The Big 12 calendar has turned to November, and the league picture is tightening fast. One unbeaten team is still standing, Utah looks like the conference’s clearest path to the College Football Playoff, and BYU and Texas Tech are trying to stay in the chase with one loss apiece. BYU gets its shot at the Utes on Saturday in what should be the weekend’s biggest Big 12 game, while a pack of two-loss teams is ready to pounce if the final month turns messy.
Here’s a look at the biggest risers and fallers after Week 9.
Baylor is the week’s most jarring stock-up story. Just seven days after a crushing loss to Kansas, a defeat that came when the Jayhawks blocked a potential game-winning field goal and helped trigger Dave Aranda’s firing, the Bears went to Orlando and flattened UCF, 41-9.
Joe Klanderman, now the interim head coach, got a response from a team that looked ready to drift off the rails. It’s fair to wonder whether that surge was more about emotion and urgency than a long-term fix, but the result still matters.
Baylor needed it badly, especially with three ranked teams still left on the schedule and bowl eligibility hanging in the balance.
Colorado also moved in the right direction by finally getting its first Big 12 win of the season, edging Kansas State, 27-24. The Buffaloes were the last team in the conference to pick up a league victory, so this one carries obvious weight.
Kansas State was without starting quarterback Avery Johnson, who is out with an injury and could miss the rest of the season, but Colorado still had to go get the job done. It may not solve everything, but it does give the Buffs something better to carry into this week’s matchup with Arizona State.
Iowa State’s offense deserves a spot on the rise list after a wild 51-49 win over Oklahoma State in an old-fashioned Big 12 shootout. After getting rolled by Arizona in Week 8, the Cyclones came home for Halloween and lit up the scoreboard.
Aiden Flora ran for more than 200 yards, and Jaylen Raynor, coming off a week in which he was benched, threw for more than 300. Iowa State piled up nearly 600 total yards and still needed a game-winning field goal as time expired to escape.
The defense? That side of the ball was torched by Oklahoma State, so the praise here belongs strictly to the offense.
On the other side of that game, Oklahoma State’s defense takes a hit. The Cowboys have gotten by with a unit that’s usually done enough to keep them in games, but that wasn’t the case against Iowa State.
Giving up 51 points and nearly 600 yards is bad enough. The bigger issue was how often the defense looked lost, with busted assignments and missed plays piling up.
The offense can keep Oklahoma State competitive, but defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity has a lot to clean up before a tough week against Kansas State.
Arizona State slides on the down list after another uneven showing, this time a 27-20 loss to BYU. The Sun Devils have become one of the Big 12’s most up-and-down teams, and the numbers back it up: they’re one of seven FBS teams that hasn’t won consecutive games this season.
Three of their four losses came against ranked teams at the time, with Baylor the lone exception. That’s not the kind of profile that inspires confidence, especially with Kenny Dillingham being linked to the Florida State job.
UCF also falls hard after a stunningly lopsided 41-9 loss to Baylor. Coming off that big Week 8 win over BYU, the Knights had a chance to build momentum, but instead they took a brutal step backward.
A loss would have been understandable. Getting blown out by 32 points was not.
If Alonzo Barnett III is ready, Scott Frost needs to play him. Barnett’s eligibility ends after this season, and with the Knights still chasing a bowl game, there’s no reason to keep bouncing between quarterbacks if he’s healthy.
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G.J. Kinne has built a reputation as one of the more intriguing young coaches in the Texas football landscape, first by turning Incarnate Word into a 12-2 team in 2022 with an offense that piled up points, then by helping Texas State string together three straight bowl wins. Those results, paired with his deep Texas roots and family connections to Baylor, make him an easy name to keep in the conversation as the Bears sort through their next move after firing Dave Aranda.
For Baylor, the appeal is obvious: Kinne brings regional familiarity, a track record of quick offensive turnaround and a profile that fits the state as well as the job. The uncertainty is just as obvious, though, because there has been no official hiring reported, leaving the Bears weighing whether a coach with limited power-conference experience is the right swing for a program trying to reset. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Next Coaching Decision Just Got Even More Important
Dave Arandas next move is already shaping up to be one of the more interesting subplots in Baylors coaching search. After being fired following a 4-3 start, Aranda is reportedly working toward a return to LSU in an analyst-type role, a reminder of how closely his career remains tied to the program where he once built his reputation as one of the sports top defensive minds.
For Baylor, the timing only adds another layer to an already important decision. Joe Klanderman is guiding the Bears on an interim basis while the school looks for a permanent head coach, and Arandas possible landing spot underscores just how much the Bears are trying to reset after a season that never fully stabilized. The search now carries even more weight, because the next hire will have to define what comes after Aranda, not just replace him. [Read more 🡒]
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Palmer Williams has given Baylors special teams a national spotlight, earning a place on the Ray Guy Award Midseason Watch List as one of the countrys top 63 punters. It is the kind of recognition that reflects both consistency and field-position value, and it comes with Williams sitting atop the Big 12 and ranking third nationally in punting average.
The watch list is only the first checkpoint in the race for college footballs top punting honor, with semifinalists and finalists still to come later in the season. For Baylor, though, Williams inclusion is another sign that the Bears have a legitimate weapon in a phase of the game that can quietly swing close contests and change the tenor of a Saturday. [Read more 🡒]