Kansas
(7-0) at Texas A&M
(6-2)
7:00 PM ESPN2 Why to watch:
If you were asked about the most
one-sided battles between current Big 12
teams, you'd probably guess Baylor
against Oklahoma and/or Texas, or
something like Nebraska against Kansas
or Iowa State (at least back in the Big
8 days). And then there's Kansas vs.
Texas A&M. The Jayhawks beat the Aggies
28-10 in 1974, and have been 0-7 since,
including five straight losses since the
Big 12 was formed. This year, if the
unbeaten Jayhawks are the real deal, and
if they really want to start being
considered as a player in the national
title hunt, like a South Florida a few
weeks ago or a Boston College, then they
have to win a game like this against a
mid-level team on the road. For KU, this
game is one of the few difficult teas of
the year, while for A&M, who's coming
off a 36-14 pasting of Nebraska, this
would be the type of big win that's not
only needed to stay in the Big 12 title
chase, but could be a must with at
Oklahoma, at Missouri and Texas to close
things out. Yes, each team is in first
place in their respective divisions, and
the winner will truly be able to dream
about staying there. Why Kansas might win:
When it comes to beating Texas A&M, it
begins and ends with being able to stop
the run. O.K., so most of KU's stats are
overinflated thanks to the lousy
schedule, but the defense front really
is strong against the run. Colorado can
run the ball, and it was held to 66
yards. Kansas State was stopped for just
53. On the year, KU has allowed a mere
two rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, the
offense has been among the most
efficient in the country, and should be
able to pick apart the mediocre A&M
secondary. The Aggies don't get to the
quarterback well enough, and Todd
Reesing should be able to do whatever he
wants. Why Texas A&M might win:
Jorvorskie Lane. The big A&M thunderback
is coming off a 130-yard, four touchdown
performance against Nebraska, and while
the KU defense might be stout against
the run, the production has mostly come
against smaller, quicker backs. No one's
been able to hammer the ball on the
Jayhawks, and this is the time to give
it a try. A&M is 6-1 when the big guy
hits the 100-yard mark, with the one
loss coming to the 2005 national
championship Texas team. The Aggies have
never lost when he gets 20 or more
carries. Who to watch: For a
team like Texas A&M, field position
means everything. This isn't a
high-octane attack that can wing it
around, and it's not Arkansas, who's
able to hit the home run with the ground
game from anywhere on the field. That's
why the KU punting game, one of the
team's few sore spots, has to be
effective all game long, and it the
Colorado game was any indication, it
might be. KU punter Kyle Tucker is
coming off his best game of the year,
averaging close to 44 yards per kick and
bailing the offense out of several big
jams against Colorado. He doesn't have
to blast it too much, but he needs to be
consistent, and he needs to pin the
Aggies deep. What will happen:
Yes, Kansas is for real. It might not be
the juggernaut the stats say it is, but
it's a rock-solid team from top to
bottom that's playing with extreme
confidence. A&M will panic early on,
make a few key mistakes, and will get
burned late though the air. CFN Prediction:
Kansas
23 ... Texas A&M 17...
Line: Kansas -2 Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 3.5
Big 12 Saturday, Oct. 27
Colorado
(4-4) at Texas Tech
(6-2)
12:00 PM ABC Why to watch:
Deep in the heart of a ten game losing
streak, the Colorado got the first win
in the Dan Hawkins era with a shocking
30-6 win over Texas Tech. The Buffs then
went on lose four of their final five
games. Now they're in the hunt for a
bowl big, and looking to turn their
season around, after losing two straight
to Kansas State and Kansas. Texas Tech
is still in the thick of the Big 12
South title hunt with Texas and Oklahoma
still to play, but first it has to get
the offense going again after struggling
for the first time all year in a 41-10
pasting at Missouri. Does Hawkins have
Tech's number or was last year just an
aberration? Beating Oklahoma a month ago
was big for CU, but coming up with a
road win like this, considering the
recent losses, would be just as
important. Why Colorado might win:
Allowing Tech to dink and dunk is one
thing, but things get ugly when the
offense starts to get yards in chunks on
missed tackles. Colorado shouldn't have
that problem. The right mix of defensive
playmakers might be there to give the
Tech offense a hard time. Jordon Dizon
and the linebacking corps is sound and
steady against the pass, and should keep
Graham Harrell from hitting on too many
plays across the middle, when he likes
to get his receivers on the move. The
secondary will give up yards here and
there, but they're great at providing a
pop after the catch. Why Texas
Tech might win: You screw up the
Tech offense by getting to Harrell early
and often, and while some teams, like
Texas A&M, tried to rattle him by
getting a shot or two in after he got
rid of the ball, he has to be pressured
as the play is happening to disrupt the
timing. Missouri did that and the
machine broke down. Colorado can't. The
Buffs aren't strong at consistently
getting into the backfield, and while
they might come up with a sack or two,
they're not going to get enough
pressures. Tech has outscored its
opponents 197 to 62 at home. Who to watch:
This has to be when Colorado CB Terrence
Wheatley plays like an All-American. A
tremendous tackler for being a speed
corner, he has made 24 solo stops on the
year while always drawing the opposing
team's number one target. He made a name
for himself this season by holding
Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly in check, but
his duties will expand this week. Now
only does he have to keep an eye on
Michael Crabtree, but he has to take
away one side of the field and be able
to wrap up immediately on the short
patterns. He can be a difference maker
in a game like this. What will happen:
Colorado's defense won't let the game
get out of hand, but the offense won't
have the firepower to keep up once the
Red Raiders go on a run. Tech is too
good at home. CFN Prediction:
Texas Tech
38 ... Colorado 17 ...
