Oklahoma, Texas both ranked
Here are some things to watch during Week 6 of the Big 12 football season:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 19 Texas (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0). For the first time since 2012, the Longhorns and Sooners are both ranked for their annual matchup at the State Fair of Texas where the crowd splits 50-50 in burnt orange and crimson. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger hasn’t thrown an interception in the past month during the first four-game winning streak for the Longhorns since 2013. Kyler Murray threw for a career-high 432 yards with six TDs and also ran for a score when the three-time defending Big 12 champion Sooners beat Baylor last weekend for their 26th win in 27 Big 12 regular season games since a 2015 loss in the Red River rivalry.
BEST MATCHUP
Iowa State defense vs. Oklahoma State offense. Even with a fifth-year senior and first-time starting quarterback Taylor Cornelius, the Cowboys have one of the Big 12’s best offenses with 545 total yards per game (league-best 231 yards rushing and 314 yards passing) and 44.4 points per game. The stingy Cyclones have allowed only 333 yards and 20 points a game, though their offense averages league-worst totals of 300 yards and 18 points a game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Baylor is perfect scoring in the red zone, with 14 touchdowns and four field goals on 18 possessions inside the 20. The Bears’ 78-percent TD rate in the red zone is much better than their 2017 mark of 45 percent (18 TDs on 31 red-zone trips). … Kansas State has held three consecutive opponents without a rushing touchdown for the first time since 2014. … Iowa State has lost six in a row in its series against Oklahoma State since a 37-31 double-overtime win in 2011, but the last three games have been decided by seven points or less. … Texas has a 61-46-5 series lead against Oklahoma, the only Big 12 team to hold an alltime series lead over the Sooners.
LONG SHOT
Kansas (2-3. 0-2) is a four-touchdown underdog heading to No. 9 West Virginia (4-0, 2-0). The Jayhawks last month ended a 46-game road losing streak that dated to 2011 and won consecutive games for the first time in 2009, but are 0-2 in Big 12 play. They have lost 12 conference games in a row and 62 of 65 since the league went to 10 teams in 2011. That includes a 1-6 mark against the Mountaineers, whose series wins have been by an average margin of 31 points. Kansas has lost 41 consecutive Big 12 road games over the past 10 years.