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Colorado
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Kansas State
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Missouri
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Nebraska
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Baylor
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Oklahoma
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Oklahoma State
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Texas
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Texas A&M
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Texas Tech
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12
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How'd we do so far? 56-18 straight
up, 28-39-1
ATS
Big 12
Game of the Week
Texas A&M
(8-3) at
Texas
(9-2) 12 PM EST ABC Friday
November 24th
Why to Watch: With one stunning
Kansas State upset over Texas a few
weeks ago, the Big 12 South went from
being a forgone conclusion to a battle
with the Longhorns needing to beat
arch-rival Texas A&M or else see
Oklahoma possibly slip into the Big 12
Championship game. The Aggies have lost
six straight in the series and haven't
won in Austin since 1994. On a two-game
losing streak after dropping games at
home to Oklahoma and Nebraska by a total
of two points, A&M is looking to close
out the year on a major high note and
get its second win of note outside of
the tough battle over Missouri. For
Texas, a win means a rematch with
Nebraska for the Big 12 title despite
winning the first game 22-20 in Lincoln.
National title hopes are long gone, but
the Fiesta Bowl is still there for the
taking with two more wins. This is one
of college football's best rivalries and
a tradition now on the day after
Thanksgiving. It should be a blast.
Why Texas A&M Might Win: How did
Kansas State beat the Longhorns? Outside
of knocking Colt McCoy out of the game
early, it took advantage of every
opportunity and Josh Freeman threw at
will on the porous Texas secondary.
Aaron Ross might be the nation's best
defensive back, but the Longhorns are
getting torched by anyone who can throw
the forward pass. UT will have to focus
first and foremost on stopping the solid
Aggie ground game meaning Stephen McGee
should have several openings to get the
deep ball working. If Kansas State, Iowa
State and Baylor can throw for 300 yards
on the Longhorns, so can the Aggies.
Why Texas Might Win: The next
time Texas A&M, when coached by Dennis
Franchione, wins a close, tough game
against a big boy. it'll be a first. A&M
clearly proved this year that it can
play with anyone, but when it comes to
crunch time, other teams make the
gut-check plays to get the win. A&M
can't do that. McCoy is back at the helm
and should have time to go to the
fridge, have some leftovers, take a nap,
and then complete his throw against an
Aggie defense that doesn't generate any
consistent pressure. Even though the Big
12 has become more pass happy, it's
still impressive that Texas is No. 1 in
the nation in run defense. The defensive
front is terrific.
Who to Watch: McGee got on the
national map last year becoming the guy
who almost beat Texas by running the
option for 108 yards and two touchdowns
in the tough 40-29 loss. While he's
still running well with 540 yards on the
year, he's mainly been throwing with 11
touchdown passes and only two
interceptions. With Texas daring McGee
to win the game through the air, he'll
have to calmly and quickly make the
right reads to keep the chains moving
and has to take advantage of every
favorable matchup. At this point in the
year, the offense is his.
What Will Happen: McCoy will have
the type of performance that'll get
Longhorn fans fuming over what likely
would've happened had he been healthy
for the entire Kansas State game.
CFN Prediction:
Texas 34 ... Texas A&M 20 ...
Line: Texas -13
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 4
Colorado
(2-9) at
Nebraska
(8-3) 3:30 PM EST ABC Friday
November 24th
Why to Watch: Will Nebraska tune
up or tune out? What had started to
become a serious rivalry has lost a
little significance recently and means
nothing this year outside of pride. The
Huskers are playing either Texas or
Oklahoma next week in the Big 12 title
game, while Colorado's cataclysmic first
year under head coach Dan Hawkins is
coming to merciful halt, but a win over
the Huskers, even if they're not taking
the game seriously, would be a huge step
to close out the year with two straight
wins after beating Iowa State two weeks
ago.
Why Colorado Might Win:
Nebraska's head is likely already in
Kansas City. There's truly nothing to
play for outside of getting a win on
Senior Day, so the coaching staff is
certain to keep the playbook vanilla to
not show next week's foe anything new.
Even if Nebraska plays full bore for
sixty minutes, the Colorado defense, if
properly inspired, is good enough to
keep this from being a blowout with a
strong front seven that should be able
to plug up the Husker ground game.
Why Nebraska Might Win:
Will Nebraska get good Bernard Jackson
or bad Bernard Jackson? If the Colorado
quarterback is efficient, the Buff
offense is effective and efficient. If
he sails his throws and is forced into
mistakes, it'll be over early. The
active Nebraska defensive front should
be able to generate consistent pressure
to keep Jackson moving, while the
linebackers will keep the runs to a
minimum. Field position should be an
issue for the Buffs hurt by an awful
return game; Nebraska's punting has been
effective all year long.
Who to Watch: Let's just say the
Lou Groza Award people goofed.
Colorado's Mason Crosby was left off the
list of finalists mainly because he
missed eight field goal attempts this
year. However, four of those misses came
from beyond fifty yards and four were
from over sixty. There's no question he
has the biggest leg in college football
and is a sure-fire bet to make a lot of
money over the next several years at the
next level. With the CU offensive still
sputtering, he'll have to be the main
offensive weapon against a solid, but
not spectacular, Husker defense.
What Will Happen: Nebraska will
want to close out the regular season
with a bang, but it won't be able to
fake the emotion. This is Colorado's
bowl game, and it'll play like it just
enough to keep things close.
