November 21st Weekend

Big 12 This Week

Thursday November 19th

(3-7) Colorado @ (8-2) #12 Oklahoma State

The 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys will look to take advantage of the struggling Colorado Buffaloes this Thursday night, as the two Big 12 clubs clash in Stillwater. The Cowboys have enjoyed a terrific campaign up to this point and they are coming off another solid win, capturing a 24-17 victory over Texas Tech this past weekend.

The win was the team's second in a row following OSU's lone league loss to Texas back in late October. At 5-1, the Cowboys remain in sole possession of second place in the Big 12 standings, with only rival Oklahoma remaining on their regular season schedule.

As for the Buffs, their miserable campaign continued last weekend, when the team suffered a 17-10 loss at Iowa State. The loss was Colorado's 10th straight in true road games and its 12th in a row outside the state of Colorado, as the team was eliminated from postseason contention at just 3-7 overall.

Colorado does lead the head-to-head series with the Cowboys, 26-18-1, but OSU won last season's meeting by a 30-17 score.

Saturday November 21st

(5-5) Kansas @ (10-0) #3 Texas

The third-ranked Texas Longhorns aim for their 11th win of the season and a Big 12 South Division title, as they play host to the Kansas Jayhawks in conference action this weekend.
Mack Brown's Longhorns moved to 10-0 on the year with last week's 47-14 drubbing of Baylor in Waco. With the victory over the Bears, UT posted its ninth straight season with at least 10 victories, the longest streak in the nation. Texas seeks back-to-back 11-win campaigns for just the third time in school history and is closing in on the Big 12 South title, leading Oklahoma State by a game in the standings with two left on the docket.

Standing in UT's way is the struggling Kansas Jayhawks. It has been a tale of two seasons for Mark Mangino's team, which has spoiled a 5-0 start to the year, with five consecutive losses, including last week's 31-17 setback against Nebraska. It was just recently announced that Mangino is the subject of an internal review relating to a personnel matter, confirmed by Jayhawks Athletic Director Lew Perkins.These two teams have meeting for the 10th time, with Texas winning seven of the previous nine matchups, including seven straight entering this season.

(6-5) Kansas State @ (7-3) Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers play their final home game of 2009 this weekend as they entertain the Kansas State Wildcats in a Big 12 Conference showdown in Lincoln. Currently sitting at 7-3, the Huskers are 4-2 in league action and will close out the regular season altogether with a trip to Colorado on November 27th. The team was on the road last weekend and turned that experience into a 31-17 triumph against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Nebraska scored in every quarter against Kansas last Saturday, but it wasn't until Roy Helu logged a pair of rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter that the Huskers could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Helu, who recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the first half, finished the outing with 28 carries for a game-high 156 yards and three touchdowns overall. The team's rushing attack accounted for 214 yards on 42 attempts, while Zac Lee converted 13- of-21 passes for another 196 yards as well.

Against a once-feared Kansas program, the Huskers held their ground and allowed just 99 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Better still, KU quarterback Todd Reesing was held in check as he completed just 19-of-41 passes for 236 yards and a score. Barry Turner accounted for four tackles for the visitors, with two of those coming up as stops behind the line of scrimmage for Nebraska. The 17 points allowed by Nebraska were actually the second-highest total of the campaign behind the 31 points produced by Texas Tech back in the middle of October. Because points have been hard to come by for the opposition, it should be understandable that the Huskers currently own the top scoring defense in the conference and the third-best squad in the nation this week, permitting a mere 11.0 ppg. Five times this squad has given up less than 10 points on the campaign, turning the trick three times in the first four games of the season. Leaders on the unit include Jared Crick (nine sacks, 14 TFLs) and Ndamukong Suh (five sacks, 13 TFLs, three blocked kicks).

As for Kansas State, it has alternated wins and losses over the last four outings as the 6-5 team approaches the end of the regular season. Last week, KSU was throttled by Missouri in a 38-12 final, leaving the hometown fans little to cheer about as the 'Cats dropped to 4-3 in conference.
The Huskers hold a significant lead in the all-time series with K-State at 76-15-2 entering play this season.

