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Big 12 Rundown: Defending Champs Underdogs in League Opener

No. 17 Baylor Hits Road to Meet Iowa State

The most noteworthy matchup this weekend is defending Big 12 champion Baylor being listed by the sportsbook as the underdog on the road against undefeated Iowa State.

Texas hits the road to face Texas Tech while the always entertaining Kansas State-Oklahoma series also is ready for the latest chapter. West Virginia, Kansas and Texas Christian are all favored in their non-conference matchups this week.

Big 12 Rundown: Defending Champs Underdogs in League Opener
David Purdy / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

According to the college football odds, Oklahoma (+185) is the favorite in the odds to win the Big 12 title followed by Texas (+300), Oklahoma State (+650) and Baylor (+800).

Oklahoma is ranked sixth, Oklahoma State ninth, Baylor 17th and Texas 22nd in the latest Associated Press poll.

Oklahoma (+4000) leads the Big 12 teams in the odds to win the national title.

Here’s a breakdown of the games involving Big 12 teams for those who bet online to keep an eye on.

Game of the Week

Baylor Bears vs Iowa State Cyclones

  • Date, time, TV: Saturday, noon ET (ESPN2)
  • Line: Iowa State -3

Baylor is not going to sneak up on anybody after a magical 2021 season. The offense lost many of its playmakers either to the NFL or via transfer. However, the defense is still a physical unit that is allowing just 290 yards per game. Iowa State is even tougher to play against with an average 234.3 yards given up per contest, the top mark among Big 12 teams. Both defenses have allowed only two plays from scrimmage of 30 yards or longer.

Matt Jones leads Baylor with 18 tackles while freshman Richard Reese has a team-best 237 rushing yards.

It has been a slow start for top NFL Draft prospect Will McDonald for Iowa State. O’Rien Vance leads the Cyclones with 13 tackles. After backing up Breece Hall, Jirehl Brock has stepped into the starting role and leads Iowa State with 274 rushing yards.

Other Games to Watch

West Virginia Mountaineers vs Virginia Tech Hokies

  • Date, time, TV: Thursday, Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Line: West Virginia -1½

Georgia transfer J.T. Daniels has thrown six touchdown passes for West Virginia and he has had more success than Marshall transfer Grant Wells (four TD passes, four interceptions) has for Virginia Tech.

There are questions regarding the availability of Virginia Tech leading rusher Keshawn King. Hokies linebacker Dax Hollifield has 23 tackles, three tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.

CJ Donaldson and Tony Mathis are both over 200 rushing yards for West Virginia while Dante Stills (three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks) is a player to watch on defense.

Virginia Tech has won the seven of the last 10 games against West Virginia, although the Mountaineers won last year’s game 27-21 when listed by the sportsbook as a two-point favorite at home.

TCU Horned Frogs vs SMU Mustangs

  • Date, time, TV: Saturday, noon ET (ESPNU)
  • Line: Texas Christian -2

This will be a surreal afternoon for Sonny Dykes, who recruited many of the SMU players before he took the TCU job.

The TCU defense will need to contend with an SMU offense that is second in the American Athletic Conference in total yards. TCU is seventh among 10 teams in the Big 12 with an average of 5.2 yards per play allowed. With two sacks and nine tackles for loss, the Horned Frogs aren’t making many plays in the backfield.

TCU is putting up 227 rushing yards per game while averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Max Duggan is completing nearly 80% of his passes.

SMU has won the last two games after Texas Christian won the previous seven meetings. The visiting team has won the previous three matchups.

Duke Blue Devils vs Kansas Jayhawks

  • Date, time, TV: Saturday, Noon ET (FS1)
  • Line: Kansas -7½

Kansas has a decent chance to improve to 4-0 and not many people saw that coming. Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (53 points per game) and rushing offense (259 yards a game) and that is not something that gets uttered every year.

Quarterback Jalon Daniels not only has seven TD passes and just one interception, but he is also the leading rusher for the Jayhawks.

Duke was last in the ACC with an average of 7.1 yards per play allowed in 2021, but that number has dropped to 4.9 in 2022.

Texas Longhorns vs Texas Tech Red Raiders

  • Date, time, TV: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Line: Texas -6½

Texas Tech has been very strong against the run, allowing just 2.3 yards per carry. That defense will be tested by Heisman Trophy candidate Bijan, who is coming off a season-best 183 rushing yards last week.

With an injury to Quinn Ewers, Texas QB Hudson Card is back in action and he has completed 66% of his passes.

Texas Tech’s seven interceptions thrown in three games is a concern, but the Red Raiders have allowed just three touchdown passes.

This is not a balanced offense as the Red Raiders rely on the passing game. Jerand Bradley’s 14 catches leads Texas Tech but three others have at least 11 receptions.

Texas has won four games in a row against the Red Raiders and covered in three of those contests.

Big 12 Rundown: Defending Champs Underdogs in League Opener
Tim Warner / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Kansas State Wildcats vs Oklahoma Sooners

  • Date, time, TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
  • Line: Oklahoma -13

This has been one entertaining series in recent years with an average of 74.4 points scored in the last five matchups.

Kansas State is last in the Big 12 with an average of 354.7 yards per game so it might be hard for the Wildcats to match score for score with the Sooners as they did in years past.

The Wildcats will rely on Deuce Vaughn, the leading rusher in the Big 12, while Dillon Gabriel will look to continue to find Marvin Mims down the field.

Gabriel has thrown for 759 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has two TD runs. Mims is the top pass catcher with 310 yards on 14 catches with two scores.

Eric Gray leads the running game with 286 yards while averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

Kansas State has covered in four of the last five games while the college football predictions had the Wildcats as the double-digit underdogs in each game.

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