Big 12 Football: Week 6 Previews, Predictions and Upset Alerts

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What a great week of Big 12 football on the slate. 

We've got two 4-0 teams going at it, a rivalry game and a chance to see if a traditional Big 12 powerhouse program can bounce back after a crushing loss.

Is Texas back? Can Oklahoma rebound? Is Kansas State playing in a trap game? Can TCU go 5-0?

We'll answer all of these questions and more as we take a look at this week's Big 12 football games.

On byes: Oklahoma State and Baylor.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Bob Stoops
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The Sooners are coming off of a bye after losing a 24-19 heartbreaker to Kansas State.

Last year, Texas Tech upset Oklahoma 41-38 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Red Raiders return most of their offensive and defensive starters from last year's team and have been fairly impressive this season. 

Bob Stoops' record coming off a bye is 23-10—that's not exactly comforting to Sooner fans. Perhaps this should settle the folks down: Stoops is 26-2 coming off of a loss. 

In other words, Stoops losing two consecutive games is a rarity. 

I like the odds here. Stoops won't lose this game and the revenge factor has to be in the players' heads.

Oklahoma 27 Texas Tech 23

West Virginia at Texas

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This game couldn't possibly have a greater build-up but we're going to add some interesting factoids for you to mull over.

The FOXSports broadcast crew of Gus Johnson and Charles Davis will be calling the game. That means this game will come down to the wire. It's destiny.

Both teams are coming off of thrilling victories and may still be a tad hungover on Saturday. 

Texas may be 4-0 but a senior Big 12 official reportedly called Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and apologized for a botched call that affected the outcome of the game. So should Texas really be 4-0? 

The Longhorns have their quarterback in David Ash but their defense has given up big plays. That same defense is going to have to contain the biggest playmaker in FBS football, quarterback Geno Smith.

I'm a believer that defense wins championships but the bottom line is this: Which team will score more points to win this game?

West Virginia 56 Texas 55. In overtime. Boom. 

Iowa State at TCU

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TCU is 4-0 but the Horned Frogs haven't exactly set the world on fire with a 20-6 win over Kansas, 27-7 win over Virginia and a 24-16 win over SMU. 

Right now, the Horned Frogs may be in dire straits with the recent news that quarterback Casey Pachall had been arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge early Thursday morning. Pachall was immediately suspended by head coach Gary Patterson, according to reports.

One of the Horned Frogs' reserve quarterbacks, Trevone Boykin, has thrown the ball exactly 10 times in his career. There's just not a lot of experience behind Pachall.

TCU will run the ball a lot but it hasn't had a lot of success so far, averaging only 148.5 rushing yards per game. More concerning is that Iowa State is only yielding 98.5 rushing yards per game. 

Upset alert.

Iowa State 17 TCU 12

Kansas at Kansas State

Head coach Bill Snyder
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We all love rivalry games because there's always that element of a shocking upset, especially in-state rivalry games. No worries, Kansas State Wildcat fans, you've got this one in the win column.

Bill Snyder coached teams rarely make mistakes and are fundamentally sound. Charlie Weis coached teams are not. 

I just don't see a 1-3 Kansas reaching the end zone in this contest. Weis needs a few years to get the players he needs to be competitive. Until then, he will have to endure a rout in Manhattan, Kansas. 

Kansas State 54 Kansas 6