College Football Picks: Big 12 Conference Championship
The regular season is over and conference championships are upon us as the top teams try to grab their spot in the College Football Playoff. We have a full Saturday of conference title games, including a rematch of the Baylor Bears and Oklahoma Sooners for the Big 12 Championship at noon. Let’s break down the matchup, look at odds at online sports betting sites and make our college football picks for the Big 12 Championship game.
College Football Conference Championship Odds
College Football Conference Championship Odds
- Oregon vs. Utah, O/U 46.5
- “Baylor vs. Oklahoma -8.5, O/U 64
- Georgia vs. LSU -7, O/U 55
- Virginia vs. Clemson -28.5, O/U 55.5
- Wisconsin vs. Ohio State -16.5, O/U 56.5
Big 12 Championship College Football Picks
Baylor vs. Oklahoma -8.5, O/U 64 (12 p.m. Eastern)
Opened: Oklahoma -10, O/U 61.5
74% of bets are on Baylor and 73% on the Under as of Wednesday morning, per VegasInsider.com.
The Baylor Bears get another shot at the Oklahoma Sooners. The first time they played — just a few weeks ago — Baylor jumped out to a 28-3 lead and looked like they were on their way to an undefeated Big 12 record. Jalen Hurts had something to say about that. The Sooners rallied behind their prolific offense as Hurts threw four touchdowns, keeping Oklahoma’s playoff hopes alive. At sixth and seventh respectively, Oklahoma and Baylor both have an outside chance to make the College Football Playoff with a win Saturday.
Oklahoma closed as 10.5-point favorites in their first meeting; similarly, Oklahoma opened as 10-point favorites and the Big 12 Championship game opened with a 61-point total. With heavy action on Baylor, the spread has been bet down to -8. Despite the majority of tickets on the Under, the total has moved up to 64.
Return of CeeDee Lamb
Baylor’s defense has been stout all season, allowing just 4.77 yards per play, which is more than impressive in a Big 12 conference where defenses encounter fast-paced, spread offenses nearly every week of the season. The defense also has 28 takeaways on the season.
As Oklahoma showed by storming back on Nov. 16 to outscore the Bears by 24 points in the second half, Lincoln Riley’s play-calling paired with Jalen Hurts can be lethal regardless of the defensive unit waiting on the other side of the ball. Another thing that seems forgotten about that game is that the Sooners were without Hurts’ favorite target and Biletnikoff Award finalist, CeeDee Lamb. Lamb is a first-round talent, and he leads the country with 14 receiving touchdowns while averaging 24.7 yards per catch. Lamb is one of the primary reasons why Oklahoma leads the nation in total offense (574.7 yards per game) and yards per play (8.4). His presence was missed in the regular season game against Baylor and he’ll be a welcomed addition for OU bettors this time around.
Reasons to doubt Baylor
Aside from the addition of Lamb, there are reasons to doubt Baylor. First, Baylor only beat Rice — a C-USA team that finished 3-9 — 21-13. They also lucked out by a botched call against Texas Tech that would’ve resulted in a home loss. Texas Tech finished 4-8. That’s tough to look past. While Baylor has overachieved from a win-loss perspective, Oklahoma has been far more impressive this college football season.
I love that this game has been bet down to -8 and I think it’s a great spot to buy low on the Sooners.
My Big 12 Championship Betting Pick: Oklahoma -8.5
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