College GameDay’s Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica Picks Iowa State over Oklahoma in Big 12
College GameDay is back with the crew starting off the season making their predictions conference-by-conference. And when it comes to the upcoming Big 12 season, the entire panel picked the Oklahoma Sooners to win the Big 12, except for their behind-the-scenes, statistical guru Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, who is rolling with Iowa State.
‘The Bear’ went on to say, after the entire staff picked OU to win the league, “Put me down for Iowa State over Oklahoma. I think Oklahoma, a lot of people are overrating them just a little bit because of what people last saw against Florida in that bowl game.”
The Cyclones and Sooners are popular picks for a re-match in the Big 12 Championship Game in 2021, but most are still rolling with Oklahoma to win a seventh-straight Big 12 title.
Here’s what each of the College GameDay analysts said about their Big 12 picks:
Desmond Howard: “I like Oklahoma. Boomer Sooner.”
David Pollack: “I’ve got Oklahoma as well, but I think TCU is going to play a role in the Big 12 race.”
Lee Corso: “Oklahoma over Iowa State. Oklahoma has the nation’s best offense and the defense is really improved and they’ve won four-straight (it’s actually six) Big 12 titles. “
Kirk Herbstreit: “Alex Grinch doing an amazing job on that defense and recruiting is really paying off on that defensive line. But, Oklahoma over Iowa State.”
Herbstreit went on to say, “The mystery to me is Spencer Rattler. Is he mature? Is he able to handle the pressure? Is he going to force the issue or let the game come to him? If he plays within himself and the structure, OU is going to be … I’ve got them all the way.”
Now if you recall, ‘The Bear’ picked Iowa State as a dark horse College Football Playoff contender last year, which did not look so good after they lost their opener to Louisiana-Monroe, but by season’s end it was looking pretty good. Let’s see what kind of luck, or lack thereof, he brings to the Cyclones in 2021.