Line: Texas Tech -13.5 Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 3
Iowa State
(1-7)
at Missouri
(6-1)
2:00 PM
Why to watch: In one of the
shockers of the Big 12 season, the Dan
McCarney era ended at Iowa State on a
high note, beating a strong Missouri
team 21-16 thanks to a controversial
holding call to negate a late Chase
Daniel touchdown run. A Cyclone win this
season would be even more of a stunner,
even after Gene Chizik's bunch had
Oklahoma reeling before a late
interception in last week's 17-7 loss.
The Tigers also lost to the Sooners, and
also had them in trouble in a tough loss
two weeks ago, but unlike past Gary
Pinkel teams, it bounced back quickly
and stuffed Texas Tech and its
high-octane offense with a 41-10 win.
Mizzou is one of the favorites to win
the Big 12 title, or at least the North,
but it still has plenty of work to do
over the final month. First, it can't
blow the home layup.
Why Iowa State might win:
Lost in the five-game losing streak and
the ugly season has been the strong play
of the defense. The stats might not bear
it out, but the Cyclones have done
wonders to keep things relatively close
at times considering there's been no
support from the offense. The
linebackers, particularly Alvin Bowen
and Jon Banks, have been solid all
season long, and should keep Daniel from
taking off on too many big runs, and
should be able to stick with the
fabulous Tiger tight ends. Why
Missouri might win: Iowa State
doesn't score. Only once all year as the
ISU offense scored more than 17 points,
and that was in a 36-35 loss to Toledo.
Missouri's offense has yet to score
fewer than 31 points, and has been a
consistent machine all season long. Even
with top tailback Tony Temple hurt, this
is a balanced attack, at least as far as
production when needed, even though it
relies mostly on the passing game. Iowa
State doesn't have enough of a pass rush
to throw Daniel off his game. Who to watch:
Temple was supposed to play against
Texas Tech, but was a late scratch on
his injured ankle. Even if he can't go
this week, or is limited, the Tiger
ground game should be fine thanks to a
successful running back by committee
approach. Seven different players
carried the ball against Texas Tech,
including TE Martin Rucker and do-it-all
receiver Jeremy Maclin, but it was Jimmy
Jackson, Marcus Woods, Earl Goldsmith
and Derrick Washington who combined to
make the attack go. Jackson was tough
around the goal line with three
touchdown runs, while Washington showed
the best flash. Expect to see several
runners get work again this week. What will happen:
In what would normally be a letdown
game, Missouri will actually try after
having to hear all week about how it
lost last year. This will be over midway
through the second quarter. CFN Prediction:
Missouri
42 ... Iowa State 13 ...
Line: Missouri -28 Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 1.5
Baylor
(3-5) at Kansas State
(4-3)
3:35 PM
Why to watch: Kansas State
has had a decent season that's been
this close to being great, and now
it needs to go on a run to stay in the
Big 12 title chase and make its claim
for one of the league's better bowls. In
the final five games, considering
Nebraska has decided to end its season
at the halfway mark, only a home date
against Missouri is likely to be a major
problem, but coming off a tough 41-39
loss to Oklahoma State, and with three
of the final four games on the road, the
Wildcats have to take advantage of a
home game against Baylor to fatten up
the stats. The Bears are on a four-game
losing streak, and while they haven't
even been close in any of their four Big
12 games, they pushed Texas had before
giving up a 91-yard interception return
for a touchdown in a 31-10 loss. The
Bears won last year in Waco 17-3, but
KSU is 5-1 all-time.
