Campus Clash- Big 12 Championship
(11) Oklahoma Sooners at (7) Iowa State Cyclones
Oklahoma: They were expected to run away with this conference again. But things didn’t pan out how they expected. If you look at their last three or four seasons, they dominated the conference and it wasn’t close. After three years of stellar quarterback play, the Spencer Rattler experience started this season in Norman. I wish people would let this kid learn the ins and outs of quarterbacking. He’s only a freshman. Spencer will be fine a year from now. The last time I watched the Oklahoma Sooners play, it was Bedlam, the rivalry game against Oklahoma State. That was their best game of the year. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, but it was the defense for me that caught my eye. Now, they’re back in Arlington for another title game.
Iowa State: Head coach Matt Campbell has a nice thing building up in Ames. I notice a group of guys who want to play hard and leave everything on the field. There are many great quarterbacks in this game. Some names are bigger than others, but let’s talk about the one guy who makes this Iowa State Cyclones go. His name is Matt Purdy. When I watch him play, I notice a guy who wants to establish himself from a clean pocket. Also, he has great mobility to escape and extend the play to keep it alive. He’s one piece. The other is the star running back, Breece Hall. I can’t wait to see what he does at the next level in the NFL. Iowa State has been one of the best at running the ball in the conference as they’ve averaged 199 yards rushing. They’ll host Oklahoma on Sunday.
Oklahoma X-Factor: Isaiah Thomas– I like this kid and how he plays. I see him keeping this up in the future. He’s a defensive tackle that plays with great leverage, positioning and he can get after the quarterback. He leads the team in sacks with eight on the season.
Iowa State X-Factor: Xavier Hutchinson– This is who Brock likes to target in the passing game. When these two teams met in the regular season. Xavier scored the go-ahead touchdown that put the Cyclones ahead in the game and they ended up winning that game. He has great breakaway speed with the ball in his hands.
Final Analysis: When they last met, it came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Spencer Rattler turned the ball over late in which many thought was a penalty on Iowa State. Now, both teams are completely different, especially Oklahoma on the defensive side. I see this one being decided by offense once again. Oklahoma will need to bottle Hall up. Can Iowa State force the young quarterback into making more mistakes?
Prediction: Oklahoma 38 Iowa State 35
