The Big 12 season continues this weekend with one last deep dive into non-conference action before the rigors of conference play truly begin.
Texas tries to bounce back against UTSA after losing starting quarterback Quinn Ewers to injury. Baylor is also trying to bounce back from its loss to BYU as it faces Texas State at home. And, Texas Tech has another big test when it heads to NC State. There’s even undefeated Kansas — yes, Kansas — headed to Houston to face the future Big 12 members in the Cougars.
Staff members from Longhorns Country, Inside the Bears and Red Raider Review provide their picks for each of the other Big 12 games this week.
Oklahoma (2-0) at Nebraska (1-2), 11 a.m. CT, FOX
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: Nebraska just gave its head coach Scott Frost the boot and that’s never a recipe for immediate success. Oklahoma should take this one easily.
Oklahoma 41, Nebraska 10
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson lit up the Sooners last year while at Texas and he will hardly be afraid of this matchup, especially with Nebraska fans at his back.
The Huskers will have some fiery momentum after the firing of Frost, but it won’t be enough to upset OU.
Oklahoma 37, Nebraska 21
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: On paper, this looks like a blowoff game for the Sooners. With the firing of Frost, I think this game is dangerous for the Sooners. They survive but similar to last year it isn’t easy.
Oklahoma 38, Nebraska 27
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: Last year’s game saw OU win by just seven points. Even with the tumult in Lincoln, I expect it to be closer than some would think. But a Cornhuskers upset seems unlikely.
Thompson’s personal experience with OU will be helpful but won’t make that much of a difference.
Oklahoma 33, Nebraska 23
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Frost was paid $15 million to not coach because AD Trev Alberts couldn’t take the mediocrity anymore. Even if Mickey Joseph is the right man to lead the team, the pessimism surrounding the program this week will carry over into Saturday against a top-10 Oklahoma roster.
Oklahoma 31, Nebraska 17
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: The first game after the end of the Frost era will be a big one for Nebraska. They keep it close but Oklahoma pulls out the victory in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma 38, Nebraska 28
Texas State (1-1) at Baylor (1-1), 11 a.m. CT, FS1
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: Baylor needs to bounce back after its loss to BYU, and who better to bounce back against than Texas State? Baylor 35, Texas State 13
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: There might not be a team more motivated to put a beating on the Bobcats than the Baylor Bears. Even with so much roster turnover for coach Dave Aranda, a 29-20 road win over Texas State to open last season was certainly disappointing and it is unlikely to repeat itself this time around. If the Bears don’t beat themselves, this one should be over by halftime. Baylor 51, Texas State 17
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: Baylor is coming off a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to BYU in Week 2. They will bounce back and get a much-needed tune-up game before conference play begins next week. Baylor 41, Texas State 10
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: The Bears are not going to be happy when they take the field against Texas State, and they’ll likely grab an early lead as they work out some of those issues from last week. Expect Texas State to hang in there a bit, but the Bears will pull away in the second half. Baylor 38, Texas State 21
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Baylor will rebound back home at McLane Stadium. Despite losing in Provo, the Bears remain one of the best teams in the Big 12. They’ll prove it with a double-digit win. Baylor 45, Texas State 17
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: Coming off of an upset loss to BYU on the road, the Bears will be looking to let some frustrations out. Unfortunately for Texas State, they’re the team standing in the way in a game that likely won’t be close. Baylor 56, Texas State 10
Towson (2-0) at West Virginia (0-2, 0-1), 11 a.m. CT, ESPN+
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: The Mountaineers could use a break and Towson shall provide that for them.
West Virginia 22, Towson 6
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: The records are misleading for Towson-West Virginia, as one team enters undefeated and the other seeks its first win. It’s not hard to pick which will break first.
West Virginia 51, Towson 13
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: West Virginia is one of the only power five teams without a win. After last week’s humiliating loss against Kansas, they bounce back nicely against Towson.
West Virginia 41, Towson 17
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: Towson is a quality FCS program. The Mountaineers have more talent. If for some reason, West Virginia loses this game, former Nebraska coach Scott Frost may have company next week.
