Week 5 did a lot of sorting in the Big 12, and it wasn’t subtle. BYU kept rolling with a road win at TCU, Texas Tech left Boulder with a 29-7 victory, Baylor blew the doors off Arizona State, Arizona handled previously unbeaten Cincinnati, Houston climbed out of a 17-point hole to beat UCF, and Iowa State survived a wild one against West Virginia.
That kind of Saturday tells you plenty. Some teams are starting to look like real conference threats.
Others are raising bigger and bigger questions. And a few programs left Week 5 with a lot more to think about than they had going in.
Aiden Flora was the difference in Iowa State’s 45-42 win over West Virginia, and that’s putting it mildly. The Adel, Iowa native came into the season with just 15 carries and 111 career rushing yards.
He also stayed put while a lot of the big Iowa State names followed former head coach Matt Campbell to Penn State. Flora didn’t leave, and now he’s carrying the Cyclones offense.
Against West Virginia, he ran 22 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs. He also added two more scores on halfback passes. For a walk-on in his first two years in the program, that’s a huge night by any standard.
Iowa State’s offense had entered the game ranked 16th in the Big 12 in total yards, though that number came with some context since the Cyclones had already faced tough defenses like Iowa and Utah. Still, what they did against West Virginia stood out.
Their total was their highest in a conference game since they piled up 608 against Texas Tech in 2016. Flora was at the center of it, including two game-winning drives.
At TCU, the story is getting uglier. BYU deserves credit for going on the road and winning in the rain without LJ Martin and Isaiah Glasker, but the bigger takeaway is what happened to the Horned Frogs offense. It simply hasn’t come together.
Sonny Dykes brought in Gordon Sammis to give TCU more of a smash-mouth identity, but the pieces don’t seem to fit. The offensive line, Jaden Craig and the skill players haven’t found much rhythm together, and the result has been an offense that looks flat and uninspiring.
Dykes has to be wondering whether the overhaul was worth it, and the quarterback spot may be the next place he looks. Adam Schobel is waiting, and sooner rather than later, it may be time for Dykes to see what the TCU legacy can do.
Texas Tech’s trip to Colorado wasn’t pretty, but the Red Raiders got exactly what they needed: a 29-7 win. The defense set the tone, especially the secondary, which picked off Isaac Wilson four times and kept Colorado off balance with a bend-but-don’t-break approach.
Even with the 5-0 start, there are still plenty of questions around this team. Will Hammond still hasn’t settled in, the passing game remains inconsistent, the running game hasn’t had that breakout performance, and the offensive line is still very much to be determined.
Tech has the record, and that matters. But with the halfway point of the regular season approaching, it would be a mistake to assume this is a team that’s just going to cruise.
Baylor may be the most interesting team in the league right now. The Bears are 4-1, with the only loss coming against Auburn, and they hammered Arizona State 55-19 on Saturday night. It was the Big 12 home opener for the Sun Devils, coming off a bye, and Baylor made it look like Arizona State never got off the plane from London.
DJ Lagway was sharp, finishing 25 of 40 for 306 yards and four touchdowns. When he’s locked in, he might be the most entertaining quarterback in the Big 12 to watch.
Baylor also ran for 244 yards, and Joe Klanderman’s defense keeps trending upward. The Bears held Arizona State under 100 rushing yards, and Cutter Boley struggled most of the night.
Now Baylor heads into its bye at 4-1 before facing a TCU team that suddenly looks vulnerable in Week 7. After that, the Bears still have games at BYU, against Texas Tech and at Houston, and those could carry major Big 12 title implications.
And then there’s Houston, where the football was good and the crowd was not. The Cougars rallied from 17-0 down to beat UCF 27-17 at home, a strong win for a team off to a 3-1 start and sitting inside the Top 20. But the attendance was the story nobody could avoid.
This has been an issue before, including Kelvin Sampson calling out the fanbase in Week 1. Still, with Houston playing its Big 12 home opener as a ranked team, the turnout was rough enough to be called embarrassing. Blame the heat, the early start, the administration or broader attendance trends - none of it changes what the eyes saw.
There isn’t another Power 4 ranked team that would have a home crowd like that. If Houston wants to be taken seriously, the support has to match the football.
The Cougars are playing some damn good football. The stands should look a lot better than they did Saturday.
In Other News...
Baylor Vs TCU Just Got A Bigger Stage Than Fans Expected
Baylors midseason meeting with TCU just picked up a little more shine. The Big 12 announced that the rivalry game in Waco will kick off at 6 p.m. CT in Week 7 and air on FS1, giving the Bears a prime-night backdrop for a matchup that already carries plenty of weight in conference play. Baylor enters at 4-1, and the program also plans to lean into the occasion with blackout uniforms for the occasion.
The timing only adds to the intrigue for a series that has delivered its share of memorable moments over the years. With both the current seasons momentum and the history between the two programs in play, this one was already going to matter inside the league race. Now it will do so under the lights, with a little more attention than fans may have expected when the schedule first came out. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Arizona State Breakout Just Turned Into Something Bigger
DJ Lagway and Ryelan Morris turned Baylors trip to Arizona State into a showcase, and the Big 12 took notice. The junior quarterback and freshman running back were both honored for Week 5 after helping the Bears roll to a 55-19 win, with Lagway earning Offensive Player of the Week and Morris taking home Freshman of the Week.
Lagway piled up 306 passing yards and accounted for five total touchdowns, giving Baylor the kind of efficient, explosive night it has been chasing. Morris added another layer to the rout with 84 rushing yards and the first touchdown of his career, a strong follow-up that gives the Bears more reason to feel good about their young backfield as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Just Sent A Strong Message About What This Team Can Be
Baylors latest result did more than add another win to the ledger. It gave a clearer picture of what this group can look like when it puts together a complete performance, and that matters in a Big 12 race where every week seems to reshape the conversation. The Bears decisive victory over Arizona State stood out in a weekend that also featured TCU pushing BYU to the wire and Pittsburgh beating Virginia Tech despite losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a torn ACL.
The broader ripple effect is easy to see from here, too. BYU is headed to UCF soon and arrives ranked No. 8 in the AP poll after surviving that tight game against TCU, while Pittsburghs rise into the AP Top 25 shows how quickly the national picture can shift. Baylors performance, though, may have been the most convincing reminder that this team still has a higher ceiling than its record sometimes suggests, and the next few weeks will go a long way toward proving whether that message holds up. [Read more 🡒]