Tuesday FEPO: Big games and Big 12

There are many great college football matchups this Saturday, including that one everyone is talking about or will be talking about. But then we've also got some solid Big 12 games for Jon and I to pick, For Entertainment Purposes only, of course.

A week ago, my Mizzou pick cost me a game as Jon went 5-5 to get to 32-28, just one game off my overall pace of 33-27 after a 4-6 week.

Baylor (-8.5) over West Virginia, 11 a.m. FS1
Milan-Puskar Stadium, Morgantown WV

LT: With apologies to Jake Waters, this might just be be a matchup of the two best quarterbacks in the league. Bryce Petty is clearly the head of his group, even with his injury, but Clint Trickett has been solid this year. However, the Bears are going to be a little too good here, and I think the Baylor defense will be playing a chip on its shoulder. Bears cover.

JM: I'm sort of surprised this line is this low. West Virginia is vastly improved over last year's disaster film, but Baylor stumbled across a power-up while completing level 6-4 of Super Wacio World last week, and it's just going to be too much for the Mountaineers. Bears cover.

ALABAMA (-11.5) over Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m. CBS
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa AL

LT: I am not at all a believer in A&M, and they just haven't done anything yet to prove me wrong. Kenny Hill is a decent quarterback, but they just don't play a lot of defense. Alabama does, and the Tide are going to roll in this one.

JM: Kenny Hill IS a good quarterback, but -- and this is, of course, knee-jerk -- I think we're seeing the biggest difference between Mike Sherman and Kevin Sumlin. That is, Sherman was able to recruit pretty awesome offensive lines to College Station, and Sumlin... maybe not so much. The line basically sabotaged Hill against Mississippi State, and the Tide's defensive line is going to have them for lunch. Alabama covers.

TEXAS TECH (-14) over Kansas, 2:30 p.m. FSN regionals
Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock TX

LT: Kansas and Texas Tech are two of the league's last three (ISU, obviously) winless teams, so that ends for someone this week. Of course, both teams took steps forward a week ago, including KU getting within a touchdown of Oklahoma State. But the Red Raiders had West Virginia (up 14 with 5 minutes left) yet managed to blow it. This time, though, the Jayhawks are just too bad, and Texas Tech will win by enough to cover.

JM: I am not falling for this stunt. I know I have been cruel to you and done horrible things, but you're still not going to trick me into picking the Jayhawks. Tech covers.

Oklahoma State (+9) over TCU, 3 p.m. ABC
Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth TX

LT: TCU has played well for a couple solid weeks. Of course, Baylor played better last Saturday and came away with the win while exposing TCU's defense. That's bad news for the Horned Frogs, even though the Cowboys don't exactly have a shut down defense. Still, they can follow the Baylor lead, and TCU has got to get tired at some point soon. Plus that's a really big spread. I'll take OSU in this one.

JM: The problem here is that Oklahoma State's offense is too one-dimensional with Dax Garmann behind center. Baylor may have shown the Cowboys a thing or two, but you can show me how to properly grill emu all you want and it won't matter if I have no emu. Frogs cover.

FLORIDA STATE (-7) over Notre Dame, 7 p.m. ESPN
Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee FL

LT: A lot of people have been doubting the Seminoles this year for a variety of reasons. They've played a a few close games, their numbers aren't exactly eye-popping, and of course Jameis Winston is one of the most polarizing figures in all of college football. At the end of the day, though, the Seminoles have won 22 games in a row. Notre Dame surprised me by knocking off Stanford, but that one was at home against a kind of shaky opponent. This is at FSU, and Notre Dame won't be able to cover that spread.

JM: Two words: North Carolina. One number: 43. Seminoles cover.

Tomorrow: Luke took all the good games. You know what that means. Big Ten, here we come.