Unfortunate news has hit prior to Oklahoma’s game against Baylor as the Sooners’ best player is questionable to play tonight.
The Sooners offense may be jeopardy tonight.
No. 10 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1) star receiver—maybe the best receiver in college football—CeeDee Lamb is questionable for the primetime, nationally televised matchup against No. 13 Baylor (9-0, 6-0), according to a report from George Stoia of the OU Daily.
Breaking: CeeDee Lamb is questionable for tonight’s game against Baylor, sources close to Lamb have told me.
Lamb has been Lincoln Riley’s big play and go-to receiver all of the season. The junior has 983 receiving yards on 44 receptions, good for 22.3 yards a catch, and has hauled in 13 touchdowns.
Many of those touchdowns were short hitch routes that Lamb housed by breaking tackles and then evading an entire defense.
This is his first game to miss since his freshman season.
Oklahoma and Baylor will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
The “Fixer Upper” couple made a big entrance on a tracker with Chip behind the wheel.
Lee Corso and ESPN’s College GameDay crew were joined by two guest pickers in Week 12 who are practically as synonymous with Waco, Texas as Baylor is.
Fixer Upper couple and Baylor alumni Chip and Joanna Gaines showed up to Saturday’s broadcast, ahead of No. 10 Oklahoma’s game against undefeated No. 13 Baylor, in style on a tractor to make their picks. Unsurprisingly, Chip was super excited to be behind the wheel of that thing.
The Sooners are 10.5-point favorites on the road, and while Corso made his famous headgear pick, he did one of his classic fake-outs, first going with Oklahoma in what he called “an easy pick.”
But he quickly changed his mind in favor of Baylor, and Chip and Joanna joined him with some Bears headgear of their own.
"Wait a minute. That's the wrong head."
Lee Corso pump-faked Baylor fans with his headgear pick 👀
Their fandom for Baylor is well documented on HGTV’s Fixer Upper.
In 2017, former Baylor quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III appeared in an episode about renovating the house of a Vietnam War veteran. Griffin’s Family of 3 foundation partnered with the Gaines couple to make the project happen, and Chip geeked out over simply being in the general vicinity of Griffin.
The Oklahoma-Baylor game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
No. 10 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1) is in a primetime matchup with No. 13 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) with all the postseason implications on the line.
No. 10 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1) is in a primetime matchup with No. 13 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) with all the postseason implications on the line.
The Sooners suffered a heartbreak at Kansas State three weeks ago and survived an Iowa State comeback for the ages a week ago. Baylor is heading into this game winning an overtime thriller over TCU.
The winner of this game is well on their way to a Big 12 Championship bid and maybe a College Football Playoff berth.
Here is everything you need to know about Oklahoma’s game against Baylor.
WHERE: Waco, Texas
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. CT
HOW TO WATCH: ABC
HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network—KOKC AM 1520 and KRXO 107.7 FM in OKC, KMOD FM 97.5 and KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa (click here for more options if not in either of those markets)
Only five undefeated college football teams are still standing ahead of Week 12’s matchups: LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Minnesota and Baylor.
Two teams fell off this list following last week’s games, Alabama and Penn State, but they both faced other unbeaten teams so we knew we’d lose at least a couple. The Big Ten still leads the way with two teams, while the SEC, ACC and Big 12 each have one representative here.
Here are our predictions for how the five remaining undefeated teams will play and whether or not they’ll keep their perfect records alive in Week 12. They’re based on their upcoming opponents, how they’ve played so far, the College Football Playoff rankings and ESPN’s Football Power Index projections.
(All games are on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)
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No. 1 LSU Tigers 9-0
Wins: Georgia Southern, Texas, Northwestern State, Vanderbilt, Utah State, Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn, Alabama Chance of winning out: 42.4 percent Week 12 game: Ole Miss (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) Undefeated after Week 12: Yes
After handing Alabama its first loss of the season in Week 11, the Tigers are officially the hottest team in college football, and their chance to win out skyrocketed after being just 12.1 percent last week. Quarterback Joe Burrow solidified himself as the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, and he’s led the No. 4 offense in the nation through the roughest stretch of the schedule. LSU should have little trouble with Ole Miss this weekend, and the same goes for Arkansas and Texas A&M down the road.
Wins: Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, Indiana, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Maryland Chance of winning out: 62.7 percent Week 12 game: Rutgers (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN) Undefeated after Week 12: Yes
Oh man, this is going to be so brutal. It seems incredibly unlikely that Rutgers’ offense, which averages 280.3 yards per game, will be able to do anything a top-ranked defense that gives up 214.8 yards and fewer than nine points a game. The Scarlet Knights might not even get on the board, while Ohio State looks like it could put up 700 yards and at least 60 points against an opponent still searching for its first Big Ten win in 2019.
Wins: Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Charlotte, North Carolina, Florida State, Louisville, Boston College, Wofford, NC State Chance of winning out: 83.9 percent Week 12 game: Wake Forest (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Undefeated after Week 12: Yes
Forget about Clemson’s rough — but obviously undefeated — start to the 2019 season. The Tigers have found their rhythm against 68th strongest schedule, and they’re back to wrecking opponents. Their defense has been great nearly all season and is third in points against (11.5 per game) and fourth in yards allowed (251.5 per game). And now it looks like their offense has returned to its expected form, despite quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s four-way tie for the most interceptions thrown in the ACC. (But to be fair, he hasn’t thrown one in the last three games.)
