A few weeks into the season, the Big 12 quarterback picture is already getting a shake-up. Injuries have hit early, conference play is about to start, and a handful of passers are using Week 3 to either build momentum or clean up the mess from Week 2.
The list at the top is crowded, but the story behind it is pretty clear: Noah Fifita and Bear Bachmeier delivered the kind of outings that keep their names near the front, Drew Mestemaker turned in one of the wildest bounce-backs of the weekend, and the league is waiting to see how a few quarterbacks respond when the schedule tightens up.
Baylor, meanwhile, is still dealing with the fallout from DJ Lagway’s ankle injury. Lagway is trending to miss a second straight game after getting hurt in Baylor’s 17-16 loss to Auburn in Week 1, and the Bears already turned to Nate Bennett in their 44-3 win over Prairie View A&M.
They’re expected to do that again when they finish non-conference play against Louisiana Tech in Week 3, with Lagway not getting another chance to work his way back before conference action. Reports indicate he should be available for the Big 12 opener against Colorado in Week 4.
UCF is in a tougher spot. Alonza Barnett is out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury.
Week 3 is mostly a setup week before the league gets into the heart of conference play, but it still brings a couple of Big 12 matchups that matter for quarterbacks. Texas Tech’s game with Houston gives Will Hammond his first conference start, while Arizona State’s trip to Kansas in London, England is the first Big 12 start for Isaiah Marshall and Cutter Boley.
Michael Hawkins Jr. and Julian Lewis also get Power Four tests, and Northwestern is the second Power Four defense Lewis has faced before Big 12 play begins. In Colorado’s 14-13 win at Georgia Tech, Lewis went 14-of-27 for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Boley had some real positives in Arizona State’s 48-20 loss at Texas A&M. He and Reed Harris were slicing up the secondary for much of the first three quarters, and that stretch included a 58-yard touchdown pass.
One of the two pick sixes came after an Aggie defender shoved Boley’s tackle into him, while the other sailed a little too far ahead of Omarion Miller. The Sun Devils now head to London to open conference play against Kansas at Noon EDT on FS1, and that matchup could give Boley a chance to reset after the Jayhawks struggled badly against Austin Simmons and the Missouri passing attack last week.
Johnson’s day in Kansas State’s 34-7 win over Washington State had some rough edges. He forced the ball toward a receiver near the sideline twice in the second quarter, and both throws turned into interceptions, including one that went back for a touchdown.
The touchdowns he threw weren’t high-difficulty plays, but he still added 78 rushing yards. Kansas State closes its non-conference slate against Tulane at Noon EDT on ESPN2, and with Duke quarterback Walker Eget having an inefficient passing day against the Green Wave, Johnson could find room to work with his legs if Tulane’s run defense keeps leaking.
Mestemaker authored the biggest turnaround of the week after Oklahoma State’s ugly loss at Tulsa. One week later, he was the difference in a 39-31 upset of Oregon.
Both of his interceptions came on balls tipped at the line of scrimmage, and he set the tone immediately with a 75-yard run before helicoptering into the end zone for the Cowboys’ final touchdown. He also threw for 317 yards.
Oklahoma State finishes non-conference play against Murray State this week at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN+, and the Racers should be the weakest defense Mestemaker sees all season.
That should mean an early exit before the Cowboys head to West Virginia for conference play.
Houston’s Conner Weigman didn’t need much time against Southern. His night ended in the second quarter of a 77-6 rout, but he was efficient while he was on the field, going 9-of-12 for 120 yards and three touchdowns before five-star freshman Keisean Henderson took over.
Houston opens Big 12 play at Texas Tech on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT on FOX, and the Red Raiders just gave up 413 passing yards to Oregon State, which is a worrying sign for a defense that was supposed to be a strength.
Bachmeier carried BYU’s offense in a 28-17 win over Arizona, accounting for all four touchdowns. He opened the scoring with his legs and showed the full range of his arm, capped by a 61-yard strike on the Cougars’ final scoring drive.
BYU’s next game is a trip to Colorado State at 7:30 p.m. EDT on FS1, and Bachmeier is the only Power Four quarterback the Rams will face this season.
Fifita was sharp in Arizona’s loss at BYU, with the lone mistake coming on an interception after he was blindsided by a Cougar defensive end. Otherwise, he made several big throws and added value with his legs in the first half, running for one of Arizona’s two touchdowns.
The Wildcats take on Northern Illinois this week at 10:30 p.m. EDT on TNT, and the 0-2 Huskies have not seen a quarterback of Fifita’s level yet.
Dampier also put together a strong showing in Utah’s 43-10 win over Arkansas, finishing with 311 yards of offense. His only blemish came on an interception after he was blindsided by an opposing defensive end, the same kind of mistake that also bit Fifita.
Utah wraps up its non-conference schedule against Utah State at 3:30 p.m. EDT on FOX, while Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. accounted for 305 yards of offense against the Aggies last week.
He was not responsible for Washington’s lone touchdown in the 16-14 win.
In Other News...
Baylor Suddenly Has A DJ Lagway Problem It Cant Ignore
Baylors quarterback picture has become a lot murkier heading into Week 3, with DJ Lagway considered doubtful against Louisiana Tech after suffering an ankle injury in the season opener. The Bears were already managing the usual early-season uncertainty, but now the focus has shifted to how they handle a potential absence from the player they were counting on to settle the position.
If Lagway cant go, Nate Bennett is expected to make his second career start, which would put even more pressure on a Baylor offense trying to find rhythm this early in the year. The broader concern is the recovery itself, since Lagway is still working back from a high-ankle sprain and his return timeline remains unclear, leaving Baylor without much certainty at the most important spot on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor WBB Schedule Puts This Loaded Roster On Notice
The Big 12 has already mapped out Baylors 2026-27 path, and it looks every bit like a schedule that will ask a lot from a roster expected to have serious depth. The Bears open conference play at Houston and finish the regular season at home against TCU, giving them an early road test and a late rivalry game that could matter plenty in the league race. Along the way, the league slate and non-conference dates give a clearer picture of how the season will be framed around a group that is set to blend returning players with new transfers.
For Baylor, the release is more than a calendar update because it offers the first real outline of how a loaded roster will be challenged before March arrives. The mix of conference trips, home dates and non-conference positioning should give the Bears no shortage of chances to prove they can handle the expectations that come with being one of the Big 12s most watched teams. The questions now are less about who Baylor has and more about how quickly that talent settles in once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Volleyball Showed Encouraging Progress Before The Schedule Gets Tough
Baylor opened the Baylor Classic with a 3-1 win over Incarnate Word, a useful step forward for a team trying to build momentum before the competition tightens. Bailey Warren supplied a season-high 14 kills and 17.5 points, while Ksenia Rakhmanchik added 11 kills and crossed the 500-kill mark for her career, giving the Bears a balanced offensive lift in a match that fit the kind of progress they were looking for.
The victory moved Baylor to 7-2 and offered a solid checkpoint as the Bears head into a tougher stretch of the schedule. UTEP is next in the tournament, and Baylor will be looking to carry the same energy and production into a matchup that should say more about where this group stands as the season develops. [Read more 🡒]