The Big 12 Conference has some of the biggest games in the country this weekend, starting with a Top 25 matchup between two teams with Big 12 title aspirations. BYU hosts Notre Dame, while Oklahoma State travels to Houston. We also have two of the best rivalry games in the conference, with one taking place in Kansas and another in Texas.
As we enter Week 7, here are four teams that to me have the most to prove going into the weekend.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State has been one of the surprises of the season. With Drew Mestemaker at quarterback, the Cowboys have played their way into potential Big 12 contention. This week, Oklahoma State gets to prove that it belongs in that conversation.
The Cowboys are heading to Houston to take on the Cougars, another team with Big 12 title aspirations. But they’re where they were expected to be. The Cowboys were not.
The job is simple this week — the Cowboys must prove they belong in the conversation. If OSU wins, their next three games are favorable enough to allow the Cowboys to be 6-0 going into their Nov. 14 showdown with Texas Tech.
If they lose, well, the Cowboys are just part of the group that will have no margin for error the rest of the season.
Kansas State
The Kansas State Wildcats face the Kansas Jayhawks in the Sunflower Showdown this weekend. What does Kansas State need to prove? That the Wildcats aren’t going to take a nosedive.
Kansas State has lost its first two Big 12 games to Cincinnati and to Houston. While losing to your rival is never good, losing to Kansas this year would be especially bad. The Jayhawks have a losing record, head coach Lance Leipold might be on the hot seat, and the Wildcats haven’t lost this game in 16 years.
Nothing says bottoming out quite like losing to your rival for the first time in 16 years. Kansas State needs to prove that they’ve already hit rock bottom and are ready to bounce back up.
Baylor and TCU
We will pair Baylor and TCU this week since they’re playing one another. First, hats off to both schools for using “Revivalry” in their social accounts. We’re never going to call it the “Bluebonnet Battle.” That’s just ridiculous.
For Baylor, the prove it is simple. The Bears are undefeated in Big 12 play, they’re coming off a bye week and there’s an opportunity for to get through the first third of Big 12 play undefeated. The Bears want to prove they are a legitimate contender to get to the Big 12 Championship game. Baylor can’t afford to get tripped up in a rivalry game this weekend if that’s the goal.
For TCU, they must prove that their season isn’t about to fall off a cliff. The Horned Frogs are coming off a bye week and in case you need to be reminded they have yet to win a Big 12 game. They’ve lost to UCF and BYU. Maybe playing a team with a non-ubiquitous acronym will help?
If the Horned Frogs lose this game their Big 12 title hopes are done. And I’m not sure I would give them a puncher’s chance against West Virginia next weekend. You could even say the Horned Frogs’ bowl game hopes are on the line. Sonny Dykes job? We’ll see. Let’s play the game first.