West Virginia 41, Towson 27
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: If Towson wins, West Virginia coach Neal Brown will be the second coach fired this season. JT Daniels has a career day in the Mountaineers’ home opener.
West Virginia 38, Towson 3
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: The Mountaineers enter this game 0-2, and are looking for any form of confidence ahead of conference play. They get it in Week 3 as they cruise past Towson.
West Virginia 42, Towson 3
Ohio (1-1) at Iowa State (2-0), 1 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: Iowa State is 2-0 and just topped in-state rival Iowa 10-7 (in classic Iowa football fashion). They can’t backslide here against Ohio.
Iowa State 28, Ohio 10
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: Iowa State won 10-7 in a defensive slugfest with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday and will be sure to post much bigger numbers against Ohio.
Iowa State 41, Ohio 16
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: Iowa State is quietly off to a solid 2-0 start. They finally ended the Iowa curse last week with a hard-fought 10-7 victory. The Cyclones surge to 3-0 before entering Big 12 play.
Iowa State 31, Ohio 14
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: Is this Iowa State’s non-conference struggle game? It shouldn’t be, but the Cyclones always seem to have one.
Iowa State 29, Ohio 20
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Iowa State coach Matt Campbell might be dealing with head coaching rumors (Nebraska), but he’ll handle business against the Bobcats at Jack Trice Stadium. Hunter Dekkers and Xavier Hutchinson continue to build their chemistry before conference play begins.
Iowa State 24, Ohio 7
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: Iowa State is coming off a rivalry win over Iowa and will ride that momentum to an easy win over Ohio.
Iowa State 49, Ohio 7
Tulane (2-0) at Kansas State (2-0), 2 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: Kansas State and running back Deuce Vaughn looked great last week against Mizzou. Expect Vaughn and company to pile up the rushing yards in this one.
Kansas State 42, Tulane 0
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: If not for a meaningless last-second touchdown that the Wildcats surrendered in Saturday’s blowout over Mizzou, they would be heading into this game with the defense not allowing a touchdown through the first two games.
They’ll give up one more to Tulane, but it’ll still be a blowout.
Kansas State 37, Tulane 10
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: The Wildcats of Kansas State are legit sleepers to win the conference. Before Big 12 play they have a sneaky home game against Tulane. It will be close early, but the Wildcats pull away late.
Kansas State 28, Tulane 14
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: If Kansas State plays as sharp as those alternate helmets they’re wearing on Saturday, this won’t be much of a contest. Note: coach Chris Klieman is making noise about letting quarterback Adrian Martinez throw more.
Kansas State 33, Tulane 21
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Vaughn continues his Heisman campaign against the Green Wave with another 100-plus yard game. Klieman should have the Wildcats ranked by Week 4.
Kansas State 35, Tulane 10
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: Fresh off a blowout win over Missouri, Kansas State takes on Tulane. Despite making it a game against Oklahoma last season, Tulane doesn’t keep it close against the Wildcats.
Kansas State 52, Tulane 14
Kansas (2-0) at Houston (1-1), 3 p.m. CT, ESPNU
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: If Houston was still in the top 25, this game would be an ideal opportunity for Kansas to climb into the AP Poll. Unfortunately, the Cougars got dropped by Texas Tech last week so this one has a little less meaning. Still, the Jayhawks will stay undefeated.
Kansas 27, Houston 16
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: Kansas has gotten off to a surprising 2-0 start. It’d be hard to not give the Jayhawks a fighting chance against Houston, but the undefeated magic will end here.
Houston 43, Kansas 30
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: The Jayhawks aren’t a team to blow over anymore. After upsetting the Mountaineers in Morgantown last week they are looking to capitalize on that momentum.
The Cougars need a bounce-back win after blowing a game in Lubbock to Texas Tech. The game stays close but the Cougars survive.
Houston 27, Kansas 21
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: I got the Jayhawks right last week. But … after watching Houston go toe-to-toe with Texas Tech for four quarters and two overtimes, there’s a talent gap there Kansas won’t overcome. But it’s going to be fun to watch Kansas try.
