ESPN College GameDay 2014: Week 15 Schedule, Location, Predictions and More
A handful of NCAA conference championship games will be played at neutral locations in Week 15. In some ways, this can take away from the intimacy of tense rivalry contests.
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is a fine location for the Big Ten Championship, but it lacks the collegiate charm of the venues belonging to Ohio State and Wisconsin, the teams participating in the game.
For those football fans angling to get a glimpse of the passion and the pride when a home crowd gets behind its team in its most important game of the season, Lee Corso and the ESPN College GameDay crew have you covered.
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According to the program's Twitter account, they will be in Waco, Texas, when the Baylor Bears take on Big-12 rival Kansas State in a contest fraught with College Football Playoff implications:
Here is the Week 15 program schedule, followed by a preview and a prediction for the game.
ESPN College GameDay Week 15 Info
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Time (ET): 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
| Dec. 6 | 7:45 p.m. | No. 9 Kansas State* | No. 6 Baylor | ESPN | WatchESPN |
Preview and Prediction
Baylor, No. 6 in the latest CFP rankings, needs a big win over No. 9 Kansas State and some favorable results in the weekend's other big games to clinch the final College Football Playoff spot.
The Big 12 doesn't have a championship game, but the Kansas State matchup essentially serves as one for Baylor. Conference rival TCU is ranked No. 3 and has gotten plenty of love from the playoff committee, even though the Bears beat the Horned Frogs 61-58 earlier this season.
Grantland's Matt Hinton gave his take on the hair-splitting situation, citing TCU's big win over Minnesota as a possible difference maker in the rankings:
"Assuming that the Bears get by K-State, I’d take Baylor on the strength of (a) three Top 25 wins compared to just two for TCU and Ohio State, and, more importantly, (b) the head-to-head win over TCU. Ultimately, the case for the Frogs if both teams finish 11-1 amounts to arguing that a September win over middle-of-the-road Minnesota should take precedence over a head-to-head result between the two teams in question, which is no argument at all. Baylor’s position is airtight: All else being equal: scoreboard.
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TCU plays lowly Iowa State in Week 15, a game the Horned Frogs should win comfortably.
Should they somehow lose, Baylor would almost certainly be in with a win of its own; however, the far more likely scenario for Baylor advancing involves No. 5 Ohio State losing to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship and No. 4 Florida State dropping the ACC Championship Game to No. 11 Georgia Tech.
Baylor could potentially leapfrog Ohio State even if it wins, assuming it's an ugly, sluggish victory and the committee lacks faith in Cardale Jones, who is replacing record touchdown-manufacturer J.T. Barrett at quarterback.
Of course, none of these bridges get crossed if Baylor doesn't take care of things at home against one of its toughest opponents this season. As College GameDay notes, the Bears are usually fast starters:
This will be no easy feat against the Wildcats, who are ranked 23rd in the nation in total defense. Bears quarterback Bryce Petty will have to be at his sharpest Saturday. He threw for just 210 yards in Baylor's 48-46 Week 14 win over Texas Tech—a result that did them no favors in the CFP beauty contest—but did complete 72 percent of his passes.
If he can get into a groove, it can open the field for running back Shock Linwood, who is averaging a robust 5.1 yards per carry this season.
Then again, the Bears offense isn't usually the problem. It's the wobbly defense, which has allowed 23.9 points per game this season. Sometimes, the defenders coalesce into a formidable unit, as in the Bears' 48-14 win over Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, they also put up stinkers like the Red Raiders shootout. Kansas State has had success with Jake Waters and the passing game, but the rushing attack leaves something to be desired, as the team is averaging just 4.0 yards per carry. Baylor features the No. 1 run defense in the Big 12.
Keeping Waters, who has 440 rushing yards on the season, in the pocket will be a key to this contest.
This is a big game for Baylor, but the Wildcats aren't without pressure in this contest. They are still hoping to win the Big 12 Championship, a goal players like Waters have carried in their minds all season, per Kellis Robinett of The Kansas City Star:
"It would be the best thing that I’ve done. When I came here that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to win a championship. Now we have the opportunity to do it. It’s cool; obviously, this is what you play for. This is why I came here and why everyone is practicing hard. The chance to win a Big 12 championship is here. It just depends on what we do with it.
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Look for a high-scoring contest Saturday, with Baylor getting out to an early lead and then relying on heavy doses of Linwood to close out the game. The defense will let the Wildcats back in this contest, but the Bears will hold up their end of the playoff bargain and notch the win.
Prediction: Baylor 38-31 Kansas State
All team rankings courtesy of CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.
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