#14 Baylor @ TCU

Who will WIN this matchup?

#14 Baylor Bears (7-1)

@ TCU Horned Frogs (3-5)

Current odds:

Baylor Bears: (-300)

TCU Horned Frogs: (+250)

• The line for this game is Baylor by 8 points.

• TCU and No. 14 Baylor will renew an old rivalry Saturday under anything but normal circumstances. The surging Bears head to Fort Worth looking to collect their fourth win in a row. They will take on a Horned Frogs’ team under new leadership for the first time in 21 years after the school and longtime coach Gary Patterson mutually parted ways on Sunday.

• TCU (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) is on a three-game skid that has dropped the Horned Frogs to ninth place in the standings. The last loss, a 31-12 setback at Kansas State, prompted a meeting Sunday that ended with Patterson walking away from a program he has guided since 2000. Jerry Kill, a former head coach at Minnesota and Northern Illinois and a longtime friend of Patterson, will be the interim coach the rest of the season.

• On the other side of the field on Saturday, the Bears (7-1, 4-1) will focus on continuing what has propelled them into the hunt for a spot in the conference championship game.

• Baylor owns the Big 12’s second-best offense, averaging 465.5 yards a game, and third-stingiest defense (339.4 yards allowed per game). Abram Smith has rushed for 930 yards and 11 touchdowns (116.3 yards per game), while quarterback Gerry Bohannon has been a major key with 1,753 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions in 203 pass attempts.

• As effective as the Bears’ offense has been, defense has been at the eye of the storm — especially the last three weeks against foes with dangerous running attacks. Facing West Virginia’s Leddie Brown, Tyler Allgeier from BYU and Texas star Bijan Robinson, Baylor has been tough-as-nails — surrendering 120 yards total to that trio.

• With running the ball a chore, the Bears’ foes have been forced to lean on the pass, and Baylor has recorded 13 sacks in the same three-game span.

• Those little battles have been tough for TCU in Big 12 play, where the Horned Frogs’ only victory is a 52-31 decision against Texas Tech. The Horned Frogs’ defense — which was what Patterson built his legacy on — has been gashed for 443.3 total yards a game. Until last week, five foes in a row had rushed for 214 yards or more and each of the last four has thrown for 242 yards or more.

• The abrupt change makes any wholesale changes difficult, but Kill said he and the remaining staff will focus on finding ways to help TCU get back on track.