Baylor has been a bit of an enigma under coach Dave Aranda, Last year, the Bears were a self-destructive mess in stumbling to a 2-4 start before ripping off 6 straight wins to end the regular season and looking like a top-20 team in the process. Auburn's stock is down in large part because of reports suggesting Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold hasn't looked great at QB and the team might use a rotation of signal-callers. Even so, we give Auburn the overall talent edge even against an experienced Baylor club that will likely again take its time in meeting its potential.

Baylor is my pick to win the Big 12. The Bears ended last season on a roll, winning their last six regular season games, and many of the key pieces from that team are back, including QB Sawyer Robertson (3,071 passing yards, 32 total TD), No. 1 WR Josh Cameron, No. 1 RB Bryson Washington and four of five starting offensive linemen. Over Baylor's last seven games, the Bears ranked third in the country in points per game (39.9). Meanwhile Auburn has undergone major changes in the offseason, including the arrival of nearly two dozen transfers. One of those is quarterback Jackson Arnold, who was benched for a freshman last season at Oklahoma. Give me two units on the Baylor money line.

I am not a fan, at all, of the reports coming out of Auburn's camp. We've got multiple play-callers, multiple quarterbacks that could play in this game and plenty of pressure in this high-stakes road environment. Baylor brings back a ton of production on both sides of the ball and should be primed for a statement win against an SEC opponent.

There's a chance Auburn's been blowing smoke and an extremely talented offense blows the doors off Baylor here. There's also a chance Baylor is the better team, and I'd rather be on the Bears straight up than with the points.

Baylor's QB Sawyer Robertson is a known commodity that has played solid ball for the Bears. We'll see Jackson Arnold start at QB for the Auburn Tigers. And although he started last year for Oklahoma, there's still a relative unknown about his game entering this matchup. Too much proven, returning production on both sides of the ball for the Baylor Bears.

Coach Dave Aranda gets a test right out of the gate against an SEC team in Auburn, and they're getting points. Baylor has 14 starters returning from last year, including eight on offense with their starting quarterback, running back, two receivers, and four offensive linemen. That's attractive to me, no matter who they play, and this was an offense that scored 34 points per game last year. Quarterback Sawyer Robinson had 28 touchdown passes last year against eight interceptions, and they won their last six regular-season games. There's no continuity for Auburn’s offense coming off a five-win season. Baylor should be the favorite in this game. I'll take the points with Baylor at home.