Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
During the week three slate of games for the Big 12 Conference, the league finished with a solid 6-1 record in out-of-conference games as the Texas Longhorns’ lopsided loss at BYU was the only blemish last weekend.
No. 24 TCU will kick off this weekend’s games with a trip across the Lonestar State to Lubbock to face Texas Tech Thursday night on ESPN. The other seven members of the Big 12 will all be in action against out-of-conference opponents on Saturday.
With that, let’s get to the picks for week three in the Big 12 Conference.
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No. 24 TCU at Texas Tech
TCU will have to turn to sophomore quarterback Trevone Boykin on the road in Lubbock against Texas Tech as senior quarterback Casey Pachall will be on the shelf after injuring his non-throwing arm last week in a win over Southeastern Louisiana.
Pick: Texas Tech 42, TCU 28
Tulsa at No. 14 Oklahoma
The Sooners will start Blake Bell at quarterback this weekend against Tulsa after freshman quarterback Trevor Knight was ruled out for the next two weeks with a bruised knee. Bell entered last Saturday’s 16-7 victory over WVU after Knight was ineffective in the second half after playing satisfactory in the first 30 minutes.
Pick: Oklahoma 35, Tulsa 10
Iowa at Iowa State
The state of the two football programs in the Hawkeye state is a little bleak to this point in the season with both the Hawkeyes and Cyclones losing winnable games in the first two weeks of the season. The team from Iowa City takes home the Cy-Hawk Trophy in the rivalry’s 2013 edition.
Pick: Iowa 20, Iowa State 17
Massachusetts at Kansas State
After its opening week upset loss to North Dakota State at home, Kansas State has righted the ship with a 48-27 victory over Louisiana Lafayette last week and will look to get over .500 against a winless UMass team in Manhattan.
Pick: Kansas State 49, Massachusetts 7
Kansas at Rice
While not being able to pull the upset over Texas A&M on the opening weekend of the 2013 season, Rice did give the Aggies a decent fight at College Station in a 52-31 losing effort two weeks ago. The Owls will take the confidence earned from that game to win their first game this season against the Big 12’s doormat.
Pick: Rice 24, Kansas 14
Lamar at No. 12 Oklahoma State
The cloud of this week’s Sports Illustrated special report on the paying Oklahoma State player scandal during the Les Miles era in Stillwater will hang over the team this weekend, but will not make a difference in the score on the field.
Pick: Oklahoma State 56, Lamar 0
No. 25 Ole Miss at Texas
The appointing of former Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Greg Robinson to the same position for the Longhorns might not be the answer for Texas’ struggles in the early part of the season. The Rebels are averaging more than 230 yards rushing against a UT defense ranked 121st in the nation and giving up more than 320 on the ground.
Pick: Ole Miss 30, Texas 28