Why Baylor might win: While
KSU has gotten nice production out of
its running game when needed, the team
has sunk or swam on QB Josh Freeman,
who's coming up with a nice sophomore
season. However, he's still prone to
make big mistakes with three games this
year with two interceptions or more, and
now he's going to be under as much
pressure as he's been all year long. The
BU defense might give up plenty of
yards, but it hits quarterbacks and is
great at getting into the backfield on a
regular basis. Freeman has thrown picks
in three games this year, and two of
them were losses against Auburn and
Kansas, who can each rush the passer.
However ... Why Kansas State might win:
... this isn't last year's Josh Freeman.
KSU might have lost last week, but
Freeman was brilliant, throwing for 404
yards and three touchdowns without a
pick. He's making far better decisions
and isn't forcing his throws nearly as
much. KSU lost to OSU because the run
defense went into the tank for a week.
Baylor gained eight yards on Texas.
Eight. KSU got burned last week by OSU's
mobile quarterback Zac Robinson. That
won't be a problem this week because ... Who to watch:
Baylor's QBs don't run. Still in search
of productivity at quarterback, Baylor
is going to sink or swim with Michael
Machen. The big, veteran, 27-year-old
bomber has the arm and the potential to
put up big yards, but he's a walking
interception machine who has to keep
from giving Kansas State too many easy
chances. He threw for 231 yards against
Texas, but he also threw three picks
with two taken for touchdowns. It's his
job to lose at this point, but
considering the Bears are close to being
out of the bowl hunt, his time to shine
is now or it'll be back to the youth
movement. What will happen:
Four interceptions will help KSU to pull
away in a walk in the park. The Wildcat
running game will get the job done on
offense. CFN Prediction:
Kansas State
44 ... Baylor 10 ... ...
Line: Kansas State -2 Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 1.5
Nebraska
(4-4) at Texas
(6-2)
3:30 PM
ABC Why to watch:
It was only about two months ago when
this was a circle game on the college
football calendar. A possible Big 12
title preview as the two titanic big
name program squared off with BCS
implications at stake. Things haven't
quite gone according to plan with
Nebraska going into the tank over the
last few weeks. It's not just that the
Huskers have lost, it's that they
haven't even been close in losses to
Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M
by a total of 122 to 34. Texas might
still be in the Big 12 title hunt, but
it needs Oklahoma to suddenly get ice
cold, while heating up itself. The 31-10
final score in last week's win over
Baylor is a mirage with the defense
opening it up in a stunningly close
battle until late. Since the 1999 Big 12
title, Texas has won four in a row in
the series, and it'll probably take a
breaking of the streak for Nebraska's
Bill Callahan to have any hope of being
around next year. Why Nebraska might win:
Texas is nothing more than a very, very
average team right now that's
susceptible to getting nailed if someone
comes out sharp. The defense has bee
fantastic against the mediocre offenses,
but if Sam Keller and the Nebraska
attack can somehow find some pop that's
been missing for a few weeks, the Texas
offense might start to panic a bit. The
UT offense has hardly been a smoothly
running machine, so if the Huskers can
just keep pace for a while, the
confidence factor might start to kick
in. Nebraska is supposed to lose big;
all the pressure is on Texas. Why
Texas might win: If the Texas
running game is looking to work out the
kinks, this will be the game to do it.
The Husker defensive front has been
crushed over the last month by anyone
who's tried to pound the ball. Texas A&M
rumbled for 359 yards and four
touchdowns. Oklahoma State cranked out
317 and five. USC ran for 313 and five.
As Nebraska knows all too well, a great
rushing attack can take the spirit out
of a team, and that's exactly what's
happening in reverse. Texas hasn't been
great at running the ball, but it's been
good enough. However ... Who to watch:
... the Longhorn offense has spent way
too much time relying on Colt McCoy to
run the ball. While he's an effective
scrambler and can take off from time to
time, the last thing he needs,
considering his injury history, is to
take any unnecessary hits. Jamaal
Charles hasn't been able to build on his
hot start, and now Mack Brown and the
coaching staff are looking to get Chris
Ogbonnaya and Vondrell McGee more
involved. Charles is the home run
hitter, but he's getting stopped way too
often for little or no gain, and the
coaches are looking for more of a spark. What will happen:
Does Nebraska have any tricks to pull
off? No. The defense is having way too
many problems, and the Texas D should be
a brick wall against the middling Husker
attack. CFN Prediction:
Texas
38 ... Nebraska 16 ...
Line: Texas -21 Must See Rating: (5
America's Most Smartest Model - 1
Marie Osmond on DTWS) ... 2.5
