Big 12 Fearless Predictions, Sept. 6, Part 2

Previews and Predictions for the Week 2 Big 12, Part 2

  

Big 12
North Colorado | Iowa St | Kansas | Kansas State | Missouri | Nebraska
South Baylor | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | Texas | Texas A&M | Texas Tech

Big 12 Fearless Predictions Aug. 30

- Big 12 Week Two Predictions, Part 1

Saturday, September 6

SE Missouri State (1-0) at Missouri (1-0), 7:00 EST
Why to watch: There are cupcake games, there are tune-ups, and then there's SE Missouri State vs. Missouri. The Tigers, fresh off an offensive shootout win over Illinois, should be able to name their score against a Redhawk team expected to finish last in the Ohio Valley Conference. SEMO won its opener with a 35-38 victory over Southwest Baptist, but dealing with Missouri is a whole other animal. This is a game for the Missouri backups, and with a dangerous game against Nevada ahead, the idea will be to get this over with as soon as possible.
Why SE Missouri State might win: It won't but the passing game should be effective at times. After throwing for 367 yards last week, the Redhawks have to get off the bus chucking against a Tiger secondary that made Illinois QB Juice Williams look like Tom Brady. The goal is to make this interesting for a half, and a few big pass plays might do that.
Why Missouri might win: SE Missouri State allowed 298 passing yards to Southwest Baptist. Again, 298 yards to Southwest Baptist. Chase Daniel could hit the 300-yard mark in the first half if he's allowed to. That won't happen, Missouri will go to the ground game, but the backup quarterbacks, primarily Chase Patton, should be able to throw at will.
Who to watch: Jeremy Maclin is fine. The Missouri star wide receiver hurt his ankle against Illinois and is questionable for this week's game. Even so, his workload should be severely limited, if he plays at all, to give him a week to rest up and get closer to 100%. The last thing Missouri wants to do is get anyone hurt, especially Daniel, so there will be plenty of handoffs to Derrick Washington, who came up with a solid 130-yard game against Illinois in his first game as the main man in place of Tony Temple.
What will happen: This will be over after the first two drives. Mizzou could hit triple-digits if it wanted to.
CFN Prediction: Missouri 58 ... SE Missouri State 0 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Entourage premiere - 1 One Tree Hill premiere) … 1
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Northwestern State (1-0) at Baylor (0-1), 7:00 EST
Why to watch: The Art Briles era didn't exactly get off to a rousing start with a 41-13 loss to Wake Forest for the program's ninth loss in a row. Now comes the first win against a Northwestern State team that has given FCS teams a tough time in the past, but isn't a strong Southland team this year. Expected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Southland Conference, the Demons shouldn't put up too much of a fight despite winning their opener over Texas A&M-Commerce 30-14. Always happy to take the paycheck games in the past, this year NSU will only face one FBS team. Baylor gets Washington State next week.
Why Northwestern State might win: The Demons can run the ball. QB John Hundley can take off at any time, running for 83 yards last week, while Byron Lawrence is a tremendous back who didn't get much work last week. If the idea is to keep the Baylor passing attack off the field, then NSU needs to use its running game to crank out a few long drives and control the clock. The Demons have the potential to do that for a few drives.
Why Baylor might win: NSU struggled against the Texas A&M-Commerce passing game allowing 279 yards, and Baylor's attack, despite the issues last week against Wake Forest, should be far more effective. This is when the new offense should finally take off, and if it doesn't then it's time to get worried. NSU doesn't have the secondary to handle the speed of the BU receivers.
Who to watch: After a long and ballyhooed quarterback battle, Kirby Freeman won the starting job. That lasted about a half. Freeman completed just 4-of-11 passes for 31 yards with two interceptions before getting benched for Robert Griffin, a dynamic runner and potentially  the franchise for the next four years. He completed 11-of-19 passes for 125 yards while running for 29 yards with a score. If he has a big game against Northwestern State, the team might be Griffin's the rest of the way sink or swim
What will happen: The Baylor offense will explode, but NSU will have its moments. This might be the only win of the year for the Bears.
CFN Prediction: Baylor 45 ... Northwestern State 20 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Entourage premiere - 1 One Tree Hill premiere) … 1
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Louisiana Tech (1-0) at Kansas (1-0), 7:00 EST
