Just like a coach who has to rally his team at halftime, it’s time for a rally with conference play fully underway. These Big 12 week five winners are going to have people asking, “Is Last Word back?” And not in the “Is Texas back,” kind of way either. Thanks to all the chaos of week four, the straight-up and ATS picks were both 3-3. The totals were uglier than Oklahoma’s rush defense. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it is hard to get much worse than 1-5. As always, all lines and totals are courtesy of BetMGM.
Season straight up: 24-9
Season ATS: 13-12-1
Season totals: 12-14
Big 12 Week Five Winners
#18 Oklahoma (-6.5) At TCU
TCU is catching Oklahoma at a bad time. Red River is on the horizon, and normally a letdown factor would be at play for the road team. But, the Sooners were flat-out run over at home last week by Kansas State. Head Coach Brent Venables will have his team re-focused for this one. The Sooners’ defense will be better, but still expect both sides of the ball to light up the scoreboard in Fort Worth.
Straight Up: Oklahoma ATS: Oklahoma Total (67.5): Over
Texas Tech (+7.5) At #25 Kansas State
Kansas State should be feeling good returning back to Manhattan this week. Texas Tech is going to aim to stop this powerful wildcat rushing attack. The Red Raiders are already ahead of schedule in Joey McGuire’s first season and will pose a challenge to Kansas State. Between Chris Klieman‘s desire to lean on this rushing attack, and Texas Tech’s inability to create chunk plays, the clock should continue to churn and points will be harder to come by in this one. Ultimately, the home team survives a scare from the Red Raiders.
Straight Up: Kansas State ATS: Texas Tech Total (57.5): Under
#9 Oklahoma State (+2.5) At #16 Baylor
Oklahoma State’s victory over Arizona State is becoming less impressive by the week. So the jury is still out on how good Oklahoma State actually is. Baylor has been mighty impressive under head coach Dave Aranda when playing in Waco in his two-plus seasons, having only lost two games. The Bears seem to be getting better with each week, but the cowboy should be ready to exact revenge. As the slight Road underdog, expect Mike Gundy’s Cowboys to bury the gut-wrenching loss from last year‘s title game and establish themselves as the favorite to win the Big 12 moving forward.
Straight Up: Oklahoma State ATS: Oklahoma State Total (56.5): Over
Iowa State At Kansas (+3)
Kansas as a home underdog normally would not raise any eyebrows. But, we have a 4-0 Kansas team with an explosive offense. Which has many in the conference still doing a double take at this evolved Jayhawk team. Conventional wisdom says Kansas has to revert back, at least a little, towards a team that hasn’t been ranked since a certain Last Word Big 12 correspondent was in his undergraduate years of college. Of course, they haven’t had a quarterback like Jalon Daniels either. Iowa State hasn’t done anything to suggest they can slow this offense down, so the Jayhawks stay unbeaten.
Straight Up: Kansas ATS: Kansas Total (57.5): Over
West Virginia (+9.5) At Texas
Can Texas prevent another tailspin from happening? It would be highly unlikely for quarterback Quinn Ewers to be back for this game, especially with Red River next week. West Virginia is more than capable of filling up the scoreboard in Austin. This is the game of all the Big 12 week five winners that could have the biggest big-picture ramifications for the rest of the season. With their proverbial backs up against the wall, the Longhorns survive a shootout with the Mountaineers.
Straight Up: Texas ATS: West Virginia Total (62.5): Over
