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Kansas (6-3) at Nebraska (5-4),
12 EST
Why to watch: While the
basic assumption is that
Missouri will end up playing
whichever juggernaut emerges
from the mess in the South for
the Big 12 title, Kansas still
controls its own destiny, even
if it’s not playing like it.
It’s hardly going to be easy,
with Texas up next week before
the Missouri showdown at the end
of November. Last year is when
KU made its biggest statement of
its breakthrough season with a
76-39 blasting of the Huskers.
That also proved to be the
unofficial nail in Bill
Callahan’s coffin. While the Bo
Pelini era hasn’t gotten off to
a rousing start, and has been
marked more by Pelini’s
weirdness and anger than
anything that has happened on
the field, the Huskers can still
get into a bowl with a win in
the final three games with
Kansas State and Colorado to
follow.
Why Kansas might win: In
general, the Nebraska defense
hasn’t been all that bad. It
kept Texas Tech down as much as
anyone has been able to this
year and it did a great job
against the mediocre attacks
like Iowa State’s and
Colorado’s, but it’s been ripped
apart by efficient passers. Even
though the Huskers took the Red
Raiders to overtime, Graham
Harrell completed 20-of-25
passes for 284 yards and two
touchdowns. KU’s Todd Reesing
hasn’t been special like he was
last year, but he’s been good
enough, throwing 20 touchdown
passes with nine interceptions.
If he gets a little bit of time,
he should be able to pick apart
the Nebraska D.
Why Nebraska might win:
Aqib Talib, where are you?
(Actually, he’s been pretty
decent so far for Tampa Bay.)
The Kansas secondary has been
torched so far this year by
anyone who can throw, giving up
418 yards and six scores to
Texas Tech, 468 yards and three
touchdowns to Oklahoma, and 340
yards and a score to Sam Houston
State (don’t knock it, former OU
QB Rhett Bomar is considered a
decent pro prospect). Joe Ganz
struggled against Oklahoma last
week, but he was on fire in the
previous three games. He should
be able to throw for more than
300 yards without a problem.
Who to watch: It might be
time to start giving Roy Helu
more work. Nebraska’s Marlon
Lucky has been a major
disappointment this season, and
now he’s hobbling with an ankle
injury. Helu took over when the
OU game was out of reach and
tore off 157 yards and a
touchdown. Look for him to get
at least 20 touches this week.
What will happen: This
might not be an Oklahoma State –
Texas Tech-like shootout, but
it’ll be fun. Expect close to
700 yards of passing and lots of
big plays, with Kansas coming up
with a few more of them.
CFN Prediction: Kansas 34
… Nebraska 30 ... Line: Kansas
-1.5
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– 1 The Non-Stop Election
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Oklahoma (8-1) at Texas A&M
(4-5),
3:30 EST
Why to watch: Oklahoma is
still in this thing. It’s going
to take a lot of work and a few
big breaks, but the Sooners,
currently sixth in the BCS
rankings, are still hovering
around with huge games against
Texas Tech and Oklahoma State
still to play. But before the
showdowns to end the regular
season, the Sooners can’t let up
against a suddenly dangerous
Aggie team that has the offense
to keep up the pace in a
shootout. Thanks to the
emergence of QB Jarrod Johnson,
the Aggies are starting to put
up points and passing yards in
bunches. This is hardly Texas
Tech or Oklahoma State, but the
team has turned its season
around with wins over Iowa State
and Colorado and can go bowling
with two wins in its final three
games. Baylor is up next week
before the rivalry date with
Texas two weeks later.
Why Oklahoma might win:
There’s just no pass rush for OU
to worry about. The tremendous
Sooner offensive line should
dominate the weak Aggie
defensive front, and has been
shown all season long, Sam
Bradford is devastating when he
has more than two seconds to
throw. No one’s slowing down the
Sooner offense, much less coming
up with stops. OU is averaging
49.78 points per game, while
Texas A&M has only scored 49
once. OU’s lowest scoring game
was 35, while A&M has only
scored more than 30 points once.
