It’s hard to believe there are just two weeks remaining before championship week and so many divisional races are still up in there air. “But he’s tall and disruptive in the backfield, so it’ll be a good challenge for us”. Look at the drama heading into this weekend. How will Ohio State fare against its first ranked opponent, MI State? Speaking of that game against Tech, Bob Stoops would love to see the crowd get just as fired up to play the Horned Frogs as they were to see the Sooners take down the Red Raiders.
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Sports Illustrated’s Ben Glicksman and Colin Becht preview the Week 12 matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the MI State Spartans. Ohio State’s defense will be looking to shut Cook down.
Last week, this space was used to discuss the prospect of whether or not the Big 12 would get shut out of the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. Baylor has a 6:30 p.m. start on Saturday. #10 Utah 30 Arizona 37 (in 2OT)… Especially when there AREN’T four BEST teams. Since quarterback Vernon Adams returned from a fractured finger, the OR offense has been performing the way many expected it to at the beginning of the season. Adams has posted a 178.6 quarterback rating and has thrown for 12 touchdowns during that span. “We’re playing a great team in Baylor”. “We’re playing a lot faster and I’m a lot more confident in the offense”. He is averaging 20.5 yards on his 40 catches. After losing to Texas, the Sooners have been one of the nation’s top teams, averaging 55 points per game. Going on the road and beating a top-six team in the country by double digits, says something. We can assume at this point that the Committee puts a much greater “tax” on late-season losses than they do with early season slip-ups. “It’s not my nature”, Oklahoma State’s peerless donor said in a telephone interview from Dallas. Last week, the website had Baylor ahead 0f Notre Dame.
It wouldn’t seem quite right for Oklahoma State to run through Baylor and Oklahoma and finish with its face pressed up against the Playoff’s glass, but it’s at least possible. Those numbers are flashy, but the potency of that offense depends on the health of TCU’s star quarterback Trevone Boykin, who suffered an ankle injury in last week’s game against Kansas. With that said, this is a chance for Oklahoma to really impress the College Football Playoff committee with strong play on both sides of the ball. Baker Mayfield has been stellar all season and finally grabbed the attention of the national media with his performance last weekend against the Bears.
Boston College at No. 4 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET: Yes, Notre Dame has a whole host of teams breathing down its neck waiting for it to screw up, but that’s not necessarily why this game is worth watching. It’s worth watching because it’s being played at Fenway Park and that’s freakin’ cool. If Notre Dame, which remains fiercely independent, sneaks in, two conferences will be left out to play in a meaningless bowl game. Now both teams are actually still in the running for a Pac-12 title, but a loss here would be a crucial blow to each. That’s a big blow to an offense that has been stagnant outside of its running game. UCLA has been the opposite.
Like any gamble, though, there’s a chance that it won’t pay off. There is a very real chance that OSU, OU, Baylor and TCU will all cannibalize each other as the season winds to a close.
OU comes into the game riding perhaps the best five game stretch in the nation this season.
Iowa can clinch the Big Ten West with a victory against Purdue or a Northwestern win at Wisconsin.
Texas Tech’s win over K-State has made them bowl eligible.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports.
