Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 10 of the College Football Season

The Big 12 is bringing it this weekend.

The league is hosting a trio of matchups with conference title implications, and the slate around the rest of the country looks fun, as well. Here is an Oklahoma State fan’s watch guide for the weekend.

Big 12 Schedule

TCU at Texas Tech — 6 p.m. Thursday on FS1
No. 23 Kansas State at No. 7 Texas — 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX
No. 9 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Oklahoma State — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Houston at Baylor — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
UCF at Cincinnati — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FS1
No. 21 Kansas at Iowa State — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
BYU at West Virginia — 6 p.m. Saturday on FS1

What a weekend for the Big 12 as the top six teams are all playing each other.

But the action kicks off Thursday night with TCU’s trip to Lubbock where a pair of proud Texas teams are still fighting to become bowl eligible in the midst of disappointing seasons. TCU is 4-4 with games against Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma after this, while Tech is 3-5 and closes the season with Kansas, UCF and Texas. All that is to say, both would benefit greatly from a win Thursday night.

Then Kansas at Texas kick off the battle atop the Big 12 standings on Saturday morning in Austin. Both teams are 4-1 in Big 12 play, and both teams have allowed 84 points in conference games. The winner’s path to Arlington starts to look a little more clear while the loser will have to hope for results elsewhere.

Bedlam — that’s really enough said, but what a treat. Not only does this game have the hype of it being the rivalry’s Big 12 finale, but it also feels like an Arlington play-in game.

Houston and Baylor are both 3-5 and probably not having the season they wanted, but the winner of this game has a shot at bowl eligibility. Houston follows this trip to Waco with games against Cincy, OSU and UCF — needing to win three of those four to be bowl bound. Baylor is in the same spot with games against Kansas State, TCU and West Virginia upcoming.

UCF and Cincy are both 0-5 in Big 12 play, but somebody has to get their first win this week.

The top of the conference battles end with Kansas’ trip to Ames. The Jayhawks are the only team in this six-team tournament (that isn’t actually a tournament) with two conference losses, so the Jayhawks can’t afford another loss. Iowa State still has games against Texas and K-State upcoming, so the Cyclones finding a way to win this one and add a bit of cushion would also seem huge.

Not to be overshadowed, the Mountaineers are still lurking in the Big 12 race with the Jayhawks at 3-2, and they host a BYU team that has been the best of the bunch when it comes to the league’s newcomers. The Cougars are a win away from bowl eligibility, but Saturday looks like their best shot to get it with games against Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State after.

There are legitimate stakes in every game.

Saturday Selections

Texas A&M at No. 10 Ole Miss — 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX
Jacksonville State at South Carolina — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPNU
No. 12 Missouri at No. 2 Georgia — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
No. 5 Washington at No. 20 USC — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 14 LSU at No. 8 Alabama — 6:45 p.m. Saturday on CBS
No. 16 Oregon State at Colorado — 9 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
No. 19 UCLA at Arizona — 9:30 p.m. Saturday on FS1

The Aggies are 0-2 against ranked teams this season but will get another shot Saturday in Oxford. Meanwhile, the Rebels are still lurking in the Big 12 West. With Alabama and LSU playing this weekend, an Ole Miss win and an LSU win would really make things interesting.

I said last week that I can’t keep putting South Carolina on these watch guides if the Gamecocks lost — and they did lose. But this is more about Jacksonville State. The other Gamecocks are 7-2 and a lot of fun to watch under Rich Rodriguez — who could be up for some big jobs after this season, especially if he knocks off an SEC team.

It’s a little odd seeing Missouri being good at football again, but the Tigers will truly be tested with this trip to Athens. If Mizzou can pull off the improbable, all of a sudden the Tigers are in the driver’s seat in the SEC East.

USC is still 7-2, but man, has this season gone downhill rather quickly. The Trojans have lost two of their past three (both to ranked opponents), and the USC defense has given up an average of 42.6 points a game in their past five games. Just in time for No. 5 Washington to travel down to LA.

Outside of all the fun the Big 12 has going on, LSU and Alabama is probably the game of the weekend. LSU is the highest-ranked two-loss team in the country, and the Tigers are 1-2 against ranked foes this season. But this just has the feel of an interesting one.

Colorado is running out of chances to become bowl eligible. At 4-4 the Buffs have games against Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State and Utah — needing to win two to go bowling.

If not for an early season loss to Mississippi State, Arizona would comfortably be a top 25 team right now. This is the Wildcats’ fifth straight game against a ranked opponent, and they’ve won the past two.