Big 12 quarterback play didn’t exactly light up Week 5, but a few names still forced their way to the front of the conversation.
Noah Fifita now sits at No. 1 in the conference rankings heading into Week 6, while DJ Lagway climbed two spots after turning in one of the cleanest outings of the weekend. The Big 12 also had several high-profile passers on the shelf, with Drew Mestemaker, Devon Dampier and Avery Johnson all on byes in Week 5.
Fifita’s latest performance came in Arizona’s 34-7 win over Cincinnati, and it carried a familiar wrinkle. The early interception tendency showed up again, but it didn’t matter this time because Cincinnati missed a field goal.
Fifita finished 25-of-37 for 284 yards and two touchdowns, and he added an eight-yard rushing score. Arizona heads to West Virginia on Saturday at noon EDT on TNT, and the matchup looks friendly enough on paper: the Mountaineers gave up more than 40 points and 550 yards to each of their first two conference opponents.
Lagway, meanwhile, looked settled in Baylor’s 55-19 blowout at Arizona State. For the first time in about a year, the offense around him looked comfortable.
Lagway worked the tight windows all night and finished with 306 passing yards, four touchdown throws and a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Baylor is off this week after opening Big 12 play 2-0, and TCU will be the first defense waiting for Lagway on the other side of the bye.
Avery Johnson is back in the mix after Kansas State’s off week. Through four games, he has thrown for 910 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions, and he also leads the Wildcats on the ground with 291 rushing yards and three scores.
Kansas State hosts Houston on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Fox.
Will Hammond is the most dangerous quarterback the Cougars have seen running the ball, but Johnson brings even more with his legs.
Conner Weigman had to grind through Houston’s 27-17 win over UCF. His day through the air was frustrating - 18 completions on 33 attempts - but he took over on the ground in the second half and scored all three Houston touchdowns himself. The Cougars travel to Kansas State for their second Big 12 road game of 2026, and the Wildcats’ issues against the run in their 31-26 loss at Cincinnati could give Weigman another path to a big day.
Bear Bachmeier kept BYU afloat in lousy weather against TCU. Rain made passing tough, so he leaned on his legs and delivered three key runs on the Cougars’ final scoring drive, capped by a 21-yard touchdown with two minutes left.
BYU hosts Iowa State Friday at 10:15 p.m. EDT on ESPN, and Bachmeier’s mobility matters even more now with starting running back LJ Martin out for no less than a month because of a lower body injury.
Michael Hawkins Jr. also did plenty to keep West Virginia in the fight during its 45-42 loss at Iowa State. He ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and even with the passing game uneven, he connected on shots of 33 yards or more to DJ Epps, Jaden Bray and Cyrus Traugh. The Mountaineers return home to face Arizona on Saturday at noon EDT on TNT, and Hawkins has topped 100 rushing yards in four of West Virginia’s first five games.
Drew Mestemaker spent Week 5 on the sideline, but his September still jumps off the page. He finished the month with 1,271 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, and he helped Oklahoma State to wins over Oregon and West Virginia. The Cowboys host UCF on Saturday at noon EDT on ESPN2.
Devon Dampier and Utah also had the week off. In September, he threw for 896 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception while adding 135 rushing yards and two scores.
Utah comes out of the bye with a home game against Kansas at 10:15 p.m. EDT on ESPN.
Week 6 is packed with quarterback matchups right away, starting with Jaylen Raynor and Bear Bachmeier at BYU on Friday night. On Saturday, Noah Fifita and Michael Hawkins Jr. meet at Milan Puskar Stadium in the early window, and Conner Weigman and Avery Johnson square off in a dual-threat duel at Kansas State in the afternoon.
In Other News...
Noah Fifita Keeps Building An Arizona Legacy Despite One NFL Doubt
Noah Fifita keeps adding to his place in Arizona history, even as the NFL conversation around him stays tied to the same old question of size. The Wildcats quarterback has drawn praise from coaches and analysts for his accuracy, mental processing and resilience, and his strong 2025 season has only reinforced why he continues to matter so much to this program.
Fifita has already set school passing records and is approaching a career total that puts him in rare company, all while insisting his focus is on the season in front of him rather than draft talk two years down the road. The long view still includes plenty of uncertainty about how pro evaluators will sort him out, but at Arizona, he keeps giving the Wildcats reasons to believe his legacy is still growing. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Misses On A Recruit With A Surprising Wildcats Connection
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For Arizona, the miss carries a little extra sting because Awakas name already carried a familiar Wildcats link through his family background. Florida sold him on being a top priority and on its belief in his upside, and that was enough to separate the Gators from a crowded field of contenders. The Wildcats will keep working the frontcourt board, but this recruitment offered a reminder that even when a connection exists, it does not always end with a reunion. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Faces An Early Big 12 Test That Could Mean Plenty
Arizonas 34-7 home win over Cincinnati pushed Brent Brennans team to 4-1 and gave the Wildcats a little breathing room as they head into a far different kind of Big 12 test. The next stop is a road trip to West Virginia, where the matchup on paper looks like a classic strength-on-strength setup for Arizonas defense against a Mountaineers attack that has leaned on the ground and a defense that has struggled to hold up.
For the Wildcats, it is also the sort of early conference game that can say plenty about where this season is headed. The game time, location and betting line all frame it as a meaningful measuring stick, but the broader question is whether Arizona can carry the momentum from its Cincinnati performance into a hostile setting and keep building in league play. [Read more 🡒]