Fact or Fiction Friday: Texas Gets Blown Out, Tech Rebounds
Welcome to Fact or Fiction Friday. Each Friday I give our Facebook fans an opportunity to ask the most intriguing questions in the Big 12 Conference and I will tell you whether they come true or if they are set to fail. Let’s crack it open and see what we have in store this week.
Alabama Will Beat Texas by Three Scores
Fiction: Alabama has a great football team. Nobody is doubting that but are they three scores better than Texas? No. The Crimson Tide are a seven-point favorite, which is fair, but I don’t see them winning by three scores. Texas is a good team, and they have all the pieces in place to be a serious Big 12 title contender. While I am not going to pick Texas to win, I think they will cover the seven-point spread. It feels like any time that Texas has a big game; they always step up to the challenge. It’s the other games you have to worry about with them.
TCU Will Struggle to be Bowl Eligible
Fiction: As bad as TCU’s defense looked against Colorado, I am not ready to give up on them quite yet. While I didn’t pick them to finish in the top five of the Big 12 this season, they still have a chance to prove me and a lot of other people wrong. Looking at their schedule, it’s very possible that they can reel off six straight wins against Nicholls, Houston, SMU, West Virginia, Iowa State, and BYU. Their schedule is backloaded, but I can see them going 7-5 or 6-6 this season. Just be a little patient and not overreact too much after one bad game.
Cincinnati Will Play in a Bowl Game
Fiction: The more I look at Cincinnati the more I like them but there are just too many questions for me to call them a bowl team right now. While they may be better than I thought I want to see Emory Jones in some high-pressure situations. We all know the talent he has running the ball but what can he do in the passing game? If they can beat Pitt this weekend that would be huge because they could start off the season at 3-0. If they do that then I will likely change my answer here.
Texas Tech Will Rebound and Beat Oregon
Fact: If anyone needs a rebound win in the Big 12, it’s Texas Tech. Oregon is talented, and they will score some points. However, Texas Tech is playing at home and this game is at night. Everyone knows that things get whacky in Lubbock at night. I expect the scoreboard to light up like a Christmas tree and in the end, the Red Raiders will come out on top. Despite a bad loss to Wyoming last week, Texas Tech will bounce back on Saturday.
Neal Brown Will Get Fired After the Season
Fact: I said this plenty before this season and I will continue to say this unless a miracle happens. Neal Brown will be fired after the 2023 football season. If not for money owed to him, he would have been fired a long time ago. For Neal Brown to save his job he would at the very least need to get to a bowl game and that is not going to happen with his current team.
Oklahoma Will Be Undefeated Going into the Red River Rivalry
Fact: Before the Sooners get the Longhorns in Dallas, they still have to play SMU, Tulsa, Cincinnati, and Iowa State. Call me crazy but I don’t see any of those teams being a serious threat to Oklahoma as of now.
Less Than Half the Conference Will Make a Bowl Game
Fiction: This would mean that only six teams from the Big 12 would be bowl-eligible. Texas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU, and UCF will for sure make a bowl game. I could also see Baylor and Kansas being a team right on the bowl bubble as well. At the very least there will be seven bowl teams and there could be as many as nine or ten getting to six wins.
