Staff Picks: CFB Week Four

We have our first full Big 12 slate of games this weekend! We’ll get our first looks at TCU and Baylor while Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas all try to follow up embarrassing losses. Oklahoma State will try to follow up a win over Tulsa with a more impressive showing against West Virginia, and may trot out a freshman quarterback in the process. Let’s see who the staff picked and preview each game in the Big 12 today!

Kansas State at Oklahoma

This one has already kicked off over on Fox. Kansas State fell to Arkansas State 35-31 at home two weeks ago. If the Wildcats keep playing like that, it’s going to be a long season in Manhattan.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, ransacked Missouri State 48-0 at home. The game was on pay-per-view so the nation gets its first good look at quarterback Spencer Rattler this afternoon. Another Sooner to keep an eye on is freshman receiver Marvin Mims out of Frisco, Texas. Rattler and Mims could form the next great offensive duo in Norman.

Everyone on our staff picked Oklahoma to win this one. The Sooners should roll over Kansas State this afternoon. The Wildcats have much to figure out and not much time to do it. Some may forget, this is a revenge game for Oklahoma, who lost to Kansas State last season.

Iowa State at TCU

I am excited for this one. Iowa State needs a good showing after an opening losing to UL-Louisiana at home. This will also be our first look at TCU this season. TCU has an excellent defense but we need its offense to improve this season. Iowa State had high expectations before the 31-14 loss to Louisiana.

Our fearless leader, Micah Allen, was the only staff member to rock with the Cyclones. Everybody else picked TCU. That could be because Iowa State made such a bad impression in its opening game, but I went with TCU because of its defense. I think the Horned Frogs offense will be just good enough to squeeze out a victory over a motivated and energized Iowa State team today.

Texas at Texas Tech

Texas impressed as much as it could in its opener. The Longhorns routed a clearly outmanned UTEP squad 59-3. Sam Ehlinger passed for five touchdowns and well over 400 yards. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put up similar numbers today over a Texas Tech team that really struggled in its opener against Houston Baptist.

Although Houston Baptist might have the best quarterback nobody’s talking about in Bailey Zappe, the Huskies shouldn’t have had a chance in this game. Texas Tech survived 35-33 at home but it wasn’t pretty.

Everybody on our staff, and probably everyone in the nation for that matter, is going with Texas over Texas Tech today. I have the Longhorns big over a dysfunctional Texas Tech team that has struggled under 2nd year head coach Matt Wells.

West Virginia at Oklahoma State

This is one of the more interesting games of the day. West Virginia impressed in its season opener with a 56-10 win over Eastern Kentucky. We’ll get to see a team that hung nearly 60 points go against one of the better defenses in the Big 12 today. We should learn a lot more about this West Virginia team than the opening game showed us.

Oklahoma State could be playing a freshman at quarterback after Spencer Sanders suffered an ankle injury last week. Shane Illingworth looked good in one quarter of play last week, but playing an entire game is different.

Our whole staff picked Oklahoma State. I went with OSU because I think the Cowboys defense will help keep the offense in the game, much like it did against Tulsa. If Sanders starts, the question becomes the health of his ankle. Does he look and play like he normally does? If Illingworth gets the start, the question becomes how well he plays and handles the pressure of his first Big 12 game.

Kansas at Baylor

The Dave Aranda era finally gets its start in Waco today! The Bears had two games canceled already but will take the field against Kansas this afternoon. I am interested to see how Baylor adjusts to a new coach. I think a lot of Big 12 fans are sleeping on Baylor just a tad. Aranda is a good coach and there is some returning production.

Kansas lost to Coastal Carolina (again) in its season opener. Maybe Les Miles is the coach to turn things around in Lawrence and maybe he’s not, but it was never going to happen in one season.

Our entire staff went with Baylor in this game for obvious reasons. I am excited to see Baylor play for the first time under Aranda and it should be a good day for the Bears in Waco.

The SEC is also returning to play this afternoon with a full slate of conference games. Here are some of our staff picks from games around the nation.

It should be a great afternoon of college football! Enjoy the games and let us know who you have winning in the comments!