Forecasting the Big 12 South - Oct. 26

Texas got a little stronger in the Sagarins, as did Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and in a big way, Texas A&M. Texas Tech and Baylor got weaker. Right now, Texas is in a good position. We are favorites in all of our remaining regular season games, and would be 6 point favorites in Arlington over the highest rated Big 12 North team, Nebraska, who might not even win the Big 12 North. They have two conference losses (TT and ISU), and have a tough remaining game hosting OU. Texas has played three of the schedule's toughest four games so far. This Saturday night is #2, by the way.

Oklahoma seems to have righted the ship, but they are not out of the woods yet. They have two decent road games left, at Lincoln and Lubbock, representing two of the schedule's toughest four games. If they drop one, they finish 8 - 4 and are probably headed to the Holiday or Cotton Bowl.

Oklahoma State probably isn't as good as many think. The Georgia win just doesn't look as good now. Their four toughest games are still to be played, with Texas only being #2. If they win Saturday, they still stand an excellent chance of dropping another couple more. Would they be disappointed with a 9 - 3 record?

Texas Tech really blew it Saturday, and Texas A&M really grabbed an opportunity. Last week, I had Texas A&M with a 5% chance of winning this game. Where did that come from? Well, my records show that teams that are 22 point underdogs only win 5% of the time. Not only did Texas A&M win, they won by 3 TDs, which is really remarkable. In the last few years, the Big 12 South games where the spread was that big and the underdog won were-

2004: Baylor over Texas A&M in Waco (OT)

2005: TCU over Oklahoma in Norman

There have been plenty of other big spread games, and in the others the favorite wins. This was a huge, unexpected outcome, that dramatically changes both teams' fortunes. Tech now seems headed for a 7 - 5 record. If TAMU finished 6 - 6, I wonder if they will be a more attractive bowl candidate? Texas A&M's chances of reaching bowl eligibility have skyrocketed from last week, hitting over 32%. It's still that low because they are serious underdogs at Oklahoma and hosting Texas, while their other three remaining games look close. Warning- Iowa State is better than many thought.

Baylor will do well to match last year's 4 - 8 record. Their best chance for a win is at Texas A&M, but I doubt they get to sneak up on the Ags.

Iowa has a nice schedule the rest of the way (only four games). They host big underdogs Indiana, Northwestern, and Minnesota, and travel to play the Buckeyes. I figure they have about a 40% chance of finishing 12 - 0.