Some things to watch during Week 9 in Big 12 Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 9 Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) at No. 22 Kansas State (5-2, 3-1). A Saturday matchup of the teams tied for second place in the Big 12 standings. The top two teams at the end of the regular season play in the league championship game so this one matters. The only Big 12 loss for both was at seventh-ranked and still-undefeated No. 7 TCU. The Cowboys have won a school-record 13 consecutive home games.
The Cowboys and Wildcats both have banged-up quarterbacks. K-State starter Adrian Martinez got dinged up in their Oct. 8 game vs. Iowa State, ran for 19 yards on the first play at TCU and then left the game. Backup Will Howard then threw two touchdowns and ran for another before hurting his shoulder on a running play, but should be ready for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders has played through undisclosed injuries. His 30 career wins are two shy of matching Mason Rudolph’s school record.
BEST MATCHUP
Baylor at Texas Tech. The teams have identical 4-3 records, with both 2-2 in the Big 12 after breaking two-game losing streaks last week. The last three games in the series have been decided by a combined seven points. First-year Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire was a Baylor assistant for most of the past five seasons, before taking the Red Raiders job last November. He first worked with Matt Rhule in Waco, then stayed when Dave Aranda got the job after the 2019 season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
There is no opportunity to extend a streak when TCU (7-0, 4-0) plays Saturday at unranked West Virginia (3-4, 1-3). The Horned Frogs are the first team nationally since 1996 to win four consecutive regular-season games over ranked opponents. They overcame double-digit deficits after halftime to win the last two. … Texas Tech is the only school since 2013 to twice convert six fourth-down attempts in the same game. The Red Raiders lead FBS with 20 fourth-down conversions (on 32 tries). Baylor is tied for second with 16.
IMPACT PLAYER
TCU quarterback Max Duggan has thrown a Big 12-high 19 touchdowns with only one interception, all in his six starts. Duggan, who lost the starting job going into the season before Chandler Morris got injured in the opener, is second in the Big 12 at 306.4 total yards per game behind Sanders, and they are tied for the league lead with 23 total touchdowns.
TOP TO BOTTOM
Just two seasons after meeting in the Big 12 championship game, Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3) and Iowa State (3-4, 0-4) are at the bottom of the standings going into their game Saturday. The Sooners haven’t suffered four conference losses in the same season since going 3-5 in Big 12 play in 1998. Iowa State’s four Big 12 losses are by a combined 14 points (7, 3, 1 and 3). The Cyclones haven’t had a five-game conference losing streak since 2016.
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