Big 12 Light

Missouri prepares for its homecoming game this week, welcoming alumni and the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners. There's not enough black and gold streamers to distract Bob Stoops and Landry Jones from taking care of business.

North

Texas Tech at Colorado
Let’s hope Taylor Potts has the chops to win against Colorado, although I honestly have no idea what the recovery time is for a sprained jaw. This season, the Texas Tech QB completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,875 yards, 18 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. The Red Raiders are the nation’s sixth best passing offense, and yet they’ve still lost three games. The losses to Texas and Oklahoma State, I guess, are understandable, but losing by two touchdowns to Iowa State? That screams inconsistent, but against this bad Buffs squad, even an inconsistent Potts should pull out the win.

Texas A&M at Kansas
Does anyone remember that Jerrod Johnson was the preseason Big 12 offensive player of the year? Maybe he could commiserate with the entire Texas team about falling from preseason grace. While Mike Sherman this week has dodged questions about whether Johnson will remain as starting QB, I’d bet he gets the job against Kansas. The Jayhawks are stumbling through the season, clinging to their win over No. 15 Georgia Tech in hopes of keeping angry fans with pitchforks at bay.

No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 11 Missouri
Congratulations, Oklahoma! You’re the No. 1 team in the nation. Now, go play the No. 11 team in the nation, which also has an unbeaten record, on its home turf, for its Homecoming game. The Tigers will certainly pose a challenge for the top-ranked Sooners. In the stats, Blaine Gabbert is almost neck-and-neck with Landry Jones for completion percentage, total yardage and touchdown passes. But Oklahoma has D.J. Murray and Ryan Broyles. Murray already has 11 touchdowns to his name this season, and Broyles averages 11.5 yards per catch. The Tigers may work some magic to keep it close, but Oklahoma will survive its first test up top the BCS.

South

No. 22 Kansas State at Baylor
This game comes down to one simple thing: Pass versus rush. The Wildcats dominate on the ground game, with their leading rusher averaging more than 5 yards per carry, but the Bears have the pass, with their leading receiver averaging more than 13 yards per catch. Kansas State has a better pass defense than Baylor’s rush defense, but this game is going to come down the intangibles. And unfortunately, Robert Griffin may not be enough of an edge to get the Bears bowl eligibility this week.

No. 16 Nebraska at No. 14 Oklahoma State
Stock the fridge with beer and pre-order the pizza for dinner, because this game will be so intense you might forget some football-watching essentials. The Cowboys remain unbeaten; Nebraska’s only blemish, a stinging loss to Texas last week. The Cornhuskers are looking to rebound with a convincing win over ranked Oklahoma State. Despite being benched in the third quarter against Texas, T-Magic is still expected to keep his starting position. But if the Cowboys manage to steal his thunder like the Longhorns did last week, Oklahoma State can extend its record to 7-0. The Cowboys have been outscoring opponents by an average of 20 points per game, and Brandon Weedon has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for almost 2,000 yards and 19 TDs. This game may be decided on the flip of a coin.

Iowa State at No. 19 Texas
The Cyclones succeeded in topping Texas Tech two weeks ago but have since dropped two games to ranked opponents. The key to breaking this current trend: Crack the code against the Texas defense. Will Muschamp’s defense played to perfection last week, draining the magic from Taylor Martinez’s offense. Unfortunately, the Cyclones won’t even fare as well as Martinez, and the Longhorns will ride the momentum to another win.