Why to watch: It wasn't a huge shocker, but Louisiana Tech's 22-14 win over Mississippi State raised a few eyebrows. All of a sudden, Derek Dooley's team went from being an unknown to a WAC title contender. Beating MSU was one thing, but going into Lawrence and beating the defending Orange Bowl champion would take things to a whole other level. Kansas went through the motions and blew away FIU 40-10, and while this week's game might not have appeared to be much a few weeks ago, now it'll be a test to see how sharp the team is. If KU wins in a walk, and shows off the ruthless efficiency it had last year, then it'll be time to get fired up about the possibilities. But there's still a skepticism around whether or not last season was for real, and a struggle against the Bulldogs would only fuel the fire. With a trip to face South Florida next week the one everyone's pointing to, KU can't lose focus.
Why Louisiana Tech might win: This is a veteran team with an aggressive defense and a potentially efficient offense once the passing game comes around. Against MSU, Tech forced turnovers, capitalized on them, and didn't make mistakes of its own. This might not an explosive offensive attack, but the running game is just good enough to crank out a few drives to keep the KU offense on the bench.
Why Kansas might win: If KU doesn't screw up offensively and doesn't lose the turnover battle, there won't be any problems. KU's passing attack wasn't exactly clicking against FIU, but it still came up with 256 yards. The defense is a bad fit for a Louisiana Tech offense that needs to run the ball effectively. The KU linebacking corps should dominate, while the secondary won't get pushed by the mediocre Tech receivers. There's little Bulldog firepower. An early Jayhawk lead should be enough to get the job done.
Who to watch: Louisiana Tech might not just be without its defensive star, it could be without its leader. LB Quin Harris has WAC Defensive Player of the Year potential, but he broke his hand last week against Mississippi State, and while he played through it to finish out the game, now he's questionable at best. He's the one Tech defensive playmaker who could single-handedly keep the KU ground game in check.
What will happen: Kansas will take the game seriously. It'll take about a quarter, and then the Jayhawks will go on a big run to put the game away. Tech will have to pass to get back into the game and won't be able to do it.
CFN Prediction: Kansas 38 ... Louisiana Tech 17 ... Line: Kansas -20.5
Must See Rating: (5 Entourage premiere - 1 One Tree Hill premiere) … 2.5
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Houston (1-0) at Oklahoma State (1-0), 7:05 EST
Why to watch: That seemed easy. The Kevin Sumlin era kicked off with a destructive blowout over Southern with a 55-3 win cranking out 615 yards of total offense in a nearly-flawless performance. Now the real work kicks in with a great battle against an Oklahoma State team that went up to Seattle and blasted Washington State 39-13. The Cowboy offense was balanced, opportunistic, and explosive, and with a four-game homestand kicking off this week, and winnable games against Missouri State, Troy and Texas A&M ahead, a win over the Cougars should mean a 5-0 start before a trip to Missouri. This is Houston's statement game. It's the only game against a BCS team on the schedule, and with Air Force and Colorado State ahead, this is the toughest non-conference test. It's not a stretch to say that a win over the Cowboys would put the spotlight on a road trip to East Carolina that could be a BCS-buster battle. But that's looking way ahead. For this week, the two teams should put on an offensive show with close to 1,000 yards combined.
Why Houston might win: The passing game is working. There were some big personnel losses from last year's offensive juggernaut, but with the improvement at quarterback, thanks to the emergence of Case Keenum, the Cougars should be able to keep up with anyone in a firefight. The Oklahoma State secondary did a great job against Washington State last week, but it's not nearly as good as the numbers might show. Houston should be able to come up with a few home runs.
Why Oklahoma State might win: Houston held Southern to 35 rushing yards. Oklahoma State isn't Southern. The Cowboy offensive line is among the best in the country, and while the Cougars will be aggressive and attacking against the run, OSU should be able to pound away and spring a few huge running plays. As long as OSU doesn't lose the turnover battle, and long as Keenum doesn't outplay OSU QB Zac Robinson, the Cowboys should be able to survive.
Who to watch: Just how good is Keenum? The Conference USA Freshman of the Year won the starting battle this off-season and came through with a big opening day performance with 392 yards and five touchdown passes against Southern. He came on over the second half of last season and only threw two interceptions over the last seven games, and has thrown for 717 in his last two outings. He has to be flawless for the Cougars to pull off the upset.
What will happen: Expect plenty of momentum swings, lots of offense, and plenty of points and excitement. The Oklahoma State offensive balance will overcome a huge day from Keenum.
CFN Prediction: Oklahoma State 41 ... Houston 34 ... Line: Oklahoma State -15.5
Must See Rating: (5 Entourage premiere - 1 One Tree Hill premiere) … 3.5
- Click here to receive ATS Consultants FREE selections 