CFN Prediction:
Nebraska 24 ... Colorado 20 ...
Line: Nebraska -15
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 2.5
Kansas
(6-5) at
Missouri
(7-4) 12 PM EST ABC Saturday
November 25th
Why to Watch: Missouri gets back
on the field a week after getting
slightly hosed on a holding call that
negated a go-ahead touchdown against
Iowa State helping the Cyclones to
escape with a 21-16 win. Losers of three
straight, the bowls can't seem to be
running away fast enough from the
Tigers. A win likely means the Insight
Bowl while a loss will probably mean the
Texas Bowl or even the Poinsettia Bowl.
For Kansas, it became bowl eligible
winning three straight highlighted by a
strong victory over Kansas State last
week to get to six wins, but it needs to
beat the Tigers to be assured of a
post-season spot. The young team grew up
over the course of the season helped by
the running of Jon Cornish and an
aggressive defense, and even after all
the early issues, could finish,
technically, second in the Big 12 North
by coming out of Columbia with a win.
Why Kansas Might Win: Lost in the
controversy of Missouri's loss to Iowa
State was a simple, blinding fact: The
Tigers shouldn't have been in the
position to need a last second score in
the first place. The Cyclones had the
worst team in the Big 12 this year and
Missouri should've been able to put it
away without breathing hard. The Kansas
defense blasted Kansas State's Josh
Freeman last week with a tremendous pass
rush forcing several turnovers.
Considering Tiger QB Chase Daniel is
trying to make too many plays on his
own, he'll force some throws he
shouldn't; KU has to capitalize. However
...
Why Missouri Might Win: ...
if the pass rush doesn't get to Daniel,
it's going to be a long day. KU's
secondary has struggled all season long
giving up big play after big play, and
this should be an easy chance for the
Tiger passing game to get back on track.
The Jayhawks don't have any answers for
the tight end tandem of Martin Rucker
and Chase Coffman underneath, but ..
Who to Watch: ... the Tigers will
be missing their top deep threat, Will
Franklin, after he tore up his shoulder
against the Cyclones. That means Jared
Perry will have to step into the outside
spot and throw some semblance of a scare
into the Jayhawk secondary to keep the
safeties guessing. Coffman is dinged up
with a knee injury, but he'll play. He
has been consistent, as has Rucker, and
now they have to be difference makers.
What Will Happen: Daniel will
have his best game in a month while the
Missouri defense, which has all but gone
into the tank after losing star Brian
Smith, will overcome another 100-yard
day from KU's Jon Cornish by closing
down the Jayhawk passing game.
CFN Prediction:
Missouri 28 ... Kansas 20 ...
Line: Missouri -7
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 3
Oklahoma
(9-2) at
Oklahoma
State
(6-5) 3:30 PM EST Saturday
November 25th
Why to Watch: Oklahoma will know
by late Friday afternoon whether or not
the Bedlam series will be for a spot in
the Big 12 title needing Texas A&M to
upset Texas to get a shot to play its
way into the championship game. Oklahoma
State has been one of the Big 12's
surprise teams this season with an
exciting offense with several good young
playmakers, but it might need a win to
find its way into one of the Big 12's
bowl slots. If Kansas beats Missouri,
OSU might be the ninth choice out of
eight options unless it pulls off the
win. In any event, this has become a
good rivalry game over the last several
years and should be an explosive
offensive shootout. An OSU win would be
a huge stepping-stone for the young
team, while OU can maintain the status
quo if it wins soundly.
Why Oklahoma Might Win: The
Sooners should be able to dink and dunk
the OSU defense to death. The OU
offensive line has been solid in pass
protection and should give Paul Thompson
enough time to operate against the
aggressive Cowboys defensive front,
while the yards after catch numbers
should be through the roof. OSU has made
a bit of a national splash with its
passing game, but it's the running
attack that has to be effective to win.
The Sooner linebackers should keep the
Cowboys from running for more than 150
yards and will keep QB Bobby Reid from
making too many plays on the move.
Why Oklahoma State Might Win:
Even when Oklahoma was crushing and
killing everything in its path, Oklahoma
State was a thorn in its side when the
showdown was played in Stillwater. Of
the last four times the game was played
at OSU, the Cowboys won in 1998, the
2000 Sooner national title team
struggled in a 12-7 win, OSU won in
2002, and OU won by three in the 2004
season when it went to the Orange Bowl
to play for the national championship.
On the field, OU is having problems with
turnovers losing 11 fumbles in the last
four weeks along with two interceptions.
The Sooner offense is getting by despite
making a slew of mistakes. OSU has to
take advantage of every opportunity.
Who to Watch: There were some
rumblings from Adrian Peterson that he
wanted to find his way back on the field
for this game, but that was way too
optimistic. Number two back, Allen
Patrick, ran for 441 yards in three
games before getting knocked out with an
ankle injury. No big deal, there was
Chris Brown to carry the offense. The
freshman has been a pleasant surprise
running for 84 yards and two touchdown
against Texas Tech and 169 yards and a
score against Baylor. Patrick might be
back giving the Sooners a dangerous 1-2
punch that should carry the offense.
What Will Happen: The Sooner
defense will take its share of punches,
but will come up with the adjustments in
the second half to overcome a hot Cowboy
start. Slow and steady will win the
race.
CFN Prediction:
Oklahoma 34 ... Oklahoma State 24 ...
Line: Oklahoma -6.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Deck the
Halls)
... 3.5
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