Daily Archives: Oct. 12, 2012

The Royal Sampler: Big 12 football predictions, videos and links

PREDICTIONS
All ten teams in the Big 12 are in action and playing each other this weekend. A big Saturday awaits. Here are my picks:

TCU at Baylor:The Horned Frogs looked downright bad on offense against Iowa State last week without their starting quarterback. He has since left the team, so don’t expect much of a points boost this weekend. Even though Baylor’s defense is suspect, its offense is legit. TCU doesn’t have the firepower to keep up.

Oklahoma State at Kansas: Charlie Weis tried to bully the student newspaper last week and the Jayhawks responded by losing badly at Kansas State. He is still trying to bully the student newspaper, and a pattern is beginning to form. The Jayhawks will lose badly again to Oklahoma State.

West Virginia at Texas Tech: I made the mistake of picking Texas Tech last week. The Red Raiders got drilled at home by Oklahoma. I don’t think they are normally as bad as they looked against the Sooners, but I no longer think they are good enough to pull a major upset. I see the Mountaineers winning by about 14.

Texas vs. Oklahoma: The Sooners made up for a home loss to K-State with a resounding victory at Texas Tech, but I’m still surprised Oklahoma is favored in this game. Texas fell a missed field goal short of taking West Virginia to overtime last week, and has looked great on offense all season. If Landry Jones plays his best game, the Sooners will win. But can you count on that? I like the Longhorns to win by a touchdown.

Kansas State at Iowa State: Bill Snyder and Paul Rhoads have turned Farmageddon into a highly entertaining series over the past three years. The Wildcats have won four straight in the series, but all four games were close. And now the game shifts back to Jack Trice Stadium for the first time since 2007. With thunder storms possibly on the way, it looks like this game will once again come down to the final moments. Both teams are well coached and have good defenses. But K-State’s running game, behind Collin Klein and John Hubert, gives the Wildcats an edge. My prediction: K-State 28, Iowa State 23.
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Cats ready for first trip to Ames since 2007

The last time Kansas State traveled to Jack Trice Stadium, Iowa State handed the Wildcats a 31-20 loss in Ron Prince’s second year as head coach.

The Wildcats have since reeled off four straight wins over the Cyclones, but they came by an average of 5.75 points and none of them were played in Ames. K-State defeated Iowa State at home in 2008 and 2011. In between, the Farmageddon series briefly moved to Arrowhead Stadium.

So Saturday’s game will be a new experience for K-State players. None of them have played at Jack Trice Stadium before. Next week will bring a new stadium, too, when the Wildcats play their first game at West Virginia since 1931.

Question is: Will that have an impact on the games?

“I would like to think that’s not the case,” K-State football coach Bill Snyder said. “As we’ve said so many times, it’s keeping it all between the white lines. If you do that it all looks the same no matter where you happen to be. Grass is grass.”
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