Big 12 Report – Week 2

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

7 minute read

Texas Christian at Southern Methodist (Fri. - ESPN2, 8:00 p.m.)
TCU gets a tune-up game in Dallas before their showdown next week at Jerry World against Ohio State. The Horned Frogs are favored by more than three touchdowns to topple the Mustangs as of Thursday afternoon. It's the standalone game on Friday night, so college fans will get a good chance to watch the TCU offense. The Horned Frogs are just 1-5 ATS in the past six non-conference games, including last week, and they're just 3-8 ATS in their past 11 games in the month of September. Lately they have started off slow before kicking it into high gear in the fall. SMU was whitewashed by Mason Fine and North Texas last week in Denton. The 'Stangs will be looking to get on track, but it's a tall order against a good TCU side. SMU enters on an 0-5 ATS skid, and they're just 2-6 ATS in their past eight appearances on a Friday. However, they're 4-1 ATS in the past five against the Big 12 and 10-4 ATS in their past 14 outside of the conference, so that could give TCU side bettors some pause.

Mississippi State at Kansas State (ESPN, 12:00 p.m.)
The Bulldogs of Mississippi State creamed Stephen F. Austin 63-6 in Starkville last week, covering a 47 1/2-point number. Meanwhile, Kansas State just barely hung on by the skin of their teeth at Bill Snyder Family Stadium against FCS South Dakota. The Coyotes led a good chunk of the game, and could have forced overtime. If the Wildcats don't clean things up against a Top 20-ranked team this week, they'll get run out of their own building. Mississippi State enters the game favored by eight points as of Thursday afternoon, and naturally the public is all over that by a 2-to-1 clip, especially based on K-State's poor performance a week ago. The Bulldogs are 5-1 ATS in their past six non-conference tilts, while K-State is 1-5 ATS in the past six at home.

UCLA at Oklahoma (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
The Bruins opened with an egg-laying at home against Cincinnati, while Oklahoma quickly quieted any talk of the Lane Train, Devin Singletary and FAU pulling off an upset last week in Norman. The Sooners looked like a powerhouse, thrashing FAU 63-14. The Bruins did not look good, falling at home to the Bearcats by a 26-17 count. They also lost QB Wilton Speight, the Michigan transfer, to an injury and he is questionable for this one. As such, Oklahoma opened as a four-touchdown favorite, and the number is up to 30 points. When is the last time UCLA has been an underdog by this many points? You only have to go back to 2011 in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon when the Bruins were 31-point 'dogs. They covered in a 49-31 loss to the Ducks that day.

Kansas at Central Michigan (ESPN+, 3:00 p.m.)
The Jayhawks are atrocious. While Nicholls State is an upper-level FCS team, there is no excuse for Kansas to lose at home in their opener to a team like that. Kansas is FBS level in name only, and probably would lose to many other FCS clubs, too. They'll take on their first FBS opponent of the season at Central Michigan. The Chippewas will be looking to avoid the upset bug and get their first win of the season. They lost at Kentucky last week 35-20 even though they created four turnovers. Penalties were an issue for John Bonamego's club, and that's something they need to clean up. CMU led 20-14 near the end of the first half, so they just didn't play 60 minutes of football. Kansas, they barely played a few minutes of football last week. These teams met last year, with the Chips winning 45-27. Kansas hasn't won on the road since Sept. 12, 2009.

Iowa State at Iowa (FOX, 5:00 p.m.)
The Cyclones got underway last week in Ames against South Dakota State, but Mother Nature had other plans. Inclement weather caused a lengthy weather delay and eventual cancellation, with no plans to make it up. Therefore Iowa State will open its season at Iowa with no tune-up before the rivalry game. Iowa pounded Northern Illinois 33-7 to cover a 9 1/2-point spread, as the Hawkeyes refused to let NIU add a notch to their upset belt. These clubs played an amazing and entertaining 44-41 game last season in Ames, decided in overtime. Tailback Ivory Kelly-Martin (ankle) is a question mark for the home side, so that's something to watch heading into Saturday's tilt.

Baylor at Texas-San Antonio (No national TV, 7:00 p.m.)
It looked like the Baylor of old last week against Abilene Christian, as the Bears racked up 55 points, 606 total yards of offense and 295 net yards on the ground. That was against an FCS school, though, and a road game against a mid-tier FBS team will be a much bigger test. UTSA had its doors blown off 49-7 at Arizona State last week. The Bears will have revenge on their minds in this one, too, as the Roadrunners tripped them up 17-10 last season in Waco. While Baylor had success running the ball against ACU, they did lose starting LT Josh Malin (knee) to a sprained medial collateral ligament and he will be sidelined at least a month. Baylor is 0-4 ATS in the past four outside of the conference while UTSA is 0-4 ATS in the past four against winning teams and 0-5 ATS in the past five at home. Something's gotta give in this one.

South Alabama at Oklahoma State (No national TV, 8:00 p.m.)
The Jaguars of USA head to Stillwater with upset on their mind, but they are underdogs by 32 points. These teams met in Mobile last season, and the Cowboys humbled them 44-7 as 28-point favorites. You can expect more of the same, as the Jags lost last week to Louisiana Tech in their opener. Meanwhile, OK State crushed FCS Missouri State by a 58-17 count, nearly hitting the 45-point number. South Alabama is 4-11 ATS over the past 15 on the road, and 15-31 ATS in the past 46 overall. OK State is 6-1 ATS in the past seven non-conference games and 7-3 ATS in the past 10 against the Sun Belt.

Tulsa at Texas (Longhorn Network, 8:00 p.m.)
The Longhorns were beaten by Maryland for the second consecutive season, losing 34-29 in the neutral-site game in D.C. last week. Tulsa might be walking into a hornet's nest, as the Longhorns will be plenty angry after that embarrassing setback. The Golden Hurricane wasn't terribly sharp against FCS Central Arkansas, but they did taste victory 38-27 as 11 1/2-point favorites. They'll underdogs by more than three touchdowns in this one, and their defense, or lack thereof, might be their undoing this week. Tulsa is 15-5 ATS over their past 20 on the road, but just 7-19-1 ATS in the past 27 tangles with Big 12 foes. The over is 5-0 for Tulsa in their past five against the Big 12, but the under is 9-3 in the past 12 home games for Texas and 41-18 in their past 59 overall.

Other Games
Lamar at Texas Tech (No national TV, 4:00 p.m.)
Youngstown State at West Virginia (No national TV, 6:00 p.m.)

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