Predicting the Big 12 Season: Week 3

Week three provides some very close and even matchups to go along with one major upset.

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Week 3

Virginia Tech 27 at West Virginia 33

A very nice matchup between two Power Five foes pits the Hokies against the Mountaineers. Va Tech quarterback Braxton Burmeister gives the WVU defense all kinds of problems with his legs as he extends drives and finds guys open down filed after evading pass rushes. He puts up 300 yards of total offense on the road giving them a chance in this one. Va Tech defensive stars Jordan Williams and Amare Barno total four sacks int his one as they are overwhelming for parts of the game, unfortunately the rest of the defense is not. They gave up 32.1 points per game last year and cracks in the defense show up in this one. Jarrett Doege throws for 250 yards and three scores while Leddie Brown rushes for nearly 150 yards and a touchdown. This game is tight throughout but the Mountaineers defense pitches a shutout in the 4th quarter to solidify the win.

Nebraska 20 at Oklahoma 47

Oh yes an old school Big 12 matchup between two traitors of the conference, let's do this thing. The Sooners are just simply better at this point, between the passing attack led by Spencer Rattler’s 300 passing yards and the elite rushing attack going for another 200 yards, the Sooners pull away early. The wide receiver/quarterback combo of Samouri Toure and Adrian Martinez is able to score a little bit in this one but I do not expect it to be very close by the time the final whistle blows.

Nevada 33 at Kansas State 31

Watch out Wildcats…… Nevada’s quarterback Carson Strong is a legit NFL prospect and he shows it has he throws for 350 yards and three scores to his ultra-effective wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Elijah Cooks. On the flip side Deuce Vaughn and Skylar Thompson lead the Wildcats to 400 yards of total offense. In the 4th quarter, Thompson finds Chabastian Taylor for a 30-yard touchdown on one drive followed by a field goal on the next drive to give the Wildcats a 31-30 lead with 2 minutes left. Unfortunately they left too much time on the clock for Strong and this high-powered offense as he leads them down the field completing pass after pass. Nevada lines up for a 37-yard field goal….it’s good.

Baylor 37 at Kansas 10

Another week and another beatdown by the Baylor Bears. The offense continues to improve each week as Gerry Bohanon OR Jacob Zeno start to find a groove in the offense. Tristan Ebner and Abram Smith each score a rushing touchdown while Tyquan Thornton and Jaylen Ellis each come down with a touchdown catch. The defense continues to be stout as it holds the Jayhawks under 200 yards of total offense and forces three turnovers to go along with piling up 6 sacks. JT Woods’ pick-six is the highlight of the day during this dominant outing.

Florida International 17 at Texas Tech 24

Florida International went 0-5 last year but they will be much, much better this season and I think they make this game in Lubbock much closer than expected. The defenses battle all afternoon and both score a touchdown in this game while also forcing at least two turnovers apiece. With 7 minutes left Tyler Shough leads an 80-yard touchdown drive that takes up nearly six minutes as he hits Erik Ezukanma for the game-winning touchdown int he back of the endzone

Rice 10 at Texas 30

New Rice quarterback Luke McCaffrey makes this game much more interesting and the fact that Rice will be a borderline bowl team this year does as well. Unfortunately for the Owls they don’t have the talent to keep up with the Longhorns as Bijan Robinson goes for 150 yards and two scores while the defense forces three turnovers and Alfred Collins recovers one of the fumbles in the end zone. This game will be contested but the Longhorns will win by three or more scores.

Oklahoma State 42 at Boise State 41

Another really close game on the weekend for the Big 12. Boise State quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Jack Sears pass for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns with three of those going to star wide receiver Khalil Shakir. The Broncos passing attack goes wild on the blue turf as they get out to a 31 to 21 lead at half. The Cowboys are forced to make a big comeback as they cut it to three with 10 minutes left. The Broncos extend the lead to six with just three minutes left forcing OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders to win his team this ball game….and he does. Sanders drive the Pokes 72 yards and it is capped off by a Sanders 15-yard touchdown run as he hits the pylon of the end zone with just 15 seconds left in the game. Massive road win for the Cowboys.

Iowa State 41 at UNLV 14

We have a battle between familiar names as former five star quarter back Tate Martell competes for the starting job against former TCU signee Justin Rogers. Will the talented starter be enough? No. Brock Purdy and the Cyclones get the offense rolling this week as the star quarterback throws one touchdowns and accounts for 300 total yards of offense. Breece Hall breaks through the Runnin’ Rebels’ defensive line to the tune of 150 yards and three touchdowns. The Cyclones defense is just something too much as they overwhelm the UNLV offensive line as they cruise to an easy victory.

BYE WEEK - TCU

Big 12 Standings

1. Baylor — 3-0 (1-0)

1. Iowa State — 3-0 (0-0)

1. Oklahoma — 3-0 (0-0)

1. Oklahoma State — 3-0 (0-0)

1. Texas Tech — 3-0 (0-0)

1. West Virginia — 3-0 (0-0)

1. TCU — 2-0 (0-0)

8. Kansas State — 2-1 (0-0)

9. Texas — 2-1 (0-0)

10. Kansas — 1-2 (0-1)