HCS Mailbag: Spencer Rattler’s Future, Big 12 Mid-Season Predictions and Texas vs. Oklahoma State
Welcome to the HCS Big 12 mailbag! This mailbag is for all you football junkies out there who root for a Big 12 school who not only have questions about your team, but other teams in the conference as well. So, join me, grab your favorite drink, and relax as I answer all your Big 12 questions. For those interested, I will send out a tweet (@Derekduke25) every Monday until 8 PM CT for you to send in your questions to be answered every Tuesday right here at Heartland College Sports.
I want to thank each one of you who submitted a question this week and for those reading, I am glad you could join me. I am doing this on a Monday night and of course it would not be a proper mailbag without a drink next to me. Tonight’s drink of choice is an ice-cold Shiner Light Blonde. Cheers!
@tracks182 asks: What school is Rattler at next year (or alternatively, which round does he get drafted in)?
Duke: It is crazy to think that that we are talking about a guy who just got benched already transferring out of the program, but hey, that’s college football for you. At this point, Lincoln Riley doesn’t seem to want to even entertain the idea of Rattler possibly leaving the program, which is the approach he should have. It’s all speculation, but Rattler was once the top QB prospect in the country. Could he end up in at a QB-hungry SEC school? Or how about back in his home state of Arizona? But at this point, we’re speculating.
@Batch40oz asks: Who in your opinion are the favorites to meet in Dallas?
Duke: Without a doubt, Oklahoma definitely should be one of the favorites to get back to Jerry World. After all, they are the reigning six-time Big 12 champions and are sitting at 6-0 right now. As for my second team, at this point, I’m going with Oklahoma State. I know Spencer Sanders is a liability but if he limits his turnovers, then the Cowboys are a very intriguing team. They run the football well and have an excellent defense. I will say that I am not confident in Oklahoma State 100%, and I could easily swap them for Baylor or Iowa State or maybe even Texas on any given day.
@maverick76904 asks: How evenly called do you think the red river game was on Saturday?
Duke: I will say that there was a ton of holding on both sides that were let go and some very interesting replays. At the end of the day, nothing surprises me much anymore when it comes to Big 12 officiating. Some days, it goes your way and some days it doesn’t. Most times, it just takes too dang long for these refs to make decisions because these games drag on. The league should figure out how to address that at some point.
@GbrLevi asks: Will Baylor finish above or below .500 in their next 6 games?
Duke: Right now, Baylor is sitting at 5-1 and here are their final six games.
vs BYU
vs Texas
@ TCU
vs Oklahoma
@ Kansas State
vs Texas Tech
I see them going 4-2 in their next six games or even maybe 5-1 if they can beat Texas or Oklahoma. Worst case, they finish their final six games going 3-3, but I think they will beat BYU this weekend.
@Shroudedllama asks: Oklahoma State’s defense versus Texas’ offense this weekend. Strength vs strength. If OSU manages to score 28 points, will they win?
Duke: Dave back in the mailbag? It’s good to hear from you pal and that is a great question to end on. Oklahoma State has a great defense and most people in the conference know that. The Cowboys have yet to give up more than 23 points in a game this season, but they have not faced an offense as good as the Longhorns. I do not think 28 points will be enough, but the good news is that Texas has plenty of issues on defense. With that said, I think Oklahoma State will need more than 28 points on Saturday to knock off the Longhorns down in Austin. Can they do it? Absolutely.
