3 games to watch in the Big 12: Boykin, TCU need to make a statement vs. West Virginia
Worry not, Big 12 fans, we are nearing the end of October. The Ali-Frazier heavyweight fights are coming up soon, but first we have to get to the last weekend of the month.
Even though five games have been decided in the final minute, there seems to have been very few tremors on the national scale from the Big 12 so far this year. But all the eyes of the nation are going to be on TCU, which will look to tack on more style points in their game versus West Virginia. All the eyes of the Big 12 will be on Saturday’s Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game, as the Cowboys get a big challenge in going to dangerous Lubbock, Texas.
Baylor is off this week and will be trying to get new quarterback Jarrett Stidham as many practice reps as possible before their game at Kansas State next Thursday.
West Virginia at No. 5 TCU
Thursday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. ET (Fox Sports 1)
Not a lot of big mystery here - the Frogs get the cameras and the Klieg lights all to themselves as they host the spiraling Mountaineers in a Thursday night tilt. If Trevone Boykin wasn’t front and center in the Heisman voters' minds before, here's his chance to make that happen. The college football stage is all his.
The other thing this game represents is the best chance for the Horned Frogs' defense to finally change some minds out there. Skyler Howard and company are a good offense, averaging 36 points a game. But by Big 12 standards they are not a great offense. With some bumps and bruises on the mend, this is where the Purple Gang can put the clamps on West Virginia and have some influence on the naysayers out there.
Want a clash of the titans-type of stat to keep an eye on? How about the showdown of TCU’s nation-leading third-down offense (55.8% conversion rate) going up against WVU’s ninth-rated third-down defense (holding opponents to a 28.2% conversion rate). If the Mountaineers want to keep the game close, winning that battle will help in spades.
No. 12 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
Saturday, Oct. 31, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Tech has to be chomping at the bit to get to this game, after getting 63 points put on them by Baylor and Oklahoma so far this month.
Now, unbeaten Oklahoma State comes to town. This is a Cowboys team that won their first three Big 12 games by a combined 12 points. It's also a team that has been playing with a rabbit’s foot in its pocket. Jones Stadium in the middle of this West Texas outpost could be where that luck runs out.
The Pokes have some holes in their offense, with coach Mike Gundy admitting "we're not very good at running the ball." They sit ninth in the Big 12 with just 147 yards per game, so establishing that early will be huge.
But the big key to this game could lay on the other side of the ball. Tech linebackers Dakota Allen (77 tackles) and Micah Awe (69 tackles) are two of the top three tacklers in the conference and must be accounted for by the Cowboys’ on-and-off offensive line. But countering that, OSU leads the conference with 27 sacks and has two of the top sack artists in the league with ends Emmanuel Ogbah (eight sacks) and Jimmy Bean (5.5), who are heat-seekers. To the Raiders' credit, their line has given up just 11 sacks in a Big 12-high 392 pass attempts. Whichever defensive duo shows better here means victory.
Texas at Iowa State
Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m. ET (Fox Sports 1)
While the Longhorns have a new lease on life after stunning unbeaten Oklahoma, this could be the Cyclones' last stand. At 2-5, a loss here means they would have to win out against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and West Virginia to have any hopes of making it to the postseason.
The Cyclones are capable of pulling a W here, but they’ll have to play like they did in the second half of last week’s loss to Baylor to have a shot. The running game buoys some hope, as freshman Mike Warren has burgeoned into a Newcomer of the Year candidate, having run for 707 yards and 6.6 yards per carry behind a line that has shown promise.
While the Longhorns' new two-quarterback system of Jerrod Heard and Tyrone Swoopes has gelled well in the last few weeks, the Cyclones appear to have switched from senior Sam B. Richardson to sophomore Joel Lanning at the controls. In his 12 offensive drives, Lanning has led the 'Clones to six touchdowns, and gave them a real shot in the arm against Baylor last week. Head coach Paul Rhoads has officially announced the switch for this key game.