There have been plenty of surprises in the early part of the college football season. However, it would be hard to top what will take place in Lawrence, Kansas, when the top games of the week in the Big 12 feature undefeated Texas Christian and Kansas teams.
Oklahoma State is the other undefeated team in the Big 12 and the Cowboys welcome the pass-happy Texas Tech Red Raiders to Stillwater. Perhaps the most amazing part of this week’s Big 12 schedule is that coming into the season, the Texas-Oklahoma matchup figured to be a candidate for the game of the year in the conference. However, with both underachieving teams falling out of the rankings, it is now just another game.
Oklahoma State (+250) is now favored to win the Big 12 championship, according to the college football odds. Kansas State (+350), Texas (+400) and Texas Christian (+450) aren’t far behind.
Oklahoma State moved up two spots in the latest Associated Press poll and is now seventh in both polls. TCU and Kansas went from being unranked to breaking into the top 20 this week.
Oklahoma State (+5000) leads the Big 12 teams in the odds to win the national title.
Here’s a breakdown of the games involving Big 12 teams. Those who bet online have much to consider.
Let’s check the latest NCAAF picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAF predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAF expert picks for you to consider.
Game of the Week
Horned Frogs vs Jayhawks
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, 12 noon ET (FS1)
- Line: TCU -7
Kansas had the longest odds to win the Big 12 title coming into the season according to the sportsbook while Texas Christian came in sixth and yet here they are as two of the last three undefeated teams in the conference.
Quarterbacks Max Duggan of TCU and Jalon Daniels of Kansas are the top two rated passers in the conference. They have combined for 22 touchdowns and one interception. Daniels has also added five rushing touchdowns.
Kansas (5-0, 2-0 in the Big 12) has allowed nine touchdowns in its opponent’s 21 trips to the red zone. The Jayhawks also lead the Big 12 with 15 sacks. A key for TCU (4-0, 1-0) is that the Horned Frogs have committed just one turnover in four games.
The College Gameday crew is headed to Lawrence and it is not basketball season.
FILL THE HILL 🗣
The location for @CollegeGameDay in Lawrence is officially set! pic.twitter.com/XXhdbr3Q4W
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) October 5, 2022
TCU is looking for its fourth win in a row against Kansas. The Jayhawks not only lead the Big 12 with 15 sacks, but they have allowed two sacks. Just two years ago, the Jayhawks allowed 47 sacks, 16 more than any other team in the conference.
Longhorns vs Sooners
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, 12 noon ET (ABC)
- Line: Texas -7
Who would have thought this would be a bit of an afterthought This is the first time since 2014 that neither Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2) nor Texas (3-2, 1-1) is ranked heading into this annual matchup.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables did not offer updates on injured quarterback Dillon Gabriel, running backs Eric Gray and Marcus Major, receiver Theo Wease and offensive lineman Wanya Morris. Obviously, things will look much different if they can’t go or are limited.
Texas running back Bijan Robinson ran for 131 yards in last year’s game and he is looking for his fourth straight 100-yard game on Saturday.
According to the college football predictions, Robinson (+8000) has the fourth-best odds among running backs to win the Heisman Trophy.
Texas Tech vs Oklahoma State
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
- Line: Oklahoma State -9
Oklahoma State is doing a lot of things well. However, there are some issues defending the pass. The Cowboys (4-0, 1-0) have allowed more passing yards per game than any other Big 12 team. That could make things interesting facing a 3-2 Texas Tech team that has a Big 12-leading 1,812 passing yards.
Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders has four touchdown passes and four interceptions in three career games against the Red Raiders. Sanders trails only Texas Tech’s Donovan Smith among Big 12 quarterbacks in passing yards per game. The difference is that Sanders has two interceptions and Smith has thrown seven.
After leading the Big 12 with 56 sacks a season ago, the Cowboys are back at it in 2022 as no team from one of the Power-5 conferences is averaging more tackles for loss per game than Oklahoma State’s mark of 9.25.
Kansas State vs Iowa State
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
- Line: Kansas State -2
Iowa State (3-2, 0-2) leads the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 255.4 yards per game, and also has the best rushing defense in the conference. That will be tested by the Kansas State duo of Deuce Vaughn and Adrian Martinez, the first and fourth-leading rushers in the Big 12.
Martinez is one of the top rushing quarterbacks in the country for the Wildcats (4-1, 2-0). He hasn’t thrown an interception but has the fewest number of passing yards and touchdown passes among the starting QBs in the conference.
Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the Big 12 leader with 5½ sacks. Iowa State’s Will McDonald, a top prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft, only has 1½ sacks.
