Big 12 sports big matchups as November rumbles along

“We went in unscathed and remain unscathed”, coach Art Briles said Monday, refusing to refer to the quarterback who has been on campus since January as a freshman.

Case in point: Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads cited Oklahoma, not Baylor, as the best team the Cyclones have faced this season during Monday’s Big 12 conference call.

So the Bears welcome Saturday’s spotlight, which includes a pregame visit from ESPN’s College GameDay program, because it offers a platform to convince the naysayers that they’re wrong. Everyone else could conceivably go through the season undefeated, putting an undefeated Baylor in a tough position.

“Obviously, the plane crash is the most tragic part of it, still to this day, with the people that we lost”, Gundy said. That game certainly took a hit in terms of publicity when the Tigers were sunk by the Navy Midshipmen last week, but at the same time, no one doubts the entertainment value that Tom Herman and Justin Fuente’s squads can produce. There are plenty of national skeptics wondering if he can lead the Bears to another Big 12 title and into the playoffs after being snubbed previous year. Then the Sooners would likely land a Alamo Bowl trip against USC or Utah. Since 2011, Baylor has finished outside the top 10 in points per play only once: previous year, when they were 11th.

That loss to Oklahoma State was not good.

A loss in each of the next three games however, would really turn the city of Norman upside down. The running back has 1,046 yards (Semaje Perine has 806) on the season, and Linwood brings a great change of pace to an explosive Baylor offense that averages 665 yards per game. Baylor allows 164.6 rushing yards per game and has allowed two different teams to total more than 200 rushing yards, so it’ll be interesting to see if OU running back Semaje Perine gets more than five carries like he did last season when the teams played.

Tapper and the Sooners know that there won’t be any room for those types of mistakes if they are to upset Baylor. Something they haven’t done since 2010.

Not only did the young gun slinger lead his team to a 31-24 win over Kansas State, but Stidham was able to do it with confidence from within and confidence from his head coach. It would also put OSU in the drivers seat of the Big 12, with TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma all already having a conference loss.

Hoping to extend their unbeaten streak, the No. 4 Baylor Bears (8-0) take on the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners (8-1). Texas Christian beat the Sooners a year ago in Fort Worth, 37-33.

Next up: TCU. The Horned Frogs are 8-1 and now sit at No. 15 in the CFP rankings.

“It’s only something of an epiphany though because Baylor is still ahead of a handful of more deserving teams, but at least the committee made a correction for one of them”.

There isn’t a better game in the country this weekend than OU-Baylor, featuring the No. 6 team in the latest College Football Playoff rankings vs. No. 12 Oklahoma.

SC and Florida Atlantic are next on the schedule before the big showdown with Florida State. Oklahoma had their own fair share of trouble with Texas, but no other Big 12 team has kept it within less than 20 points. I’m not sure who would have the edge between 11-0 OSU and 10-1 Oklahoma, but I’d be shocked if Mike Gundy can beat Bob Stoops two years in a row. Especially in Stillwater, where the Cowboys are most risky. “It’s something we’ve talked about all offseason”.