Texas Tech (1-0) at Nevada (1-0), 9:05 EST
Why to watch: Texas Tech is playing a real, live non-conference game for the only time this season, and while beating Nevada wouldn't generate a whole bunch of national excitement, it would show everything is working before two light scrimmages against SMU and UMass. The Red Raiders were the Red Raiders cranking out 639 yards of total offense and 536 passing yards in a 49-24 win over a good Eastern Washington team (by FCS standards). Nevada came up with a huge outing of its own with 629 yards, including 426 on the ground, in a 49-13 win over Grambling. With a trip to Missouri coming up next, the Wolf Pack gets to face two major Big 12 title contenders in consecutive weeks. With Fresno State beating Rutgers and Louisiana Tech beating Mississippi State, the WAC can all of a sudden make some major national noise if the Wolf Pack can pull off the upset.
Why Texas Tech might win: Sheer, unadulterated firepower. No one's stopping this offense but Texas Tech itself. Nevada's pass defense is spotty, at best, giving up 225 passing yards to Grambling last week. The secondary is fine, but nothing special, and there certainly isn't the talent to be able to keep the high-powered juggernaut to under 500 yards of total offense and 400 yards of passing. However ...
Why Nevada might win: ... you stop the Tech offense by keeping it off the field and by getting consistent pressure on Harrell. Harrell might be as tough as nails, but the timing of the attack can be thrown for a loop if the defensive front is getting into the backfield. The Grambling game is hardly a proper indicator, but Nevada came up with six sacks and 17 tackles for loss. The defensive front is good enough to get to Harrell, while the offense ...
Who to watch: ... should be able to run the ball with a variety of options. Luke Lippincott is the star of the Wolf Pack running attack, but he wasn't needed much last week gaining 69 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries. He's fresh. Vai Taua ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and QB Colin Kaepernick ran for 51 yards and three scores, to go along with 122 passing yards. Nevada has to keep the chains moving and control the clock, and while Texas Tech can score in a hurry, and is almost better in crisis mode, the more the Pack can hang on to the ball, the better.
What will happen: Shootout, shootout, shootout. Nevada's offense will be good, but Texas Tech's will be better. The two teams will combine for over 1,000 yards of offense and well over 75 points in one of the most fun games of the weekend.
CFN Prediction: Texas Tech 52 ... Nevada 40... Line: Texas Tech -10
Must See Rating: (5 Entourage premiere - 1 One Tree Hill premiere) … 3.5
- Click here to receive ATS Consultants FREE selections 

Texas (1-0) at UTEP (0-1), 10:15 EST ESPN2
Why to watch: Who goes into Buffalo and loses 42-17? Actually, no one has, but UTEP managed to stink it up against the perennial MAC doormat in a game that could signal the beginning of the end for the Mike Price era if things don't turn around in a big hurry. On a seven game losing streak, the last thing the Miners need to deal with is a tough game. Oh great, here comes Texas. With the team's manhood questioned over its last two games, first by Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter in last year's Holiday Bowl and last week by Florida Atlantic head coach Howard Schnellenberger, Texas came up with two of its manliest performances in the Mack Brown era showing toughness on the lines and nastiness on defense. Flying a bit under the radar with Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and now, Texas Tech getting all the attention, Texas has quietly put together a very, very good team that's good enough to make some national title noise. If it's really that good, this game should be over after a quarter.
Why Texas might win: The Texas offensive line is great again. The line didn't exactly take a year off, but it wasn't quite up to it normal standards on a consistent basis last season. The line destroyed Florida Atlantic, paving the way for 232 rushing yards and giving QB Colt McCoy two days to throw. UTEP didn't generate enough of a pass rush last week to throw UB QB Drew Willy off his game.
Why UTEP might win: The only chance the Miners have of keeping this close is if all the parts start to work on offense. This is supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding season for the Miner attack, but there's decent speed and athleticism to work around. Texas has to take the week off as it looks ahead to the old Southwest Conference showdown against Arkansas, and UTEP's passing game has to be flawless. That could be an issue considering ...
Who to watch: ... UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe is waking up from a nightmare. The sophomore completed 20-of-37 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions last week in the loss to Buffalo, and he has to now find a way to limit his mistakes and make everyone around him better. The Texas secondary will give up yards in chunks, and Vittatoe has to take advantage of every opportunity. Meanwhile, McCoy might go ballistic. Buffalo's Willy is the nation's leader in passing efficiency after playing UTEP last week, and McCoy is coming off on his best games ever completing 24-of-29 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and running for 103 yards and a touchdown, in the win over Florida Atlantic.
What will happen: Texas will go through the motions and still win in a walk. UTEP will get its passing yards with Vittatoe throwing for 300, but it won't be nearly enough.
CFN Prediction: Texas 55 ... UTEP 13 ... Line: Texas -26.5
Must See Rating: (5 Entourage premiere - 1 One Tree Hill premiere) … 2
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- Big 12 Week Two Predictions, Part 1

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