Big 12 Football: Week 5 Matchups and Predictions

Nonconference play has concluded. Week 5 offers six conference games.

In Week 4, every other team played their first conference game while TCU and Houston finished their nonconference slates. Week 5 brings us six conference games and the first two bye weeks of the season.

The league still has three unbeaten teams – Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Kansas, though, does travel to Austin this week, so one of those teams will see their first loss of the season. Oklahoma hosts Iowa State in their hopes of remaining undefeated after this week.

Dillon Gabriel and the Oklahoma Sooners look to stay undefeated this week. They host the Iowa State Cyclones in Week 5.  :: © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

BYU and UCF play their first-ever Big 12 games in their home stadiums. The Cougars host Cincinnati, while the Knights host Baylor.

TCU will host West Virginia, and Houston travels to Lubbock to face Texas Tech.

2023 Big 12 Predictions Results

On the season, I am 33-16 (.673) in predicting Big 12 games. Last week, I had BYU, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all winning. Instead, Kansas, West Virginia, and Iowa State won those games.

Here are the previous predictions from earlier this season:

• Week 1 – 10-4
• Week 2 – 10-4
• Week 3 – 8-5
• Week 4 – 5-3

Big 12 Week 5 Matchups and Predictions

All times listed are Central Time.

BYU (3-1, 0-1) vs. Cincinnati (2-2, 0-1)

Friday, 9:15 p.m., ESPN

It's Friday Night Lights in Provo. Two of the league's new teams face off as conference foes as BYU hosts their first-ever Big 12 conference game. Both teams are coming off losses last week. The line on this is only 1.5 points, so we should be in for an entertaining game. The crowd will help here, and BYU comes away with the win.

Pick: BYU

The last time Kansas traveled to Austin, the Jayhawks celebrated a win over the Longhorns / © Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Texas (4-0, 1-0) vs. #24 Kansas (4-0, 1-0)

Saturday, 2:30 p.m., ABC

Yes, you are reading this correctly. Kansas plays in Austin, and it's a ranked vs. ranked matchup. Kansas has had Texas' number a couple of times in the last few years, including two years ago, the last time the Jayhawks were in Austin. But this time, it's midnight for the Jayhawks, and Cinderella's time is up. The Longhorns are just too dominant across the board. Texas wins big.

Pick: Texas

Texas Tech (1-3, 0-1) vs. Houston (2-2, 0-1)

Saturday, 2:30 p.m., FS2

Tech has struggled this year. And their starting QB is now out. But they are in the friendly confines of Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock and not playing a ranked team. Plus, Houston has not shown us anything close to being impressive this season. It probably will be closer than Red Raiders fans would like, but Tech gets a well-needed win.

Pick: Texas Tech

UCF (3-1, 0-1) vs. Baylor (1-3, 0-1)

Saturday, 2:30 p.m., FS1

Welcome to the "Bounce House," Baylor. The Bears are already having a challenging season. They must travel to Orlando as UCF hosts its first-ever Big 12 conference game. Look for the crowd to be wild. They don't call it the "Bounce House" for nothing. UCF rolls, and those Baylor tears continue to flow.

Pick: UCF

# 14 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0) vs. Iowa State (2-2, 1-0)

Saturday, 6 p.m., FS1

Sure, the Cyclones got an unexpected win over one team from Oklahoma last week. It's doubtful they will make it two in a row. The Sooners are a much better team than the one we all saw last year. Yes, they could be looking ahead to the Red River Showdown next week, but don't look for this to be a trap game. Sooners will control it from the start and get an easy win.

Pick: Oklahoma

TCU (3-1, 1-0) vs. West Virginia (3-1, 1-0)

Saturday, 7 p.m., ESPN2

The Mountaineers seem to be exceeding expectations so far this year. They won the Backyard Brawl in Morgantown over Pittsburgh. Then they got another home win over Texas Tech. The only blemish on their record this year is a loss on the road to then-No. 7 Penn State. TCU, though, seems to be improving each week after that Week One loss to Colorado. These two teams seem always to play tight, close games. Look for that to be the case this week. However, in the end, TCU's defense will be too much for West Virginia, and the Frogs will win.

Read our complete preview of West Virginia here.

Pick: TCU

Big 12 Week 5 Bye Weeks

• Oklahoma State
• Kansas State

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