Some things to watch during Week 10 in Big 12 Conference:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12, No. 24 CFP) at No. 13 Kansas State (6-2, 4-1, No. 13 CFP).
Bijan Robinson and Deuce Vaughn, the league’s top two running backs, square off in the latest meeting of a series that recently has been very tight. Texas has won five games in row over the Wildcats, whose last win in the series was 24-21 at home in 2016. Take out the Longhorns’ 69-31 win in the 2020 regular-season finale and their other wins in that span have been by an average margin of 4.4 points, the largest being 40-34 in overtime.
The Wildcats, second alone in the Big 12 standings, rebounded from a double-OT loss at No. 7 TCU with a 48-0 win last week over then-No. 9 Oklahoma State. That is the largest shutout ever over a top-10 team by a team lower in the rankings. Texas is coming off an open date that followed its 41-34 loss to the Cowboys. That snapped the Longhorns’ three-game winning streak and knocked them out the AP poll.
BEST MATCHUP
TCU’s pass offense vs. the Texas Tech defense.
Max Duggan is the Big 12 leading passer with more than 276 yards per game and 22 touchdowns. Quentin Johnston has averaged 134 yards receiving the past four games, with a touchdown in each of them. Senior cornerbacks Malik Dunlap and Rayshad Williams are among the league leaders in passes defended for the Red Raiders, who have only five interceptions but have allowed only 217 yards per game passing and a league-low nine TDs.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
No. 18 Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-2, No. 18 CFP), coming off its first shutout loss since 2009, heads to Kansas (5-3, 2-3) having won 12 in a row over the Jayhawks. … Visiting teams won three of the four Big 12 games last week. Home teams are still 15-9 in conference games on campus this season. … TCU (8-0, 5-0, No. 7 CFP) has its longest winning streak since 16 in a row, when the Frogs won their final eight games of the 2014 season and first eight in 2015. … Kansas plays its first home game in 28 days. … Texas Tech averages an FBS-best 87.4 offensive snaps per game. … Oklahoma has won 24 of its last 26 November games, though both losses came last year at Baylor and then Oklahoma State. The Sooners have won their last 13 November home games.
IMPACT PLAYER
Baylor true freshman running back Richard Reese leads the Big 12 with 12 rushing touchdowns, five of those in the last two games when he rushed for 334 yards. He is fifth in the Big 12 with 98.9 yards per game. The Bears play at Oklahoma, which is last in the league allowing nearly 190 yards rushing a game.
FAVORED FOR FIRST
Could this be the week that Iowa State (3-5, 0-5) gets its first Big 12 win? Fanduel Sportsbook listed the Cyclones as a touchdown favorite at home over West Virginia (3-5, 1-4), which gave up 90 points while losing its last two games. Iowa State’s Big 12-best defense allows only 295 yards and 16.6 points a game.
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