Baylor @ TCU preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 13, 2012 ) Texas Christian 49, Baylor 21

Baylor will try to regroup Saturday against host Texas Christian after the No. 8 Bears saw their national title hopes suffer a big blow with last weekend’s loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State. The Bears still have a shot at earning a share of the Big 12 title and will bring the nation’s No. 1 offense into their matchup against TCU, which is ineligible for a bowl berth for the first time since 2004. Baylor has already posted four 70-point games this season and the Bears could be primed for a fifth against the depleted Horned Frogs.

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty continues to lead the nation in yards per completion (19.7), is second in quarterback rating (194.1) and fifth in yards per game (335.1). He can break Robert Griffin III’s program record with a 10th game of more than 300 yards passing this season. TCU quarterback Casey Pachall has been intercepted six times in the four games since he returned from a broken collarbone and continues to come up well short of his 2011 production, when he finished with 25 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Baylor -12.5

ABOUT BAYLOR (9-1, 6-1 Big 12): The Bears were hopeful leading rusher Lache Seastrunk would be ready to return from a groin injury that kept him sidelined the previous week against Texas Tech, but he was a no-go against Oklahoma State and the running game suffered, totaling just 94 rushing yards. Making things more difficult, third-leading rusher Glasco Martin has missed the last two games with a leg injury. Shock Linwood did a nice job picking up the slack against Texas Tech, rushing for 187 yards and a touchdown, though he was limited to just 29 yards on 14 carries against Oklahoma State.

ABOUT TEXAS CHRISTIAN (4-7, 2-6): B.J. Catalon is on pace to become the first TCU player to lead the team in rushing in consecutive seasons since Joseph Turner led the Horned Frogs in three straight years from 2007-09. He and sophomore Aaron Green figure to get even more carries now that third-leading rusher Waymon James is no longer on the roster, though coach Gary Patterson would not reveal why at his weekly press conference Monday. James was suspended the last two games for breaking team rules.

EXTRA POINTS

1. TCU's last home game against Baylor was in 2010, when the starting quarterbacks were Griffin and Andy Dalton of TCU, both of whom now start in the NFL for the Redskins and Bengals, respectively.

2. Baylor is 9-1 for the first time since 1980, when the Bears started 10-1.

3. Baylor’s opponents are 5-for-24 on fourth down this season, the second-worst mark in the FBS.

PREDICTION: Baylor 72, TCU 36