Houston 33, Kansas 20
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: Kansas’ offense currently is ranked No. 1 among all FBS scores in scoring offense. Would it be an upset if the Jayhawks were to win at TDECU Stadium? Yes, but hey, Kansas coach Lance Leipold knows how to win. The Jayhawks start the season 3-0.
Kansas 35, Houston 31
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: There might not be a more surprising 2-0 team than Kansas. However, going on the road to a Houston team fresh off a rough loss means that 2-0 turns to 2-1.
Houston 42, Kansas 21
UAPB (2-0) at Oklahoma State (2-0), 6 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: This should be a picnic for the Cowboys at home.
Oklahoma State 44, UAPB 9
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: Oklahoma State is well on its way to another Big 12 championship game appearance. UAPB is just a traffic cone in the way.
Oklahoma State 47, UAPB 6
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: This doesn’t need a write-up, but Oklahoma State needs to clean up the defense. The Cowboys looked a lot better against Arizona State in Week 2, but this is another opportunity before conference play.
I think Oklahoma State scores the most points of any team in the country in Week 3.
Oklahoma State 66, UAPB 7
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: This should, quite frankly, be a blowout, even if UAPB is undefeated. OSU has played a SWAC team just one time, beating Grambling State, 56-6, in 2009.
Oklahoma State 52, UAPB 10
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: The third quarter will be a great time to see if Gunnar Gundy is the future quarterback in Stillwater. Pokes by at least 20.
Oklahoma State 42, UAPB 10
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: The Cowboys will walk away from this one with an easy tune-up win ahead of conference play.
Oklahoma State 63, UAPB 7
UTSA (1-1) at Texas (1-1), 7 p.m. CT, Longhorn Network
Logan Collier, Staff Writer: Texas is feeling good after almost taking down Goliath, aka Alabama, but the Longhorns lost their starting quarterback and they’ve still got some questions to answer in other areas.
This is my upset alert of the weekend as I’m taking the Roadrunners to win in Austin.
UTSA 33, Texas 29
Zack Dimmitt, Staff Writer: The Longhorns will have a tough out against a UTSA team that proved it can beat Power 5 competition last season. There will likely be an emotional hangover from Texas’ Week 2 meeting with Alabama, making a matchup with the Roadrunners a game that has major upset potential.
If Texas can stop UTSA quarterback Frank Harris from getting going with his legs, things should be all right for coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense.
Regardless, it’s hard to see this game ending in a blowout for the hometown Longhorns.
Texas 37, UTSA 27
Adam Glick, Staff Writer: The Longhorns proved that when healthy they can contend with anybody. The question is how will they look if Charles Wright is the quarterback?
The Roadrunners are no slouch, and I have a feeling this might be one of the best games of the weekend. Longhorns survive in a defensive slugfest.
Texas 24, UTSA 14
Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: I’m not saying that UTSA is going to win. But the Roadrunners are liable to give the Longhorns a lot of trouble. It’s the quintessential trap game. Texas is banged up, without their starting quarterback, coming off a great performance that turned into a huge letdown loss to Alabama, and are going up against a program led by a former Texas assistant in Jeff Traylor.
UTSA nearly beat Houston in three overtimes and beat Army West Point on the road in overtime. I’ll take Texas, but don’t be surprised if Longhorns fans are sweating like Aggie fans did last week against Appalachian State.
Texas fans are just less likely to be crying afterward.
Texas 31, UTSA 27
Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: If Hudson Card starts at quarterback, the Longhorns win by double digits. If Wright starts, the Longhorns simply win. If running back Bijan Robinson is limited, all bets are off.
Consider it a close scare on the Forty Acres Saturday evening.
Texas 28, UTSA 20
Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: Texas is coming off a near huge upset, falling just short of knocking off then No. 1 Alabama. Despite health issues on the offense, and a possible start from Wright, the Longhorns walk away from this one with a victory before Big 12 play.
Texas 42, UTSA 24
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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