What to watch: Big 12 race is up for grabs | The Kansas City Star

One undefeated team remains in the Big 12, but the race remains open.

TCU could have created some distance if it had held on against Baylor last week. The Horned Frogs blew a 21-point fourth quarter lead and fell 61-58.

Had TCU won, it would have owned triumphs over the Bears and Oklahoma, a huge advantage. But the outcome leaves no team with that road-victory edge.

Kansas State gets the next opportunity, visiting Oklahoma on Saturday. The Wildcats and Sooners are close in the polls as top 15 teams and have similar narrow losses, with Kansas State’s coming at home to Auburn.

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The Wildcats know how to win away from Manhattan. The 2012 Big 12 title season opened with a triumph at Oklahoma, and K-State collected four league triumphs on the road that season.

Since 2011, Kansas State is 9-4 in Big 12 road games. In the Big 12, only Oklahoma has won as many. The road team has won this game the last three years, and Sooners coach Bob Stoops is 8-2 against Bill Snyder’s K-State teams.

BIG 12 GAMES

▪ Baylor at West Virginia, 11 a.m., on Fox Sports 1: These have been some of college football’s wildest games each of the last two years, and this has the potential to be just as crazy with the success of the offenses. Two years ago, West Virginia won 70-63. Last year, the Bears got revenge 73-42. The over/under for this game is 80. They could have that by halftime.

▪ Kansas State at Oklahoma, 11 a.m., on ESPN: Last season in Manhattan, Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett turned in one of the season’s great games with 278 receiving yards and a school record 440 all-purpose yards. “Tyler puts pressure on everybody,” Sooners Coach Bob Stoops said.

▪ Kansas at Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m., on Fox Sports Net: The teams enter with 2-4 records. The Red Raiders have lost four straight and blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead at home against West Virginia. Tech has lost three straight conference games for the first time since 1990, when it was a member of the Southwest Conference.

▪ Oklahoma State at TCU, 3 p.m., Fox Sports 1: TCU played at Oklahoma State each of the last two years. Let’s see if the Frogs kick to Tyreek Hill, who is the only player in the country this season to return kickoffs for touchdowns on consecutive weekends.

▪ Iowa State at Texas 7 p.m., on the Longhorn Network and Cyclones.tv: The Longhorns’ defense has allowed 12 points in the first half this year and it has held teams to about 115 yards of total offense by halftime. But it hasn’t translated to victories. The Longhorns have lost four of five, although three of those were to ranked teams. The Cyclones are coming off a victory over Toledo and are seeking their first Big 12 victory.

SEC GAMES

▪ Furman at South Carolina, 11 a.m., on SEC Network: The Gamecocks haven’t won in the month, suffering losses to Missouri and Kentucky and having an off week. Furman, a 2-4 team from the FCS, shouldn’t provide much resistance, and South Carolina should gain some momentum heading into next week’s game at Auburn.

▪ Texas A&M at Alabama, 2:30 p.m., on CBS (Ch. 5): Remember a couple of weeks ago when both of these teams were projected in the College Football Playoff? Now, they’re on the outside looking in and the loser probably has no chance of making the playoff. After a solid first month, both quarterbacks — Bama’s Blake Sims and Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill — have had their struggles.

▪ Georgia at Arkansas, 3 p.m., on SEC Network: The East Division seeks its first victory over a West team. Although Arkansas is 0-3 in league play, the Razorbacks have played well in their last two games, an overtime loss to Texas A&M and one-point loss to Alabama. Arkansas needs to find three more victories for bowl eligibility and the Bulldogs are one of three remaining opponents in the top 10.

▪ Tennessee at Mississippi, 6 p.m., on ESPN: Trap game for the Rebels? They’re coming off high flying victories over Alabama and Texas A&M with a trip to LSU next. Tennessee has played Georgia and Tennessee tough. Look for Ole Miss to survive a defensive game.

▪ Missouri at Florida, 6 p.m., on ESPN2: Gators coach Will Muschamp announced that Jeff Driskell and Treon Harris will take snaps at quarterback. The Tigers can’t be as bad on both sides of the ball as they were last week in a 34-0 loss to Georgia, can they?

▪ Kentucky at LSU, 6:30 p.m., on SEC Network: The Wildcats are rolling and the offensive is humming with 93 points in the last two games. All that’s keeping Kentucky from a national ranking is a triple overtime loss at Florida. LSU freshman running back Leonard Fournette is finding his stride. He rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns against the Gators last week.