(6-5) Iowa State @ (6-4) Missouri

The Iowa State Cyclones will try to guarantee themselves a winning campaign this weekend, as they conclude their regular season slate against the Missouri Tigers in Big 12 play at Faurot Field.

The Cyclones have been a pleasant surprise under first-year head coach Paul Rhoads and last weekend they clinched bowl-eligibility with a 17-10 win over Colorado. The triumph snapped a two-game slide and pushed ISU to 6-5 overall, tripling its win total from last season and making the program eligible for the postseason for the first time since 2005. A win this weekend would secure a winning record as well as an even finish in the always tough Big 12.

As for the Tigers, they too earned bowl-eligibility last weekend, scoring a 38-12 win at Kansas State. With wins in two of its last three games, Missouri now sits at 6-4 and is eligible for the postseason for a school-record fifth straight season. The Tigers, though, would obviously like to wrap up their home slate on a high note this weekend, especially considering they have dropped three straight games Faurot Field. Missouri leads the head-to-head series with ISU, 58-34-9, and that takes into account a 52-20 route in last season's clash.

(4-6) Baylor @ (5-5) Texas A&M

The Aggies need just one more win to become bowl eligible, but have failed in their first two bids at it, falling in back-to-back games at Colorado (35-34) and most recently, at Oklahoma (65-10). With the two losses, Mike Sherman's squad is just 5-5 overall and a mere 2-4 in conference play.
The Bears are even worse, sitting with just one league win in six attempts. Art Briles' squad was able to end a four-game losing streak with a solid 40-32 victory at Missouri on November 7th, but this past week found the team back in the loss column, with a humbling 47-14 home loss to third-ranked Texas.

This contest marks the 106th all-time meeting in this series which dates back to 1899. The Bears won last year's matchup in Waco (41-21), but A&M has won the last eight meetings at Kyle Field and has not lost at home to Baylor since 1984. With talented QB Robert Griffin playing in just three games this season due to injury, the Bear offense has had to adapt to a new signal-caller and it hasn't always been a smooth transition. Quarterback Nick Florence has done his best to lead the way to victory each week, but he doesn't have the versatility that Griffin possesses. Florence has completed 61.3 percent of his passes in the eight games he has played, but has six TDs against seven INTs. The Aggie offense is more potent than Baylor's unit and has the ability to move the chains on just about anyone. In all, Texas A&M is averaging a respectable 33.0 ppg this year, on 452.4 yards of total offense. Jerrod Johnson has been solid under center, throwing for 2,722 yards and 22 TDs, with a mere five interceptions.

(6-4) Oklahoma @ (6-4) Texas Tech

The Texas Tech Red Raiders wrap up the home portion of their schedule this weekend, as they host the Oklahoma Sooners in Big 12 play at Jones A&T Stadium.
The Red Raiders have been dominant at home this season, aside from a loss to Texas A&M, sporting a 5-1 record at Jones A&T Stadium. All five wins have come by 20 or more points, all the more reason the team should be confident heading into this bout. Unfortunately, TTU played its most recent game on the road, falling at nationally-ranked Oklahoma State, 24-17, over the weekend. It was the lowest point total of the year for the Raiders, who dropped to 6-4 overall and 3-3 within the conference.

As for the Sooners, they jumped back into the win column this past weekend in a big way, trouncing Texas A&M by a 65-10 score. It was quite a turnaround for Oklahoma, which was coming off 10-3 loss at Nebraska. The Sooners are now 6-4 overall and 4-2 within the conference, but only one of their wins has come away from home. Oklahoma leads the all-time series with TTU, 12-4, but the Raiders have won the last two meetings in Lubbock. Last season in Norman, the Sooners handed TTU its first loss of the year, 65-21, knocking the Raiders out of the national title race.

Navy this Week
(8-3) Navy has the week off and will travel to Hawaii for a game on November 28th against the Hawaii Warriors.