Things to watch in Week 7 in the Big 12:
GAME OF THE WEEK: West Virginia (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) at No. 2 Baylor (5-0, 2-0). The Bears were snubbed from the first College Football Playoff after losing only once in the regular season last year, 41-27 at West Virginia. Baylor’s motivation is a bit different than most would expect with the Bears again undefeated in October and facing the Mountaineers. ”Are we going to blame them for beating us? The way we look at it is that it’s our fault,” coach Art Briles said. ”We didn’t take care of business.” Baylor again has the nation’s best offense, with 725 total yards and 64.2 points a game. West Virginia, coming off a 33-26 overtime loss to Oklahoma State, allows a Big 12-low 20 points a game and 342 yards.
BEST MATCHUP: No. 19 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1) at Kansas State (3-2, 0-2). Sooners coach Bob Stoops worked on Bill Snyder’s staff at K-State from 1989-95, and is 5-0 as a head coach when returning there. The Wildcats had won 49 consecutive games when leading at halftime until losing the last two – they blew a 35-17 halftime lead at home last Saturday in a 52-45 loss to TCU. Oklahoma, coming off an unexpected loss to Texas, is averaging 37 points and K-State 36.4. The Sooners have given up 22.6 points a game, the Wildcats 24.8.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Baylor, Oklahoma State and TCU, the league’s three undefeated teams, are a combined 9-0 away from their home stadiums. … Oklahoma State is 6-0 for the fourth time in 11 seasons under Mike Gundy. The Cowboys had only two 6-0 starts in the 103 seasons before that. … Texas Tech (4-2, 1-2) is the only Big 12 team to go this far in the season without a weekend off. The Red Raiders’ open date comes in Week 12.
LONG SHOT: No. 3 TCU (6-0, 3-0) needing another late road rally, like at Texas Tech and Kansas State in its Big 12 road games so far. The Horned Frogs are nearly three-TD favorites at Iowa State, and beat the Cyclones 55-3 in the regular season finale last December.
IMPACT PLAYER: Texas Tech sophomore quarterback Patrick Mahomes, facing winless Kansas and the league’s worst pass defense, leads all power-five conference quarterbacks with 377.3 yards passing per game. His 167 completions and 257 attempts are the most in the Big 12, and he has thrown 19 touchdowns with five interceptions. He threw for 428 yards and five TDs last week against Iowa State, both season highs.
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Compiled by AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Fort Worth, Texas.
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