Some things to watch in Week 7 of the Big 12 season:
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 8 Oklahoma State (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) at No. 13 TCU (5-0, 2-0). The Big 12 will be down to one undefeated team after Saturday’s game between its highest-ranked and highest-scoring teams. This is the second week in a row the Horned Frogs play another undefeated team — they won 38-31 last week at Kansas on Max Duggan’s 24-yard TD pass to Quentin Johnston with 1:36 left.
Oklahoma State beat TCU 63-17 last November in the aftermath of coach Gary Patterson’s departure and a game Duggan missed with a foot injury. The Cowboys and Frogs average 46.4 points a game this season. Oklahoma State senior Spencer Sanders (278.8 yards passing per game) and Duggan (261) are the league’s top two passers. Sanders’ league-high 18 touchdowns (12 passing, six rushing) are one more than Duggan (14 passing, three rushing).
BEST MATCHUP
Texas running back Bijan Robinson vs. Iowa State defense. Robinson is second in the Big 12 with 107.5 yards rushing per game and has four consecutive 100-yard rushing games, one short of matching his career high. The Cyclones last week held league rushing leader Deuce Vaughn of Kansas State to 23 yards on 10 carries before he left the game midway through the fourth quarter with a leg injury. Robinson is the Big 12 leader with 141.3 total yards per game and 11 touchdowns scored (10 rushing, one receiving). Iowa State has allowed only 91 yards rushing, 278 total yards and just less than 14 points a game, all best in the Big 12 and top 13 nationally. The Longhorns average 445 total yards and about 39 points a game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Oklahoma has its first three-game losing streak since 1998. The Sooners on Saturday host No. 19 Kansas, which they have beaten 17 times in a row for their longest active winning streak over any team. … No. 22 Texas is home against Iowa State, which has won the last three games in the series after winning only two of the 16 before that. … The Cyclones have a three-game losing streak, with all of the losses by one score (11 total points). The last time they had three consecutive one-score losses was 1955. … Jason Bean became the first Kansas quarterback since 2008 with four touchdowns passes in a half after he replaced Jalon Daniels (shoulder injury) in the second half against TCU last week.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald IV has 32 1/2 quarterback sacks, just short of the Big 12 career record — 34 by Aaron Hunt for Texas Tech from 1999-2002. Von Miller had 33 at Texas A&M from 2007-10. McDonald had two sacks last week against Kansas State, and last year had 2 1/2 against Texas, this week’s opponent.
OPEN DATES
Oklahoma State and TCU were the only Big 12 teams to have their open dates in September, so both are playing their nine conference games over nine consecutive weekends. Baylor and West Virginia play Thursday night in Morgantown after their open dates last weekend. No. 17 Kansas State (5-1, 3-0) and Texas Tech have this week off, followed by Iowa State and Oklahoma on Oct. 22, and Kansas and Texas on Oct. 29. There are no open dates in November.
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