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Big 12 football picks: #6 Oklahoma vs. #11 Texas & more
Jason Ence
October 11th, 2019
It’s time for the Red River Showdown, and possibly the biggest explosion of offense we will see all season. Iowa State will also visit Morgantown, as West Virginia will look to rebound from a tough loss to Texas. It should be a fun weekend, and we are here to help you make it even more enjoyable with some winners!
#6 Oklahoma vs. #11 Texas at the Cotton Bowl, noon ET, FOX
Jalen Hurts against Sam Ehlinger. That’s all that needs to be said to get people excited about the 115th matchup between these two historical powerhouses. The fans hate each other. The players hate each other. And that just make it more enjoyable for us to watch.
Oklahoma is coming off a beatdown of Kansas last weekend, but it was a game that started slowly for the Sooners. Once they got rolling, however, they ran off six straight touchdowns and pulled their starters, which allowed Kansas to earn a backdoor cover. Hurts continued to push his numbers into the stratosphere, as he scored four times and gained 284 yards of total offense. Now he will look to punish a banged-up Texas secondary that ranks dead last in the conference in defense.
Oklahoma is coming off a beatdown of Kansas last weekend, but it was a game that started slowly for the Sooners. Once they got rolling, however, they ran off six straight touchdowns and pulled their starters, which allowed Kansas to earn a backdoor cover. Hurts continued to push his numbers into the stratosphere, as he scored four times and gained 284 yards of total offense. Now he will look to punish a banged-up Texas secondary that ranks dead last in the conference in defense.
The Longhorns come in fresh off a 42-31 win over West Virginia, a road game in which they were trailing 21-17 after three quarters. They likely were looking ahead to this week’s game, but Ehlinger did not seem to be. He matched Hurts' scoring output, as he also scored four times, and gained 256 yards of offense. However, he did record his lowest QBR of the season, to go along with season lows in passing yardage and completion percentage. That would be somewhat worrisome if he was facing a good defense this weekend.
These two offenses come in averaging more than 1,100 yards of offense per game combined, and neither has a quality pass defense. There will be plenty of opportunities for two stellar quarterbacks to hit big plays downfield. Earlier this season Texas and LSU combined to score 83 points when the Longhorns had a healthy secondary. Last week Texas and West Virginia combined to score 73. Oklahoma’s offense should combine with Texas to score even more. The Over has hit in 14 of Oklahoma’s last 20 games and in four of Texas’ last five outings.
These two offenses come in averaging more than 1,100 yards of offense per game combined, and neither has a quality pass defense. There will be plenty of opportunities for two stellar quarterbacks to hit big plays downfield. Earlier this season Texas and LSU combined to score 83 points when the Longhorns had a healthy secondary. Last week Texas and West Virginia combined to score 73. Oklahoma’s offense should combine with Texas to score even more. The Over has hit in 14 of Oklahoma’s last 20 games and in four of Texas’ last five outings.
Pick: Over 75.5
Iowa State (-10) at West Virginia, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
West Virginia gave Texas a game for three quarters last week, but four interceptions from quarterback Austin Kendall were too much to overcome. Thankfully for him, Iowa State’s defense does not force many turnovers. They Cyclones have forced less than half a turnover per game so far. What they have done well is shut down the running game, which means Kendall will need to play a much better game to get the Mountaineers back in the win column.Quarterback Brock Purdy continues to play well for Iowa State, and he completed 19 of his 24 passes in his last outing against TCU. He also ran for more than 100 yards in that game, and West Virginia showed last week that a dual-threat quarterback can cause them problems. Expect much of the same this weekend.
Pick: Iowa State -10
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