In some ways, today is an elimination day in the Big 12. Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have established themselves as the class of the conference, and anybody hoping to have a chance to at least force a tie at the top of the conference is going to need a win against one of the two. And somebody is going to need to knock off Okie State pretty soon, period, if anyone else is going to have a chance.
Enter the games in Stillwater and Norman today. K-State gets its last chance to get a win over one of the Okie schools and salvage a chance at the conference title. Over in the Oklahoma City suburbs, Oklahoma will try to once and for all put an end to any lingering hope Texas A&M may have of winning the conference.
On the other end of the spectrum, Iowa State has a chance to move within one win of bowl eligibility, while KU gets its only realistic chance at a conference win this season. For one reason, I think a KU win in this game would be good for K-State. If Iowa State gets this win, then the Cyclones will almost certainly arrive in Manhattan on December 3 playing for bowl eligibility. A desperate ISU is a dangerous ISU, and I want no part of a Paul Rhoads/Wally Burnham/Tom Herman coached team that is playing for its very life.
Keep an eye on the Missouri/Baylor game, too. At 4-3, Baylor is in real danger of not achieving bowl eligibility if it can't beat the Tigers at home. The Bears still have KU on the schedule, as well as Texas Tech and UT, but they're having to sweat for a bowl game a lot more than anyone would have thought in September.
This week's Big 12 schedule is below. Check out this week's Buffet for the national action to keep an eye on. Of course, we all know what the biggest game of the week is, and it's taking place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. K-State's game thread will go live one hour before kickoff.
Texas Tech vs. Texas, Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas, 11:00 a.m., FX
KU vs. Iowa State, Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa, 11:30 a.m., FCS
Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma, Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Okla., 2:30 p.m., ABC
Missouri vs. Baylor, Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, Texas, 6:00 p.m., FSN