Big 12 Week 15 picks: Oklahoma State vs. Baylor, Louisiana Tech vs. TCU

Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard. (Photo by David Stacy/Icon Sportswire)

December 10th, 2020

It's the final week of the regular season for most teams, and the Big 12 is still fighting hard for a College Football Playoff spot.

Last week, Iowa State and Oklahoma clinched spots in the Big 12 Championship Game. This week, we only have two games, because of late cancellations for COVID-19 issues. This could have a big impact on Oklahoma's ability to make the CFP.

Let's get to the action, with the betting odds and picks you need for Week 14's Big 12 matchups.

#22 Oklahoma State vs. Baylor

Both teams have been struggling.

The Cowboys have lost three of their past five and almost dropped of the top 25. The Bears have lost six of their last seven games and have shown a lack of consistency on offense.

Baylor's rushing defense ranks in the middle of the pack in the country. The Bears allow an average of 170.4 rushing yards per game and have given up 17 touchdowns in eight games. Last year, Oklahoma
State running back Chuba Hubbard ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears.

The Baylor defense will need to step it up this year, if Hubbard can go in this game. He missed the last two games with an injury.

Chuba Hubbard had ten runs of 10+ yards when contacted BEHIND the line of scrimmage.

Three more than any other RB in college football.pic.twitter.com/YcFuqVlqs0
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 28, 2020

Baylor has won three consecutive games over Oklahoma State when the Cowboys were the favorite, and the Bears are is 5-0 against the spread when they are underdogs between 3.5 and 10 points. Oklahoma State is 2-7 ATS under the same conditions.

I like Baylor to keep this one close.

Pick: Baylor +6

Louisiana Tech vs. TCU

A Big 12 team has not faced a non-conference opponent since Sept. 19, and the Horned Frogs have definitely turned their season around, after a poor start. They defeated Oklahoma State last week and are now 5-4, after a 1-3 start.

The Bulldogs have won consecutive games, but they were against bottom-half Conference USA teams, and they lost to BYU and Marshall (which have a similar skill level as TCU) by a combined 49 points.

TCU quarterback Max Duggan also has some similarities to BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 43 yards and three scores. The Bulldogs defense will need to figure out a way to clamp down on Duggan if it wants to pull out an upset.

Something has to give, as both teams are undefeated ATS in December games over the past three seasons. This spread is just a little bit too high for my liking, so I will roll with the Bulldogs to cover in a loss.