Well, it’s Holy War week folks. Hope you have your tickets because the secondary market looks crazy.
BYU at Utah is the biggest game of the week in the Big 12 and one of the biggest games in the country. It’s so big that ESPN is making the Cougars and Utes play at … checks notes … 10 a.m. mountain. That’s just disrespectful to two Top 10 programs.
But it’s on to Week 10 and it’s time to point out the three teams that have the most to prove.
BYU
This is it. This is the ballgame for the Cougars. With one loss this season to UCF, a win over Utah is likely necessary to reach the Big 12 Championship game. A second loss would handcuff the Cougars to a group of two-loss teams that are hoping for the downfalls of Utah, BYU and Texas Tech. It is unlikely that all three teams will stumble.
If BYU wins, then the Cougars are tied with the Utes for first place in the Big 12 with Texas Tech (assuming the Red Raiders beat the Mountaineers). If BYU loses, well, the Utes are undefeated and likely heading to Arlington and all the Red Raiders must do is win out (easier said than done of course).
What do the Cougars have to prove? Everything. Their season is on the line.
Baylor
So, the Baylor Bears blew out the UCF Knights last weekend, 41-9, in Joe Klanderman’s debut as interim head coach. That’s about as good as it gets for a debut as an interim coach. But can he and the Bears sustain it?
Teams can go one of two directions under an interim coach — they can surge or they go in the tank. After one game, the Bears surged. But it’s usually the second game that tells us where the team is truly going. Baylor will host Iowa State, which scored 51 points on Oklahoma State last weekend.
The Bears need to prove they can keep surging if they want to collect that fifth win before a murderous end to the season against BYU, Texas Tech and Houston.
Kansas State
Since starting 3-0, the Wildcats are 1-4. Kansas State knew things would be bumpy with first-year head coach Collin Klein, and the locals will be patient. But this week he must prove that he can win without quarterback Avery Johnson, something the Wildcats nearly proved last week against Colorado.
Barnett had a solid game for Kansas State, throwing three touchdown passes before KSU fell by three points to the Buffaloes, who won their first Big 12 game. Now it’s Oklahoma State, which has the conference’s most productive offense — and a defense that is buckling under the weight of a Big 12 schedule. Can Klein scheme an offense that exploits those weaknesses? It would be nice to prove that too.
