Big XII Week Two Predictions: Cake Walk

Colorado at Toledo - Friday Night 9pm ESPN
It was an ugly start to the season for the Buffaloes, who looked pedestrian on offense, and who let Colorado State march up and down the field on defense. Now Colorado makes a rare trip to Toledo on a Friday Night looking to avoid an 0-2 start that would almost assuredly help seal Dan Hawkins fate in Boulder. That said, he should live to see another day, as Colorado will finally give electric sophmore tailback Darrell Scott more touches, and he will have a breakout day for the Buffs.  Colorado 35 - Toledo 13

Arkansas Stata at Nebraska - 2pm
The Huskers under Bo Pelini have taken a giant step in the right direction. They now beat the teams they need to beat, and they do it emphatically. Case in point, the 49-3 thrashing they gave Florida Atlantic last week. While there are questions about the speed of their secondary, the Huskers front 7 will control the play on defense, and expect a lot of big time plays on offense. This one won't be pretty for Arkansas State. Nebraska 42 - Arkansas State 10

Iowa at Iowa State - 12:05pm
Never underestimate rivalry games, especially when one school has a new coach looking to make his mark in the state of Iowa, and the other team struggled to beat 1-AA Northern Iowa. The Cyclones, coming off a 37-17 win vs North Dakota State, have a dynamic playmaker at QB in Alex Arnaud, but the question is will the other skill players step up? Unfortunatley for Cyclone fans it probably won't be the case today. Expect a big day from Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi, looking to put his mediocre performance last week behind him, but don't expect a blowout.  Iowa 28 - Iowa State 17

#2 Texas at Wyoming - 3:30pm
Wyoming is a program that has a new coach in Dave Christensen, one Texas staff knows well. He was of course Missouri's offensive coordinator for 8 seasons, in which he helped turn Missouri into an offensive juggernaut. Oh and he had Chase Daniels and Jeremy Maclin's help too. Sadly, he would probably settle for Reggie Ball at this point, because right now Wyoming is just void of talent. Colt McCoy will get a half of work, and then freshman Garrett Gilbert will take the reigns of the offense for the second week in a row as he looks to turn into the next big Longhorn QB. Texas 56 - Wyoming 7

Houston at #5 Oklahoma State - 3:30pm
Okie State survived a first half ripe with mistakes and bad bounces only to come back strong and abuse Georgia throughout the second half. Houston is not Georgia, but they are no slouches either. Expect a letdown from Oklahoma State for a half or so, but the big play capabilities of Robinson, Bryant and Hunter will be too much for Houston to overcome.  Oklahoma State 45 - Houston 24

Idaho State at #13 Oklahoma - 7pm
Landry Jones is not Sam Bradford, but vs Idaho State it won't matter. Oklahoma has to make a statement with Miami only two weeks away, and it starts Satuday. A bomb is going to be dropped in Norman this weekend.   Oklahoma 63 - Idaho State 3

Bowling Green at #25 Missouri - 7pm
If you want to know who the top performer in the Big 12 was last week, look no further then Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert, who threw for 319 yards and 3 TD in his first collegiate start vs what was supposed to be a solid Illinois team. Gabbert showed great accuracy and decision making, most importantly, no fear, as he carved up the Illinois defense. Bowling Green is coming off a big win vs Troy, a team expected to win the Sun belt, so they are no slouches on a mid major level, but this is the big time, and Bowling Green won't be able to keep up. Missouri 38 - Bowling Green 10

Kansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette - ESPN360 7pm
Bill Snyder's return to the sidelines saw a 21-17 victory over Umass. It was a solid, but unspectacular win that showed how much improvement is truly needed in Manhattan. Now they go on the road to face a Louisiana-Lafayette team that is going to be one of the front runners to win the Sun Belt. Expect some flashes for K-State but prepare for the worse if you're a K-State fan as the Ragin' Cajun's are not going to let their home fans down this weekend.  Louisana-Lafayette 28 - Kansas State 24

Rice at Texas Tech - 7pm
With Texas just a week away, the Red Raiders might get caught looking ahead for a quarter or so, but Mike Leach is too good of a coach for them to look ahead the entire game. Even without Harrell and Crabtree, the Red Raiders offense will make plays, though there will be some mistakes along the way. Regardless, Texas Tech should win easy.  Texas Tech 41 - Rice 17

#24 Kansas at UTEP - 7:30pm
The Jay Hawks have the Nations' most underrated QB - WR tandem in Todd Reesing and Dez Briscoe, and are going to put up points all season long as long as they are healthy. The real questions are on defense where Kansas doesn't have the athletes that other Big 12 schools have but they have a great coach in Mark Mangino who always finds away. Thankfully for them thoguh they have the horses to run with and around UTEP, even if it is in El Paso. This one won't be pretty for the Miners.  Kansas 35 - UTEP 7