The Big 12’s fourth week brings more than just the first full round of conference play. It also turns up the heat on a handful of coaches whose seasons already carry some real weight.
For some, the pressure is about job security. For others, it’s about proving they can handle the next step. Either way, these are the names worth watching as the league starts to separate a little.
Dave Aranda and Deion Sanders are tied to the same game, and that alone makes Baylor against Colorado one of the most uncomfortable matchups of the weekend.
Aranda’s situation has become familiar territory. The question keeps coming back: is this the year Baylor finally moves on from a coach who is well liked but hasn’t been able to find consistent success?
The Bears look better than they did a year ago and, frankly, should be 3-0. But that doesn’t change the reality that this Big 12 opener matters a lot, especially with Baylor going to Arizona State next and then coming home to face TCU.
An 0-3 start in league play would only deepen the discussion around what Baylor does next.
Sanders, meanwhile, enters the game with the noise already growing louder. Colorado’s loss at Northwestern last weekend was ugly, and the fallout came fast when Sanders dismissed several players for what he called conduct detrimental to the team.
One Colorado player also apologized publicly for remarks made in the tunnel before the game. The shine had already started to fade a bit entering this season, and that loss only added to the pressure.
The road doesn’t get any kinder after Baylor, either, with Texas Tech and Utah coming up. If Colorado falls to 0-3 in Big 12 play, things could get very uncomfortable very quickly.
The athletic director who hired Sanders, Rick George, is gone, and Fernando Lovo is now running the department.
Whoever comes out on top in Waco gets at least a little breathing room. The loser could be answering much bigger questions soon enough.
At TCU, Sonny Dykes is dealing with a different kind of unease. A small but vocal slice of Horned Frogs fans has already turned on him, and that’s after a nine-win season.
The frustration isn’t hard to understand. It comes down to what has followed TCU’s run to the national championship game in 2022, and for some fans, that hasn’t been good enough.
The loss to North Carolina in Ireland still looks bad, and TCU now heads into a trip to UCF with plenty of skepticism around it. Orlando can be a tricky place to play, with the heat, humidity and the threat of rain and thunderstorms always hanging around.
If the Horned Frogs lose, their only two wins would have come against Grambling and Arkansas State. And with BYU waiting after UCF, an 0-2 start in league play would only crank up the pressure on Dykes even more.
TCU needs this game.
Then there’s Morgan Scalley at Utah, where the conversation is less about survival and more about proving something.
This is Scalley’s chance to show he can thrive as a head coach after spending years being groomed for the job under Kyle Whittingham. So far, Utah has handled business exactly the way it should have.
The Utes beat Idaho, crushed Arkansas and shut out Utah State. That’s how good teams are supposed to treat lesser opponents.
Now the real test starts, with Big 12 play and Utah’s first road game of the season coming in Ames against an Iowa State team that has looked solid under new head coach Jimmy Rogers. On paper, this is a game Utah should win. That puts the spotlight on Scalley to have his team ready, especially with the Utes starting to look like a group that could get to Arlington and play for a Big 12 title.
A win in Ames keeps the momentum rolling. A loss would bring a very different kind of conversation, one about how this team stacks up when the schedule gets tougher.
In Other News...
Baylors QB Decision Carries A Bigger Risk Than Just Colorado
Dave Arandas quarterback choice for Baylors upcoming Big 12 matchup with Colorado is as much about the long view as the next snap. Nate Bennett gets the start because DJ Lagway is still working his way back from injury, and Aranda has made it clear the staff is trying to balance urgency with caution. Lagway is improving, but Baylor is also staring at a conference schedule that leaves little margin for error, so the decision to lean on the healthier option fits the bigger picture.
Bennett has earned some trust with the way he has filled in lately, which gives the Bears a steadier bridge while Lagway continues his recovery. The wrinkle for Baylor is obvious enough: this is not just about surviving one game against Colorado, but about whether the team can keep enough flexibility to handle what comes next. If Lagway is close, the Bears still have a potentially important decision looming, and Aranda does not sound like he is ready to rush it. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Is Catching A Colorado Team Under Serious Pressure
Colorado is heading into its Big 12 opener against Baylor with plenty of off-field noise still hanging over the program after Deion Sanders dismissed several players for what he described as a pattern of conduct detrimental to the team. It is the kind of reset that forces a locker room to refocus quickly, and safety Randon Fontenette spent time in media availability stressing that the Buffaloes attention has to stay on winning and on maintaining the standards Sanders has set.
For Baylor, the timing adds another layer to a conference opener that already carried some weight. The Bears are catching a Colorado team trying to steady itself in the middle of sudden roster turnover, and those situations often reveal whether a program can settle in fast or keep slipping into distraction. However Colorado responds, it will be doing so with the pressure of a fresh Big 12 start and a thinner margin for error than it had a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Opens Big 12 Play With Pressure Already Building Against Colorado
Baylor opens Big 12 play with a familiar opponent and a little extra edge, hosting Colorado after an overtime loss to the Buffaloes not long ago. The Bears enter conference play with DJ Lagway expected to start, even as he works back from injury recovery, which gives this matchup an early-season urgency that goes beyond the league standings.
For Baylor, the formula is fairly clear: take advantage of Colorados defensive weaknesses, keep Lagway upright with better pass protection and avoid the kinds of discipline issues that can swing a close game. Those are the details that often decide September games, and they carry even more weight here with the opener bringing both a rematch feel and an immediate test of how far Baylor has come since the last meeting. [Read more 🡒]