) won a wild 55-52 game on a fourthdown catch of a tipped pass in the back of the end zone with 23 seconds left. At a place where the fans throw tortillas, TCU coach Gary Patterson said he instead got hit in the head by a frozen water bottle. When the two teams played last year in Fort Worth, the Red Raiders won 27-24 in double overtime. This time, TCU is trying to stay in position for a potential rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. With questions about coach Kliff Kingsbury’s future, Texas Tech (5-5, 2-5) needs another win to get bowl eligible.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Kansas State has 788 yards rushing and 10 TDs on the ground the past three games. … Baylor has a 1,000yard receiver for the seventh consecutive season, the only FBS team to do that from 2011-17. Denzel Mims had 152 yards receiving last week, giving him 1,001 for the season. … Already bowl eligible for the first time since 2012, Iowa State can clinch a winning record in conference play for the first time since 2000 by winning one of its last two regular season games. … Oklahoma State has won 16 of its last 19 games.

LONG SHOT

No. 3 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1, No. 4 CFP) has sole possession of first place in the Big 12, and Kansas (1-9, 0-7) is at the bottom of the standings. The Sooners have won 12 in a row against the Jayhawks by an average of more than 30 points a game. The last two games were 56-3 and 62-7. Oklahoma has won 15 consecutive true road games, the nation’s longest streak, and is favored by more than five touchdowns.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield, a topfour finisher in the Heisman Trophy voting the past two years, has thrown TDs in 36 consecutive games, tied for the longest streak in Big 12 history. He is the FBS leader completing 71 percent of his passes (213 of 299) for 3,559 yards with 31 TDs and only five interceptions.