CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big XII => Topic started by: Thumper on September 13, 2017, 11:12:47 AM
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Baylor @ Duke - Looks like another loss for the Bears.
ISU @ Akron - ISU needs to rebound from last week. They should handle the Zips
Kansas @ Ohio - Doesn't look good for the Jayhawks
KSU @ Vandy - KSU is favored over a 2-0 SEC team
Oklahoma v Tulane - Darn PPV game. Not good for a cord cutting Sooner fan.
OSU @ Pitt - Pokes are big favorites over an ACC team.
Texas @ USC - C'mon Horns!
TCU v SMU - TCU's highly ranked defense vs SMU's offense. Should be entertaining and a TCU win.
Texas Tech v Arizona State - Tech is favored over a PAC-12 team.
WVU v Delaware State - Should be an easy one for the 'eers.
Not a bad weekend. Big 12 plays 5 Power 5 teams and is favored in 3 of them.
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I gotta tell ya, I didn't think the Bears would get this ugly this fast.
Right now, they're playing with a walk-on secondary. Yes, a couple of players have returned, and some have had experience in past seasons, but essentially there's no depth there. That obviously limits pass coverage, but it also completely eliminates your ability to blitz or apply pressure creatively. The new players are trying their best, but they're liable to be standing right next to a receiver while he catches a 15 yard pass. They'll tackle him immediately, but they can't seem to do anything about the completion.
I've been puzzled, thus far, as to why the Bears have been playing Anu Solomon at QB - not because he's a poor choice, but because they show no attempt to use his legs as part of the rushing attack except for off-script scrambling (he's good at that). He's a good-but-not-great passer, but I think leaving his running skills off the game plan has made life unnecessarily difficult for an already outgunned makeshift OL.
They're going with Zach Smith this week. He should be a more smooth passer, but will virtually eliminate the threat of a scramble. I'm not sure how aggressive the Blue Devil defense is, but I'm not liking his survivability odds against the Sooners next week at all!
Baylor needs some wins this season to provide a plausible improvement scenario and keep the kids who committed interested. Otherwise, there's a real possibility of sliding back down the hill into the abyss. Right now, it's hard for me to articulate where that improvement will come from.
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Yeah, I knew Baylor was going to be bad this year, but I didn't think they'd be this bad.
Some interesting matchups in there. Aside from UT-USC of course, I'll be interested in KSU-Vandy, oSu-Pitt, and Tech-ASU.
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Wins: ISU, OU, OSU, TCU, TT & WVU
Oh so close: KSU & UT
Losses: Baylor & KU
Conference play starts next week and the Big 12 looks much tougher than last year.