The Baylor-TCU showdown could still be great with redemption this week

[caption id="attachment_20673" align="alignright" width="298"]Photo by Pat Carrigan Photo by Pat Carrigan[/caption] Baylor and TCU have shots to keep its showdown nationally relevant with redemption games this week. Each team enters the weekend with one loss, but both Baylor and TCU have the schedule to get back in the College Football Playoff mix. The issue is one we never saw coming for either Baylor or TCU: Quarterback. The Bears lost starting quarterback Seth Russell to season-ending surgery after the Iowa State game early in the year. True freshman Jarrett Stidham came in to start, and while he’s put up more than 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions, the former Stephenville product couldn’t lead Baylor past Oklahoma at home last week and now he is listed as questionable for Baylor’s game against Oklahoma State this week. For TCU, Heisman candidate Trevone Boykin missed the last part of the Horned Frogs’ win over Kansas. He is also listed as questionable during the week. Backup quarterback Foster Sawyer was just 2-of-8 in limited action against Kansas. He’s in the lineup because the other backup quarterback option, Bram Kohlhausen, is also sidelined. Still, a Baylor win over undefeated Oklahoma State and a TCU win over Oklahoma would give each team its best win of the season, catapult both back into the outskirts of the College Football Playoff and give both teams a shot at claiming a Big 12 championship. Losses, which are expected if we take the Las Vegas lines into account, would put any slight chance of living up to the expectations to pasture. The chances for a College Football Playoff berth are already probably done considering the reputation of the Big 12, the fact both teams lost to conference opponents with better or equal records and because the Big 12 doesn’t hold a championship game like the SEC, Big 10 and other P5 conferences. That put a ton of pressure on Baylor and TCU to go undefeated due to a light out-of-conference schedule and individual reputations that don’t yet rival those of Ohio State and the rest of the teams at the top of the charts. No matter what, TCU and Baylor will settle their differences on the field the day after Thanksgiving. There is no love lost between the two programs, fan bases and even head coaches. However, the game won’t mean what it was supposed to mean if both teams limp into Ft. Worth with two losses to the only ranked teams each faced heading into the game.