OSU-Baylor highlights an interesting Saturday
Another Big 12 Saturday arrives, with teams jostling to keep up with Texas as a contender to meet Oklahoma in the conference championship game.
Baylor and Iowa State are in the best shape to make it to Arlington, since both get home games against the Longhorns. But even Oklahoma State could get back in the conversation, at least, with a win over Baylor.
Just another reason why the return of the Big 12 title game was a good idea. It adds to the interest level of the conference season.
Here's how I rank the five Big 12 games Saturday:
1. Baylor at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m. Saturday, Fox: Texas Tech has made puzzles of both of these teams. Baylor needed two overtimes to survive the Red Raiders in Waco. OSU was whacked in Lubbock.
2. Iowa State at Texas Tech, 11 a.m. Saturday, FS1: The Cyclones have a long road to reach the Big 12 Championship Game, but it's doable (both Texas and OSU come to Ames) so long as Iowa State survives the Red Raiders.
3. TCU at Kansas State, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Fox Sports Oklahoma: Wait, what? A 1:30 kickoff? Sorcery! Sorcery! Where did you get this treasured relic from bygone days?
4. West Virginia at Oklahoma, 11 a.m. Saturday, Fox: If the teams were more equitable, this would be a Shakespearean showdown. Austin Kendall's revenge tour, against the quarterback who took his job. But West Virginia looks unable to stand up to the Sooners.
5. Kansas at Texas, 6 p.m. Saturday, Longhorn Network:
KU plays the Longhorns tough in Lawrence. Not in Austin. Texas has won five straight there against the Jayhawks, by an average of 30 points a game.
Upset special
The Horned Frogs are 3½-point favorites on the road. Can someone tell me why?
Each team has a solid road win over a mediocre Power 5 opponent (KSU beat Mississippi State, TCU beat Purdue).
Each team was dominated in a Big 12 road game (TCU at Iowa State, K-State at OSU).
Each team lost at home to a former Southwest Conference member (TCU to SMU, KSU to Baylor).
I don't get it. K-State is playing at home, and K-State appears to have the more stable quarterback in veteran Skylar Thompson, while TCU continues with true freshman Max Duggan.
Let's go with the Wildcats in the upset.
Coach on the hot seat
OSU had an off week after a discouraging 45-35 loss at Texas Tech. How did Gundy use it?
The Cowboys host Baylor on Saturday, and a loss could be sending OSU down a bad stretch, since the Cowboys play at Iowa State next week. The Cowboys set a high standard for themselves, averaging almost 10 wins a year for a full decade, 2008-17. But OSU slipped to 7-6 last season, and the Cowboys could be looking at 4-4 going into November, if they don't beat Baylor.
The Bears rarely play well in Stillwater. OSU has routed some really good Baylor teams at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys don't need a rout today. They just need a victory to reboot the season and show that the program is capable of rekindling the high standards of not long ago.