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Kansas Jayhawks @ Texas Longhorns
Sports Betting Odds: Texas -27

The Kansas Jayhawks and Texas Longhorns matchup was supposed to be a matchup of two of the best teams in the Big 12. Unfortunately, only one team ended up holding its end of the bargain.

The Jayhawks have been absolutely horrendous this year and have taken a nose dive that few Big 12 programs have ever seen. The Jayhawks have lost five straight games, are 1-5 overall in Big 12 play and are now mired in off field issues with head coach Mark Mangino. That's not exactly the recipe to that makes you think that they are ready to pull an upset over No. 2 Texas this weekend.

For Texas, this is senior day. This is going to be the final home game for quarterback Colt McCoy and the rest of the seniors on a very experienced Longhorns squad. McCoy and Jordan Shipley are going to connect on many big completions throughout the day as the Jayhawk defense is pitiful.

The Longhorns are on pace for a BCS Championship game and right now, nothing is going to stop this train. The Jayhawks have been a complete wreck of late and there is little reason to believe that they will be the first team to beat Texas this year - especially on their turf on their senior day.

Racebook Pick: Texas -27

Iowa State Cyclones @ Missouri Tigers
Online Sportsbook Odds: Missouri -13

Both the Iowa State Cyclones and Missouri Tigers have played better than most people thought they would this year and on Saturday, they'll battle for some Big 12 positioning as both teams try to get into better bowls.

The Cyclones weren't thought of positively after last year's two-win campaign and having a coach to replace. Meanwhile, Missouri lost Chase Daniel - one of the most decorated quarterbacks in school history - and Jeremy Maclin, which meant that the team was supposed to be rebuilding this year. Missouri could conceivably finish 8-4, which considering last year's squad only won nine games, would be an achievement.

The Tigers have a very good rush defense and that will be the main difference in this game. Iowa State isn't good enough to throw for a win on the road.

Look for the Tigers to hold a comfortable lead throughout most of this game en route to a big win.

Horse Betting Picks: Missouri -13

Sports betting fans get their fight fix yet again this weekend as UFC 106 arrives on Saturday night. While it doesn't offer title fights thanks to Brock Lesnar's illness, the card features several important bouts between highly ranked contenders. One such fight is between Luiz Cane and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Let's break down these two skilled light heavyweights and make a pick.

Luiz Arthur Cane
Record: 10-1
Notable victories: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

STRENGTHS: Cane is one of the best strikers in the light heavyweight division. Well-versed in Muay Thai and kickboxing, he walks forward and pummels opponents with punches, knees and kicks. Eight of his 10 wins are via knockout and it's safe to assume he'll try to beat Nogueira that way this Saturday. He's powerful enough and quick enough to overwhelm opponents the same way Thiago Silva and Shogun Rua can.

WEAKNESSES: Though he's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Cane is fairly untested on the ground and doesn't look to take the fight there. Against a grappler of Nogueira's caliber, being competent on the ground doesn't cut it. Cane is also inexperienced compared to Nogueira, who will be his toughest, most well-rounded opponent yet.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Record: 17-3
Notable victories: Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem

STRENGTHS: Like his brother Minotauro, "Little Nog" is an amazing Jiu-Jitsu artist. He can hang with virtually anyone on the ground and has a significant advantage over Cane there. One thing Little Nog may actually do better than his famous brother, however, is box. Rogerio is technically crisp and quick with his strikes. While he doesn't have real knockout power, he can use his boxing to set up takedowns.

WEAKNESSES: Little Nog has no obvious weakness entering the fight but his lack of fight-changing power means Cane can walk forward on him without major worry. There's also a chance that Little Nog will feel pressure making his long-awaited UFC debut like Mirko Cro Cop did.

Sportsbook pick: Nogueira. He's the more versatile fighter so he has more ways to win this fight. Cane will make noise in the UFC before long but he's due to take a step back against the most talented opponent he's ever faced. Go with experience; pick the Colts' Super Bowl odds and Nogueira at UFC 106. Who says NFL betting and the UFC can't mix?