In the five games since Clemson’s one-point win over North Carolina that no one can seem to forget, it’s averaging 52.6 points per game and has outscored opponents 263-55. It has the best chance in the nation to win out with just two regular-season games left, and that sounds about right.
Wins: South Dakota State, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State Chance of winning out: 1.1 percent Week 12 game: Iowa (4 p.m. ET, FOX) Undefeated after Week 12: Yes
We underestimated the Golden Gophers last week against Penn State, and clearly, that was a huge mistake. Won’t let that happen twice. Minnesota had a two-touchdown lead at one point against what is still a top-5 defense that was giving up fewer than 10 points per game.
Iowa also has one of the nation’s best defenses, but we’re picking quarterback Tanner Morgan — who’s No. 3 in the nation with 10.9 yards per attempt, behind only Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa — and the Golden Gophers to beat the Hawkeyes, even if the game is at Kinnick Stadium.
Wins: Stephen F. Austin, UTSA, Rice, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, TCU Chance of winning out: 4.4 percent Week 12 game: Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Undefeated after Week 12: No
It seems like every week we pick against the Bears, and ever week, we’re wrong. However, this time, it really seems like they’re going to lose in a game that could determine both teams’ fate in terms of the College Football Playoff. Baylor is coming off a close triple-overtime win against TCU last week, while Oklahoma barely beat Iowa State after blowing a 21-point lead. We’re predicting a similar ending. Quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will do some serious early damage before Baylor claws its way back. But in the end, we think this is where the Bears’ win streak ends.
Three teams were disrespected by the selection committee in the second College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday.
This is a subjective process, so it will never be perfect. But clearly, the committee holds some teams to certain standards and other teams to different ones. Some teams’ one-loss records hold up against undefeated squads, while other unbeaten teams can’t seem to do enough to get respect (even when they’re literally doing all they can). All wins and all losses aren’t equal, of course, but how is a win over a top-4 team less valuable than a loss to a top-4 team?
These rankings obviously don’t mean a whole lot in the middle of November because we have no idea what the College Football Playoff picture will look like in a few weeks. But they offer a little insight into the committee’s logic.
They also do a nice job of riling up college football fans, and the people who cheer for these three disrespected teams are right to be outraged.
No. 8 Minnesota (9-0)
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
What exactly do the Golden Gophers have to do to get a little respect? Plenty of people underestimated them against Penn State — For The Win included — but they took down a team the selection committee initially identified as the fourth best in the country. And the game was not nearly as close as the final 31-26 score. Minnesota was up, 24-10, at one point against a team just about everyone assumed it would lose to badly.
Minnesota debuted this season in the rankings at No. 17, which already seemed absurdly low. And then the Golden Gophers knocked off the No. 4 team and only rose to eighth, which is still the largest jump into the top 10 in the CFP era, per ESPN. Looking at the seven teams ahead of Minnesota, LSU is the only other that can say it beat a top-4 team, and it’s appropriately No. 1. But Minnesota should be higher than it is.
The logic for putting No. 4 at Georgia is its big wins against Florida and Notre Dame matter more than one bad loss to South Carolina. Minnesota has no losses, a massive win and a top-four strength of record, but it’s four spots behind the Bulldogs. We’re not saying the Golden Gophers should be No. 4, but anything less than No. 6 or even No. 7 this week is disrespectful.
No. 13 Baylor (9-0)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Unlike Minnesota, Baylor doesn’t have a win over a top-4 opponent. Actually, it hasn’t played a ranked opponent yet and needed triple-overtime to beat a TCU team that’s now 4-5. But the Bears are still undefeated and deserve to at least be closer to the top 10. Instead, their No. 13 spot is the lowest ranking by a 9-0 Power Five team in the CFP era, according to ESPN.
There are six one-loss teams and two two-loss teams ranked ahead of Baylor, and many one-loss teams deserve to be there. Despite Baylor’s No. 65 strength of schedule (which is still four spots higher than Clemson), it has the No. 3 strength of record, putting it higher than Auburn (No. 7) and Florida (No. 9). This undefeated Bears team should probably be No. 11, and if it beats Oklahoma this weekend, it needs to crack the top eight at least.
No. 18 Memphis (8-1)
Surprise! A team from a Group of Five conference is being disrespected. The Tigers have a two-point loss to Temple, which is important to remember. But in Week 10, they also beat a good and previously undefeated SMU team, 54-48, before having a bye last week. (And SMU actually dropped out of the rankings this week after debuting at No. 25, despite winning in Week 11. Just because the committee wants to add Appalachian State to the top-25 doesn’t mean it has to drop another Group of Five team.)
Memphis jumped three places in this week’s rankings, but maybe it should have been a couple spots more, especially when we know the committee won’t seriously consider a Group of Five team for the playoff anyway, regardless of record.
After Iowa State about upended No. 8 Oklahoma, the Sooners opened up as its smallest betting favorite of the year against Baylor.
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Iowa State about handed No. 8 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) a surprising, unexpected comeback win as the Sooners pulled out a 42-41 win over the Cyclones on Saturday
Now, Oklahoma heads to Waco, Texas, to take on No. 10 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) in a primtime matchup that has brought the presence of College GameDay to the Bears’ campus.
The Sooners have been huge favorites for most of the season, but oddsmakers think this will be their closest game of the season as Oklahoma opened up as an 8.5-point favorite over Baylor according to BetMGM.
Oklahoma was last this low of a favorite in the Red River Rivalry as 11-point favorites over Texas. The Sooners are 4-5 against the spread this year, including a 1-3 record away from Norman, Oklahoma.
“Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.”
Oklahoma will kickoff against Baylor at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
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