Big 12 Conference: Week 6 Predictions

Week 6 is here and it's time to preview all of this week's Big 12 match ups.

There are three games that could have a major impact on the Big 12 title race.

The Red River Rivalry returns to the national spotlight as both teams enter this game undefeated and ranked in the top 15.

The Missouri Tigers travel to Manhattan to take on the red-hot Kansas State Wildcats. K-State is 4-0 and ranked in the top 25.

Texas A&M has lost two straight and will try to get things turned around at Texas Tech.

I'll preview all of the Big 12 games in Week 6 and give you my predictions.

No. 3 Oklahoma (-10) vs No. 11 Texas: 11:00am (ABC)

The Red River Rivalry is back in the national spotlight this year.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns come into this week's game undefeated and in the national title hunt.

Both the Sooners and Longhorns have very good defenses, but I think Oklahoma has the edge offensively. The Sooners are averaging 42.5 points per game, which is 11th in college football.

Quarterback Landry Jones is averaging 361 yards per game but has thrown five interceptions. Jones needs to limit his mistakes this week against a Texas defense that has 11 takeaways this year.

Texas doesn't have as high-powered an offense as Oklahoma, but their defense has been very good. The competition level that Texas has faced this year hasn't been very good, so it's still not clear just how good they are.

I think they are close to contending for Big 12 titles again, but they aren't up to Oklahoma's level this year.

Prediction: Oklahoma 28-14

Missouri (-3) @ No. 20 Kansas State: 2:30pm (ABC)

This is a very intriguing game for me in the Big 12.

Missouri is 2-2, with their two loses being on the road against ranked teams, and Kansas State in 4-0 and is ranked in the top 25.

Even with two loses, I've been pretty impressed with Missouri. Sophomore quarterback James Franklin has looked very good with seven passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. He's also only thrown one interception.

Running back Henry Josey is averaging 133 yards per game with four touchdowns. The Tigers have the eight-ranked rushing offense.

Kansas State is very one-dimensional offensively. They rank 115th in the nation in passing but 18th in rushing. Unfortunately for them, Missouri has the 17th-ranked rush defense and has the ability to shut down the Wildcat offense. 

Bill Snyder keeps working his magic in Manhattan, but this is going to be a difficult game for them. I picked against them last week, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if they proved me wrong again.

Prediction: Missouri 27-21

Kansas @ No. 6 Oklahoma State (-31.5): 2:30pm

This game looks to be the blowout of the week in the Big 12. I just don't see how Kansas can keep this close.

The Jayhawks continue to struggle against the pass. They are ranked 108th in pass defense and will have a very difficult test this week against Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Kansas is 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 road games.

Oklahoma State has the second-ranked pass offense in the nation, and will not slow down this week. Look for big numbers out of Weeden and Blackmon.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 44-10

Iowa State @ No. 25 Baylor (-15): 6:00pm (FSN)

Both Iowa State and Baylor had big statement games last week and both lost.

It will be interesting to see how both teams respond this week in Waco.

Robert Griffin continues to be very impressive. He is completing 82 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns. Receiver Kendall Wright has been arguably the best wide receiver in the country.

He leads the country with 155 yards per game and seven touchdown receptions.

Iowa State just doesn't have the fire power to keep up with the Bears. I wouldn't be surprised if Baylor has a little bit of a let down with Texas A&M coming up next but they will still win fairly easily.

Prediction: Baylor 38-24

No. 24 Texas A&M (-9) @ Texas Tech: 6:00pm (FX)

Get ready for a shootout in this one.

Part of me wants to take Texas Tech at home, but I think A&M is due to put a complete game together. I do think this is going to be a very close and exciting game, though.

Texas A&M figured out last week that they have two very talented running backs. Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray have combined for a total of 11 rushing touchdowns. I said last week that if they wanted to beat Arkansas they had to rely on the running game, and they did just that.

Unfortunately they still lost, but I think the gameplan will be similar this week.

Texas Tech ranks 117th in the nation in run defense allowing 229 yards per game. The Aggies average 223 rushing yards per game and need to keep the ball on the ground to keep Tech's high-scoring offense off the field.

The Red Raiders average 47 points per game and are led by quarterback Seth Doege. Doege has 14 touchdown passes and only one interception. The Aggies struggle against the pass, giving up 336 passing yards per game, which is last in the country.

The last two games against Oklahoma State and Arkansas they have given up an average of 474 passing yards.

The home team in this series is 9-3 against the spread in their last 12 matchups. If A&M can't improve their passing defense then it's very possible they could fall to a disappointing 0-2 in the conference.

With that said I think A&M is due and will finally get another win.

Prediction: Texas A&M 38-35