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Kansas State (5-6) at Fresno State
(6-4)
3:30 PM
ESPN
Why to watch:
Fresno State likes to think of itself as
a sort of giant killer, but it's now
more than five years removed from its
2001 season when it beat Colorado,
Oregon State and Wisconsin and it hasn't
pulled off too many impressive regular
season wins since. It beat Kansas State
in 2004, but that was when the program
was well into its descent from the Big
12 title days. With two games left to
play, a good season can become a great
one with a win over the Wildcats and a
win at New Mexico State. For KSU, a win
means bowl eligibility after a 13th game
appeared to be a sure thing just a few
weeks ago. After starting out a decent
5-3 with a win over Texas and good
showing against Auburn and Kansas, the
Wildcats were shocked at Iowa State, got
73 hung on them by Nebraska, and
couldn't handle the Missouri machine. A
win would be the team's second road
victory of the the year with the other
coming in Austin.
Why Kansas State might win:
Fresno State doesn't turn the ball over
too often, but it never forces mistakes,
either. To beat Kansas State, the
Bulldogs can't get into any kind of a
shootout, they don't have the firepower,
so they're going to have to win the
turnover battle. Don't hold your breath;
FSU is 106th in the nation in turnover
margin. This isn't a strong, consistent
Bulldog passing team so field position
will be at a premium. Fresno State
usually wins that battle with a
tremendous return game, but Kansas State
will negate the advantage with the
nation's top-ranked punt return unit and
the eighth best punting game.
Why Fresno State might win: KSU
QB Josh Freeman will be under as much
pressure as he's had to face all season
long. The Wildcat O line has done a
terrific job of keeping its star clean
for most of the year, but Fresno is
great at manufacturing ways to get into
the backfield. That pressure has helped
a secondary that's done a great job all
year long turning into one of the WAC's
best. It got nailed for 491 yards in a
shootout with Nevada, and gave up 410
yards to Hawaii, but that's WAC
football. KSU should get its yards, but
the Bulldogs will win their share of
battles when the ball is in the air.
Who to watch:
Fresno State sophomore A.J. Jefferson
took over the kickoff return duties the
fourth game of the season and has put
together an All-America campaign ever
since averaging 35.8 yards per try.
Great from the start, he stepped up over
the last two games averaging 52.7 yards
per return with a touchdown in the win
over Utah State, and averaging 35 yards
a pop in the loss to Hawaii.
What will happen:
Fresno State will play at another level
with a big name coming to its house.
Kansas State will get its passing yards,
but not enough of them as the Bulldogs
will be more physical, sharper, and
tougher in the fourth quarter.
CFN Prediction:
Fresno State
27 ... Kansas State 24
...
Line: PICK
Must See
Rating: (5
The inside of your eyelids after eating two pounds of turkey
- 1 The inside of a gym with
every 120 calories equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...2.5
Oklahoma State
(6-5) at Oklahoma
(9-2)
3:30 PM
Why to watch:
The Big 12 South race just got really,
really interesting. With the 34-27 loss
at Texas Tech last week, Oklahoma lost
out on its national title hopes while
also giving Texas a ray of hope for the
Big 12 championship. A Longhorn win over
Texas A&M and a Sooner loss to Oklahoma
State would mean Texas wins the South
while OU would finish tied with OSU for
second. the Cowboys are hardly going to
be pushovers with a high-octane offense
that should be able to put up big yards
on an OU D that's still dizzy from
Graham Harrell and the Red Raiders.
Making things even tougher for OU is the
status of starting QB Sam Bradford,
who's questionable at best after
sustaining a concussion early last week.
Adding injury to insult, star RB DeMarco
Murray is gone with a knee injury
suffered on the final onside kick
attempt. OSU famously won this rivalry
game in 2001 and 2002 to ruin OU's
national title dreams, but it hasn't
beaten the Sooners since.
Why Oklahoma
State might win: If it comes down to
it, can Joey Halzle win a game for OU?
The Cowboy secondary is getting ripped
apart by everyone ranking second-to-last
in America, just ahead of UTEP, but the
Sooners might want to try to run the
ball early on just to get Halzle's feet
wet. He got hot late against Texas Tech,
but struggled early on when the running
game wasn't providing much help. Outside
of a huge fourth quarter by Jamaal
Charles of Texas, the run defense has
been sound.
Why Oklahoma might win: This is
Oklahoma. Lose one player, throw in
another, get the same production.
Remember, this was a team that was
actually better last year when Adrian
Peterson was out. Of course it wasn't a
better team with Peterson on the
sidelines, but the rest of the team
picked up its production and the result
was big win after big win. This is a
good enough team to rally around Halze
throwing the ball and Allen Patrick, who
ran for 163 yards against OSU last year,
and Chris Brown, who added 74 yards and
two touchdowns, running it. Bradford and
Murray weren't the only reasons why OU
was 6-0 at home winning by a combined
score of 319 to 92, 53 or 15.
Supposedly, OU is going to turn the game
over to is magnificent offensive line
and try to run its way to a win, but ...
Who to watch:
... don't believe it. Kansas State's
Jordy Nelson and Texas Tech's Michael
Crabtree will end up taking the First
Team All-Big 12 and All-America, honors,
but the pro scouts are more interested
in OU's Malcolm Kelly and Juaquin
Iglesias. These two have been strangely
quiet over the last several weeks, with
Kelly only catching two touchdown pass
since the third game of the year while
Iglesias has only caught one touchdown
pass in the last six games. Way overdue
to break out, they should be able to
torch the Cowboy secondary if Halzle is
even mediocre.
What will happen:
Oklahoma will be its typical Oklahoma
juggernaut at home no matter who's under
center or in the backfield. With its
back against the wall, OU will overcome
a few big pass plays from the Cowboys,
and a 350-yard passing day from Zac
Robinson, to go on to the Big 12
championship game.
CFN Prediction:
Oklahoma 41 ...
Oklahoma State
31 ... Tennessee 27
...
Line: Oklahoma -12
Must See
Rating: (5
The inside of your eyelids after eating two pounds of turkey
- 1 The inside of a gym with
every 120 calories equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...4
Big 12 Week
13 Predictions, Part 1 |