At least Texas has this going for it However, with the move to the PAC-10 next season, Colorado wanted to move on. Hawkins may regret leaving Boise State, a program he helped build up to what it is today.
Instead, he went to the big conference and got his ass beat. In his second year, Hawkins seemed to have the program back in some generally good direction. The Buffs went 6-6 and 4-4 in conference.
It all went downhill. From six wins to five to three. This year, the Buffs are 0-5 in conference, which included allowed a mammoth comeback by a bad Kansas team last week in Boulder.
As a fun side note, this is the second firing of a coach of local interest that had his son playing quarterback for the team (Todd, Riley Dodge at UNT).
Kansas State (6-3, 3-3) vs. Missouri (7-2, 3-2)
With Nebraska all but sown up the Big XII North, Mizzou and K-State have little to really play for outside of pride and winning for winning's sake. I suspect Mizzou will look to take care of business at home and keep the pressure on Nebraska.
San Diego State (7-2, 4-1) vs. TCU (10-0, 6-0)
TCU's allowed 23 points in six games. The offense has scored less than 30 points once (Colorado State, 27-0). Still, the Frogs shouldn't sleep on the Aztecs. They average almost 450 yards per game on offense. Even at home, the Frogs need to be focused following the huge win over Utah.
Iowa State (5-5, 3-3) vs. Colorado (3-6, 0-5)
I suspect the Cyclones to win this game and get to six wins for another bowl appearance. Including last year's seven-win team, Paul Rhodes' tenure at Iowa State has been impressive ... in terms of Iowa State football.
Texas Tech (5-4, 3-4) vs. Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2)
If this game were in Lubbock, I'd sound the alarm. I think Bob Stoops will put a boot in his team's ass following last week's turd in College Station. As much as OU's rebounding, Tech's coming off a huge win at home against Mizzou. Two teams coming off very different weeks.
Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2) vs. Baylor (7-3, 4-2)
Who knew that this would probably be the marquee match-up in Big XII football in mid-November? Baylor is 4-0 at home and they score big on familiar turf. Aggies riding the wave of Ryan Tannehill. The thought of A&M possibly being a top 20 team chills me to my bones.
Kansas (3-6, 1-4) vs. Nebraska (8-1, 4-1)
Nebraska can be susceptible to the let-down game with an easy schedule to end things until the Big XII Championship game. At best, Kansas strives to be "plucky."
Oklahoma State (8-1, 4-1) vs. Texas (4-5, 2-4)
When's the last time Texas lost four in a row? When's the last time they lost four in Austin? The answer to these questions on Sunday will be "2010."
UNT (2-7, 2-4) vs. Middle Tennessee (3-5, 2-2)
UNT's scored 68 points in their last two games with Riley Dodge running things. Again, UNT will have a shot at winning their third game. Middle Tennessee allows almost 400 yards of offense per game.
Southeastern Louisiana (2-7 ,1-4) vs. SFA (7-2, 4-1)
The Lumberjacks should cruise here.
