Predicting Texas-Kansas State and the Week 10 slate of games
A tone-setting Saturday awaits the Texas Longhorns as they leave the bye week for their final four games. It will be perhaps the most consequential and season-defining game of the year.
Texas faces the Kansas State Wildcats in what will likely determine whether or not the Longhorns are competitive the rest of the season. We have seen how Texas tends to play once they are eliminated from conference contention in years past. They may need to win on Saturday to keep the team engaged.
Other games across the conference have significance. Baylor travels to Norman to face Oklahoma and stay in the conference title race as well. Elsewhere TCU hosts Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will aim to fend off the pesky Kansas Jayhawks.
Let’s look at potential results of some of the biggest games.
TCU 34, Texas Tech 33
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
TCU is cruisin’ for a bruisin’ as some of their most recent games have gone down to the wire. An upset likely doesn’t happen this week but could be worth monitoring as the season unfolds.
Oklahoma 38, Baylor 37
Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune-USA TODAY Sports
These two teams are about as evenly matched as any of Saturday’s games. Baylor could play them tough, but Oklahoma might have the edge after a strong win against Iowa State.
Tennessee 41, Georgia 37
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
We could be in for another classic game involving Tennessee on Saturday. The Volunteers continue their dream season defeating Georgia on the road.
Oklahoma State 29, Kansas 27
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimately, Oklahoma State should bring a much better effort than they displayed against Kansas State. The Jayhawks could very well win, but the Cowboys earn a bounce back victory on the road.
Arkansas 31, Liberty 30
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Continuing the theme of close games, Arkansas sneaks past Hugh Freeze and Liberty. The Razorbacks have been up and down this season, but Sam Pittman gets the team ready and wins.
Alabama 48, LSU 27
Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
You are welcome to buy the LSU hype. As for this season, I’m not ready to start drinking the cool aid. Alabama is simply the better team.
Texas 28, Kansas State 23
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Saturday could be an ugly game. Leaving the bye week, the Longhorns may still have plenty to fix. My gut tells me to stick with my original prediction of Kansas State by three points. Even so, this is the kind of game Texas has won in recent memory. They do just enough to win.
Michigan 33, Rutgers 21
Bryon Houlgrave/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
Michigan is probably due a letdown game, and Saturday might be the right opportunity for it. The Wolverines face the middling Rutgers Scarlet Knights. They win less impressively than usual this week.
Clemson 24, Notre Dame 20
Dabo Swinney Football Camp 2021
Neither offense has proven trustworthy this season. Clemson wins a competitive road battle over the Irish.
Texas A&M 23, Florida 21
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
At some point a team with Texas A&M’s talent will win a game. They improve to 4-5 with a home win over the Florida Gators.