Why Texas A&M might win:
The Sooner secondary did a
decent job against Nebraska last
week, but overall it’s hardly
been a brick wall. The OU pass
defense is giving up 237 yards
per game, and they’re not all
coming in garbage time. The
Sooners can be beaten deep down
the middle as long as the
quarterback isn’t under intense
pressure from the strong OU pass
rush. Johnson is used to not
getting a whole bunch of time to
work. Johnson should get more
time than expected because …
Who to watch: … OU’s star
defensive end Auston English is
out for the next few weeks with
a knee injury. While everyone
was able to breathe a sigh of
relief after it was discovered
the knee wasn’t as bad as
originally feared, English is
still going to be out. That
means the rest of the line has
to step up and do more to get
into the backfield, like DT
Gerald McCoy, who’s cranking out
an All-America caliber season on
the inside, and Frank Alexander,
who has been decent in the
rotation over the last few weeks
and now will get more work.
What will happen: A big
early run will give OU a nice
cushy lead, and although A&M
will get plenty of passing yards
to make things entertaining,
Bradford will put up more
Heisman-like numbers.
CFN Prediction: Oklahoma
52 … Texas A&M 30 ... Line:
Oklahoma -24.5
Must See Rating: (5 The
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Kansas State (4-5) at Missouri
(7-2),
7 EST
Why to watch: Let this be
a lesson to all coaches: do
NOT lose to your in-state
rival 52-21. Kansas State head
coach Ron Prince was on a bit of
a hot seat anyway after losing
three of four games in another
disappointing season, and then
came the blasting at Kansas and
suddenly the program was headed
in the wrong direction and
needed changing at the end of
the season. Kansas State can
still go to a bowl and it can
still turn things around in a
big hurry. Even if it losses at
Missouri this week, the final
two home games against Nebraska
and Iowa State are very
winnable. For the Tigers, this
is the last home game of the
year with a trip to Iowa State
next week and the North title
game, more or less, against
Kansas in Kansas City.
Considering KU has to play
Texas, a second straight trip to
the Big 12 title game is
expected as long as the Tigers
play better than they did last
week in a tight 31-28 win at
Baylor.
Why Kansas State might win:
Talk about coming out and
playing loose, all the
speculation and all the drama
surrounding Prince is over. This
now becomes a lost year anyway,
so the Wildcats can come out and
let it rip. All the pressure is
on Missouri considering the Big
12 championship is still in
play. While most of the passing
yards have been allowed in
comeback mode, teams have been
able to throw the ball without
too much of a problem against
the Tigers. If KSU QB Josh
Freeman can get hot, the offense
should be able to keep pace.
Why Missouri might win:
There’s certainly the
possibility Kansas State could
go the other way and go into the
tank after the coaching issues.
By all indications the team is
business as usual, but that
could change once the Chase
Daniel-led Tiger offense starts
to roll. Kansas State can move
the ball, but too many drives
have been killed by turnovers
and the defense doesn’t force
enough big plays. The defense
has allowed 110 points over the
last two games, and it’s going
to take far more of a pass rush
to avoid getting 50+ hung on the
board by Mizzou.
Who to watch: KSU’s
biggest problem has been the run
defense. The line in general has
been a problem, and it should
get ripped apart by Derrick
Washington and the Tiger running
game. Washington hasn’t played
as big a role over the last four
games as he did over the first
five, but he’s a slippery runner
who should be able to crank out
a few big plays, and a few
scores, if the Wildcat D has to
spend all of its time working on
the midrange Tiger passing
attack.
What will happen: Kansas
State will come out fighting for
about a quarter, and then the
Tiger offense will take over
with a big run of points sparked
by a big punt return from Jeremy
Maclin.
CFN Prediction: Missouri
52 …. Kansas State 20 ... Line:
Missouri -26.5
Must See Rating: (5 The
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– 1 The Non-Stop Election
Analysis) … 2.5
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Big 12 Predictions,
Nov. 8,
Part 1 |