If you love college football, this weekend is for you. Based on the results from today’s action, bowl schedules will be put into place and confernce champions will be named. Conference championship games aren’t the only thing going on this weekend — two regular season Big 12 matchups will determine the winner of that conference as well.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] Oklahoma State-Oklahoma will come first, and the Cowboys could win it right there, but if the Sooners come out victorious, the winner of Saturday afternoon’s Texas-Baylor game will be the Big 12 title holder.
(Also Read: Breaking Down Texas’ Bowl Game Scenarios)
After comfortable wins in each of their first nine games, Baylor’s national title hopes ended in Stillwater, as the Cowboys blew them out 49-17. The following week, the hangover was still clear, as the Bears struggled to a 41-38 win against a TCU team that went 2-7 in conference play.
Texas did not have the same problems after their streak-ending blowout loss to Oklahoma State, although the Longhorns did have a bye week to prepare for their following game — a 41-16 win over Texas Tech.
The numbers
Rankings and records: The Bears are ranked No. 9, while the Longhorns are ranked No. 25. Baylor is 10-1, with a 7-1 Big 12 record, while Texas is 8-3 with a 7-1 Big 12 record. The Longhorns hold a 74-24-4 all-time lead in the series, but the Bears have won two of the last three games between the two schools.
Vegas: Baylor is a 13.5-point favorite.
Weather: Mid 30s with a light wintry mix, which could wreak havoc on the game.
Three names to know
Bryce Petty. Baylor’s quarterback is still a fringe Heisman contender, and for good reason — he has perhaps the most impressive statistics of any power-conference quarterback.
Lache Seastrunk. After missing the past two-and-a-half games with injury, Seastrunk returned against TCU and ran for 94 yards, bringing his season total up to 982 (with 11 touchdowns).
Quandre Diggs. The junior has shown his ability to be a playmaker in the secondary, with eight passes broken up, two-and-a-half sacks and a fumble forced.
Two things at stake
With an Oklahoma State loss to Oklahoma and a win here, Baylor could still find themselves with a Big 12 title.
The same can be said for Texas — a miraculous turn of events after its horrid start to the year.
How to witness
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Craig Bolerjack, Joey Harrington and Ryan Nece are on the call.
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