Welcome to Fact or Fiction Friday. Each Friday, I allow our Facebook and message board fans to ask the most intriguing questions in the Big 12 Conference, and I will tell you whether they come true or if they are set to fail.
Now, let’s crack open this week’s list and see what we have in store.
Deion Sanders Cares More About Promoting His Son Than Colorado
Fiction: I would like to believe that this is not true. Deion Sanders still wears Colorado gear, and I have yet to hear him say one negative word about the university itself. And while he is supportive of his son (who wouldn’t be?), I don’t think he is putting his son ahead of the team. Now does he say some wild things that make us scratch our heads? Absolutely, but deep down he would rather win games more than anything else.
UCF Will Rush For Over 275 Yards Against TCU
Fiction: Forget about having the best rushing attack in the Big 12, the Knights may have the best rushing attack in the country. RJ Harvey looks like a Big 12 player of the year candidate at running back and having KJ Jefferson as your quarterback is basically like have an extra runner out there. While I do think that UCF will have some success on the ground, I have a tough time seeing them run for that many yards on the road in Fort Worth. TCU knows what’s coming and I am sure that they will be prepared for it but with that said, I still picked UCF to win this game in a close one.
Oklahoma State Is Better Than What People Think
Fact: If Oklahoma State was a stock option, then this would probably be the cheapest time to buy after their game against Arkansas. Now I will say that Arkansas is better than what people probably think too so I don’t want to be too harsh on Oklahoma State. Their offense struggled in the first half but they did get their act together when it mattered most.
This team still has the best running back in the country with Ollie Gordon III and plenty of weapons on the outside with Brennan Presley and Rashod Owens. Of course, Alan Bowman has to be better, but it also helps to have an experienced offensive line and a defense that has a bunch of guys back from a year ago. I would also like to point out that the Cowboys got crushed by South Alabama last year and still found themselves in Arlington playing for a Big 12 title. Just because this teams may struggle a bit here and there; I wouldn’t count them out just yet.
BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston Will All Make A Bowl Game
Fiction: Just looking at the schedules here, Houston will be lucky to win three or four games with that bad offense of theirs and Cincinnati is in the same boat. However, BYU is a bit more interesting to me. Their schedule is somewhat favorable and that game against Houston in late November could potentially put them in a bowl game if they win. BYU has the best chance of making a bowl game out of these three but there is no way that all three of them are going bowling this season.
The Mountain West Will Win Two Games Against The Big 12 This Weekend
Fiction: In a perfect world the Big 12 would go undefeated, but I must admit that I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those teams from the Mountain West took down a Big 12 team this weekend. The question is who would it be? Would it be Colorado State beating Colorado? Air Force over Baylor? Or Wyoming taking down BYU? My gut would say Colorado but even with that, I don’t see the Big 12 losing more than one game against the Mountain West this weekend.
Utah Will Miss The Big 12 Title Game Without Cam Rising
Fact: Just take a look at what happened Saturday against Baylor. The Utes were opening up a can of you know what before Cam Rising got hurt late in the second quarter. His replacement was Isaac Wilson (the brother of NFL and former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson) and he definitely looked like a true freshman out there. As good as Utah’s team is they can’t expect to run the table with Isaac at quarterback. Just look at their record last season without Rising (8-5). I am sorry but if Cam Rising ends up missing a significant amount of time then Utah will be sitting at home during championship weekend.
