Lap Around the Big 12, Week 9

All right Fanatics…it’s time for our weekly lap around the Big 12 Conference.

I love this part of the season because divisional races are heating up, as well as bowl talk. That all combines for a good time this year for Iowa State Cyclone fans. It’s so nice to be relevant again.

Alright, I’m going to rank this week’s games on a scale of one to five (five being the best, minus Iowa State) on their order of importance/reason to care for Cyclone fans this weekend. Just my opinion on these games. Feel free to disagree. I’m sure you will.

Ready to roll? Great.

1 – Kansas State @ Oklahoma

Now I do realize that the Wildcats are currently the one team ahead of Iowa State in the North standings at this point in time. The reason I put this game at the lowest point of our scale is because, well, to be blunt, I’m not giving KSU a chance in this one. I predict that Oklahoma will win out and many think that K-State will lose out. I’m not ready to go that far just yet. I just don’t think that the Wildcats will be in the mix come the end of the season though, so feel free to watch something else.

2 – Texas @ Oklahoma State

This game has giant national championship/Big 12 South implications but really, it doesn’t mean much for Iowa State other than possible bowl positioning waaaaaay down the road. Will it be fun to watch? Yes sir. Does it really affect the Cyclones? Not really.

3 – Kansas @ Texas Tech

A loss would put the Jayhawks at 1-3 in league play. That’d be a good thing for Iowa State. This should be a fun game to watch. Expect a lot of points to be scored in this bad boy, if you like that sort of thing.

4 – Nebraska @ Baylor

This game interests me mainly due to the fact that these are the last two teams Iowa State has played. Will Nebraska start Cody Green? Can Nebraska score? Will the Baylor crowd put the Huskers to sleep? A loss here could all but end Nebraska’s hopes to play for a Big 12 championship. A date with Oklahoma looms next week for the Huskers.

5 – Missouri @ Colorado

I understand how many of you may be rolling your eyes while reading this. Hear me out though. With a loss, Mizzou is 0-4 in conference play. That essentially puts the Tigers out to pasture. This has relevance because I really feel like Missouri has the easiest conference schedule remaining at this point in time (see story a couple below). Colorado is no threat to Iowa State in my opinion. The Buffs come to Ames in two weeks and there’s no reason to think that the Cyclones won’t win that football game. Eliminating Missouri from the equation would be a good thing. The Tigers have too much talent to not be a factor.