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The Big 12 doesn't have an easy bowl path this year – something to remember when other media outlets post the results of the games and award spurious titles without any context.
Three of the league's eight bowl games feature Top 25 matchups, and four of the foes (Michigan, Alabama, Washington and Florida State) are in the top 13 nationally. In all, Big 12 bowl opponents have a combined win percentage of .732 (71-26), the highest of any conference’s bowl opponents.
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Kansas will appear in its first postseason contest since 2008.
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Oklahoma State is making its 17th consecutive appearance in a bowl game, which is the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
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The Big 12 is sending a nation-high 80 percent of its teams to bowl games, including No. 3 TCU making the Conference’s fifth appearance in the CFP Semifinals. The league is 10-2 in bowl games over the past two seasons.
THE PICKSThu Dec 22 | 7:30 PM*Baylor (6-6) vs. Air Force (9-3)Armed Forces Bowl | Fort Worth, TX | ESPNIt stands to reason that service academies, where discipline and effort are ingrained, will put forth good efforts in bowl games. Will Baylor match that? The gut reaction says yes, but if the Bears don't come ready to play this is game that the Falcons can easily win. And now we've talked ourselves into it. Air Force is the pick.
Tue Dec 27 | 10:15 PMOklahoma State (7-5) vs. Wisconsin (6-6)Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Phoenix, AZ | ESPNIt's hard to picture the Cowboys, with their problems down the stretch and key players entering the portal, being able to hold off Wisconsin, even though this Badger team isn't one of its more powerful iterations. Veterans of this bowl game can attest to its weird vibe in a baseball park with awkward seating configurations and no local interest or support.
Wed Dec 28 | 5:30 PMKansas (6-6) vs. Arkansas (6-6)Liberty Bowl | Memphis, TN | ESPNThe Jayhawks weren't able to sustain their fairy tale start, but they have to be happy to have made the postseason, and Memphis is a fun destination for first-time visitors. Arkansas gets none of that boost, thus KU is the pick to extend their bowl winning streak to four games -- with the last having come in 2008.
Thu Dec 22 | 7:30 PMTexas Tech (7-5) vs. Mississippi (8-4)Tax Act Texas Bowl | Houston, TX | ESPNTexas Tech enjoyed a good turnaround under first-year coach Joey McGuire, but draws a tough task in Ole Miss. The Rebels have enough offense to match the Red Raiders' solid attack, and a couple of Lane Kiffin wrinkles will be enough to take the trophy east.
Thu Dec 29 | 5:30 PMOklahoma (6-6) vs. Florida State (9-3)Cheez-It Bowl | Orlando, FL | ESPNWill Oklahoma have any motivation in this game? Its fanbase certainly won't, and a number of opt-outs will further hamper the Sooners. Florida State, rebounding after a tough stretch of several seasons, will ride that advantage, along with a big crowd in the stands, to a win.
Thu Dec 29 | 9:00 PMTexas (8-4) vs. Washington (10-2)Valero Alamo Bowl | San Antonio, TX | ESPNThe Huskies narrowly missed a shot at the Pac-12 championship game, and put up points aplenty this year. Texas is more solid than it has been in recent seasons, but U-Dub's better quarterback play will allow them to invade what amounts to a home UT venue and come out with a victory.
Sat Dec 31 | 12:00 PMKansas State (10-3) vs. Alabama (10-2) Allstate Sugar Bowl | New Orleans, LA | ESPNAgain, it's the 'M' word -- motivation, that reigns supreme here. Will Alabama care as it's in a game short of the CFP? K-State, as it showed against TCU, is the type of team that can take the best shots from an opponent, keep grinding, and come out with a win. The Tide only wins if Nick Saban can coax an effort from his team commensurate with its talent. Bama is reportedly not suffering any opt-outs for the bowl, and even though the Wildcats are a tempting pick, this is the kind of situation where the Tide often excels. They are the pick to add another major bowl trophy to their case.
Sat Dec 31 | 4:00 PMTCU (13-1) vs. Michigan (13-0)CFP Semifinal (Fiesta Bowl) | Tempe, AZ | ESPNThe Horned Frogs are being given little more than a puncher's chance in this one, and while their succession of comebacks and exciting wins has been fun to watch, there's something a bit ruthless about this Michigan team. They'll use a superior size advantage to wear down the Frogs and move on to the CFP title game.
*Eastern Time
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Mountaineer takes a helping hand to his partner. Teamwork and trust concept
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A sign hung in the Mountaineer locker room throughout the offseason that said simply, “42-6.”
That sign served as a constant reminder of the beatdown Iowa State put on West Virginia in the 2020 regular-season finale.
It served as a motivating factor for not just the ’21 rematch against the Cyclones but also for the entire season to come.
The 2021 campaign started slow for WVU, as it was 2-4 at the midway point, but things started to turn around with a 29-17 win at TCU last week. Then this Saturday, West Virginia’s offseason motivation strode into Mountaineer Field with a No. 22 ranking.
“Honestly, that was the motivation for our entire offseason,” said WVU linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo. “That same team out there embarrassed us last year. We had some ongoing problems last year because of COVID and things like that, but the product we put on the field was embarrassing. So, they motivated us and the entire program.”
West Virginia got its revenge Saturday, pulling out a hard-fought, 38-31 victory over the Cyclones. It is the second win for WVU this season over a ranked opponent, having defeated then-No. 15 Virginia Tech, 27-21, earlier in the year.
The Mountaineer defense needed to make two fourth-quarter redzone stands to hold on to the victory over ISU.
“We put in a lot of work this week,” explained Chandler-Semedo. “As I said earlier, that team embarrassed us last year. We had a little extra mojo because of that. We worked on everything to get ready. We were prepared to play a four-quarter game, even longer than that if necessary. Whatever it took.”
West Virginia’s defense got huge stops at the end, and for most of the game, WVU’s offense was also coming up big. Before its trip to Morgantown this weekend, Iowa State had the best scoring defense in the Big 12, limiting opponents to 17.0 points per game.
The Mountaineers hung 38 on ISU, though. It equaled the most points West Virginia had scored in Neal Brown’s three years as head coach against a Big 12 foe, and it was the most the Cyclones had given up since a 42-41 loss at Oklahoma in 2019.
“We had a huge chip on our shoulder coming into this game,” admitted WVU quarterback Jarret Doege, who completed 30 of his 46 pass attempts Saturday for a career-high 370 yards. “We really wanted to make a statement on how good a team we are. When we do our job and do the things we’re coached to do, we can be a really good football team.”
Wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton accounted for six receptions and 106 of those passing yards Saturday. He also had two highlight-reel touchdown catches.
Ford-Wheaton was unable to make the trip to Ames last year because of COVID. While he wasn’t on the field for the 36-point blowout loss, he said the loss still hurt, even though he was 860 miles away.
“I felt helpless watching us get beat like that from home,” remembered Ford-Wheaton. “Everybody took that personally, and we had a chip on our shoulder the whole week — really, the whole year. We knew we had to go get one back against them. It was a big point of emphasis. We had to get physical, defense and offense, and we did that.”
Another Mountaineer who took last year’s loss personally was running back Leddie Brown. Brown was limited to 65 rushing yards on 20 carries at Jack Trice Stadium last season, but he powered his way to 109 yards on the ground in 22 attempts in this year’s revenge match.
“We knew coming into this that it was going to be a four-quarter game, and we had to fight through all four quarters. We did that. We didn’t fold under pressure,” said Brown, who has 2,465 career rushing yards, placing him ninth in WVU history.
And now the “42-6” sign can come down.
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