Minnesota Golden Gophers @ Iowa Hawkeyes
Sports Betting Odds: Iowa -9.5

The Iowa Hawkeyes are going to have to avoid a letdown this week if they want to finish their season on a high note.

Just two weeks ago, the Hawkeyes were the toast of the town in the Big Ten and were a perfect 9-0 for the first time in school history. They were as highly ranked as they had ever been and they were talking about the possibility of a BCS Championship game or at the very least, a Rose Bowl berth. Enter Northwestern. The Wildcats upended the Hawkeyes but not only that, they took their starting quarterback away from them after Ricky Stanzi was injured in the first half. That led to a loss to Northwestern and precipitated another loss against Ohio State at the Horseshoe last week, which cost the Hawkeyes the Big Ten.

It's still been a very good year for Kirk Ferentz' team but they have to avoid a huge let down this week if they want to go to a New Year's Day bowl. They host the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are a decent team but nothing special. If they are focused, they should win this game rather easily but if they don't play smart or if their freshman quarterback replacement can't play as sharp as he did last week, the Hawkeyes could be in danger losing three straight and ending the season on a very sour note.

Sportsbook Pick: Iowa -9.5

Purdue Boilermakers @ Indiana Hoosiers
Sportsbook Lines: Purdue -3.5

Two teams that have had wildly inconsistent seasons now face each other in their final Big Ten games of the year.

The Purdue Boilermakers have a win over Ohio State, who is the Big Ten winner and likely a Rose Bowl contestant, and they also played Oregon very tough. By the same token, they are coming off a home loss to Michigan State and a 37-0 loss to Wisconsin.

For Indiana, their team has been very competitive but they haven't been able to hold leads whatsoever. They have sizeable leads against Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State only to lose all of those games. So close, yet so far.

This is a bad matchup for Indiana and the Purdue offense should be able to dominate.

NCAA Football Picks: Purdue -3.5

The sportsbook will be buzzing with the Pacquiao Cotto odds this weekend as the boxing event of the year takes place but there is some good college football action on the day before it. Here's a preview of a couple of key Big 12 games.

Texas Tech Red Raiders @ Oklahoma State Cowboys

So both teams turned out to be disappointments this year. After so much success last year, the Red Raiders were expected to take a step back but head coach Mike Leach emphatically stated that they would be just as good. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State was as high as No. 5 in the nation this year but have now lost twice in ugly fashion and are out of the BCS picture. Even so, this figures to be the most entertaining game in the Big 12 this week.

The Red Raiders are at a bit of a crossroads right now as quarterback Taylor Potts, who is still feeling the effects of a concussion, has been playing poorly of late while backup Steven Sheffield, who doesn't have the same talent, has been filling up the stat sheets.

Regardless, the Cowboys offense should be very efficient behind quarterback Zac Robinson and the potent running game. This will be a shootout and Texas Tech's quarterback situation figures to hamper them at some point in the game.

Sportsbook Review Picks: Oklahoma State -4

Texas Longhorns @ Baylor Bears

The Baylor Bears were expected to be a team on the rise in the Big 12 this year but it just hasn't turned out that way. The biggest issue has been the fact that the Bears lost star quarterback Robert Griffin to an injury and the team just hasn't been the same without him.

Baylor's offense hasn't done anything whatsoever since Griffin went down with a knee injury. This week, the No. 2 Longhorns come to town and Baylor just doesn't figure to have much of a chance.

Texas put forth a sluggish effort last week in a win against Central Florida and it's unlikely they play half asleep two weeks in a row.

Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy can tie former Georgia quarterback David Greene for the most career wins as a starting quarterback. He should have a relatively easy time doing that as the Longhorns roll over the Bears this week.

Sports Picks: Texas -23.5