Texas NCAA college head football coach Charlie Strong listens to a reporter's question during his weekly news conference, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (The Associated Press)
Things to watch in Week 5 of the Big 12 season, the first of 11 consecutive weeks when there will be at least three conference matchups, and the last with more than one non-conference game.
GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 7 Baylor at Iowa State. Yes, the Bears (3-0) are three-touchdown favorites going to Ames, Iowa, for their Big 12 opener, but they have lost their last two trips there. The Cyclones (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) are playing for the first time since winning at rival Iowa of the Big Ten, while Baylor has also had a break since three lopsided victories against teams from outside the five power leagues. Iowa State won 35-21 two years ago when Steele Jantz tied a school record with five TD passes, and in 2009 the Cyclones snapped an 11-game Big 12 losing streak with a 24-10 win over the Bears.
BEST MATCHUP: Two coaches named Charlie when Texas (1-2) plays at Kansas (2-1) in a Big 12 opener in which both could use a victory. Weis is in his third season trying to rebuild the Jayhawks, a last-place team from 2009-13. Strong took over a Longhorns team that won its last Big 12 title in 2009 and just this week dismissed starting offensive tackle Kennedy Estelle for a violation of team rules. Estelle is the ninth player dismissed by Strong in his first season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: No. 24 Oklahoma State hosts Texas Tech in the first of three Big 12 matchups on Thursday nights this season. The other two are in November, when Kansas State plays at West Virginia on Nov. 20, a week before TCU spends Thanksgiving night at Texas. K-State lost 20-14 at home to Auburn in a non-conference matchup last Thursday. ... Big 12 offenses are averaging 75 plays and 456 yards a game. Their opponents are averaging 71 plays and 350 yards a game. ... Through the first four weeks, there were 65 rushing touchdowns by Big 12 teams, and 63 passing TDs.
LONG SHOT: SMU is a nearly five-touchdown underdog at home against TCU (2-0) in the Dallas-Fort Worth game known as the Battle for the Iron Skillet. The Mustangs will have a first-time starting quarterback, their fourth different QB this season, facing a TCU defense that has allowed only 206 yards and 10.5 points a game. SMU (0-3) has been outscored 146-12 this season, including a 45-0 loss at Baylor in its opener.
IMPACT PLAYER: While senior Antwan Goodley has been out injured for Baylor, freshman KD Cannon has 14 catches for 471 yards (33.6 yards per catch) with five touchdowns. Goodley could be back this weekend, but Cannon has established himself as a big-time target as well for the Bears.
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Compiled by AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Fort Worth, Texas.
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Follow Stephen Hawkins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hawkaptexas
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