Big 12 preview turns the river red

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ranking the weekend’s Big 12 games as the Mountaineers take time to recharge:

1. No. 12 Oklahoma 34, Texas 17:(Sooners -12) How palpable is the overconfidence in this Red River Rivalry? The average final-score prediction of four sportswriters at The Daily Oklahoman was 53-12. These are reasonable-minded journalists who recall that a tackling-challenged Longhorns defense allowed 550 rushing yards to BYU. Having seen OU look vulnerable against WVU and TCU, I’m still not sold on Bob Stoops’ bunch. But given the fragile state of the UT psyche—and it’s inability to find a suitable backup QB despite the nation’s largest recruiting budget—methinks it will be Boomer time once again.

2. No. 15 Baylor 42, Kansas State 35: (Bears -17.5) Baylor didn’t suddenly reinvent offensive football—it only seems that way. It’s time for a return to earth, particularly for a program that has lost eight of its last nine Big 12 road games. This one will be tighter than expected if K-State limits its carelessness: Bill Snyder’s team has 14 turnovers through five games after committing only 12 all last season.

3. No. 20 Texas Tech 38, Iowa State 20: (Red Raiders -14.5) At 5-0, Tech is quietly building a case for legitimacy, albeit against decidedly slight competition. At 1-3, Iowa State is just another imminently beatable foe, though it joins Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon as the only programs to beat a ranked team on the road each of the past three seasons. You could win a bar bet or 12 with that one.

4. TCU 33, Kansas 10: (Horned Frogs -24.5) Jake Heaps can still smell the stinker he left in Fort Worth when BYU visited TCU in 2010. He was 14-of-30 passing for 91 yards and two picks in a 31-3 beatdown. Cue the déjà vu.