BYU comes out of its bye week sitting in a familiar spot near the top of the Big 12 picture, and the Cougars head straight into a test Saturday at TCU.
No. 10 BYU is 3-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, and the next step is a 5 p.m. matchup in Fort Worth on ESPN.
BYU handled TCU 44-13 in Provo last season, and Kalani Sitake’s team has been strong when ranked, going 41-11 under him as a Top 25 squad. A win Saturday would push the Cougars to 4-0 for the fifth time in Sitake’s tenure.
Utah remains one of the league’s hottest teams after its 31-17 win at Iowa State. Wayshawn Parker did the heavy lifting, piling up a career-high 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns while also catching five passes for 65 yards and another score.
He opened the game with a 54-yard touchdown run on the first snap from scrimmage. The Utes are now on a 10-game streak of scoring at least 30 points, the longest active run in FBS, and they do not play again until Oct. 10, when Kansas visits.
Texas Tech kept rolling at No. 12 after a 49-14 win over Sam Houston State, powered by a strange slice of history from Austin Romaine. He became the first FBS player in 13 years to return two interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive throws.
The Red Raiders were only up 21-14 at halftime, though Cameron Dickey added two rushing scores and Will Hammond finished 17 of 29 for 224 yards with three interceptions. Texas Tech goes to Colorado on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m.
MT kickoff on FOX, and the Red Raiders have not won in the series since 2010.
Houston sits at No. 20 after a 42-28 win over Georgia Southern in which Conner Weigman accounted for six touchdowns, four through the air and two on the ground. The Cougars scored touchdowns on their first six possessions and now turn to UCF at home Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
MT on ESPN2. Houston also won the last meeting with UCF, 30-27 in Orlando in 2025.
Oklahoma State climbed to No. 19 after a 41-24 victory over West Virginia, a game in which Drew Mestemaker threw for a season-high 389 yards and three touchdowns. Caleb Hawkins added 180 rushing yards and a score.
The Cowboys are off this week and return Oct. 10 to host UCF. It is also worth noting that Oklahoma State was last ranked in the Top 25 on Sept.
22, 2024.
Arizona’s comeback win at Washington State kept the Wildcats moving in the right direction. Noah Fifita threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns as Arizona erased a 14-0 hole to win 34-24.
Tre Spivey was a big part of that surge, catching seven passes for 129 yards and two scores. Arizona gets Cincinnati at home Saturday night at 9 p.m.
MT on FOX, and the Wildcats won the only previous meeting, 30-24 on the road last season.
Cincinnati enters that game unbeaten at 4-0 after knocking off Kansas State 31-26. Cole Tabb ran 11 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns, while Gi’Bran Payne added 126 yards on 16 carries.
The win snapped a three-game skid against Kansas State and was Cincinnati’s first victory in the series since 1966. The Bearcats are at Arizona on Saturday night.
Arizona State is back from a bye and hosts Baylor in one of the week’s more interesting league matchups Saturday at 8:30 p.m. MT on ESPN.
Baylor comes in at 3-1 after a 23-13 win over Colorado, a game in which DJ Lagway returned to the lineup and threw two touchdown passes. Lagway finished 19 of 39 for 221 yards, two scores and one interception, while Rhett Armstrong hit field goals from 37, 27 and 54 yards.
UCF also owns a 3-1 record after beating TCU 21-13. Landen Chambers scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter, and Keyone Jenkins was nearly perfect, going 19 of 20 for 160 yards and a touchdown.
The Knights visit Houston on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT on ESPN2.
UCF leads the overall series 8-4 and won seven of nine meetings between 2009 and 2023.
Kansas State, now 3-1, fell to Cincinnati despite Avery Johnson’s 292 passing yards and a touchdown and Rodney Fields’ two rushing scores. Derrick Salley Jr. had seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
The Wildcats are off this week and host Houston on Oct. 10.
West Virginia also took a loss, though the Mountaineers ran for 335 yards in the 41-24 defeat at Oklahoma State. Cam Cook had 193 rushing yards on 29 carries, and Michael Hawkins Jr. added 28 carries, 103 yards and three touchdowns.
West Virginia visits Iowa State on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. MT on TNT, and the series is tied 6-6.
TCU had chances against UCF but came up short, 21-13. Jayden Craig threw for 310 yards on 25-of-40 passing but also had two interceptions.
The Horned Frogs got within 14-13 late in the third quarter on a 45-yard Nate McCashland field goal, but they managed just 33 rushing yards on 27 carries. TCU hosts BYU on Saturday, and the Horned Frogs lead the series 7-6.
Iowa State dropped to 2-2 after the loss to Utah, with Jaylen Raynor finishing 21 of 40 for 205 yards. Aiden Flora accounted for 107 total yards, rushing 13 times for 54 yards and catching five passes for 53 yards. The Cyclones host West Virginia on Saturday, and they have won the last two meetings.
Kansas is idle this week before hosting Middle Tennessee State on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT on ESPNU.
Isaiah Marshall has thrown for 649 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions through three games, completing 44 of 82 passes. This will be the first meeting between Kansas and Middle Tennessee State.
Colorado rounds out the rankings after its loss to Baylor. Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson stepped in for starter Julian Lewis and went 12 of 25 for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Wilson, who transferred from Utah, tied the game at 13-13 with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Williams with 11:04 left. The Buffaloes host Texas Tech on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
MT on FOX, and Colorado leads the overall series 6-5 after winning last year’s meeting 41-27 in Lubbock.
In Other News...
Ryan Smith Just Reinforced Why BYU Can Compete In NIL
Ryan Smiths latest comments offered a timely reminder that BYUs place in the NIL era is not built on one splashy donor, but on a broad and energized base of support. The Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth owner, who is a BYU graduate, talked in a recent interview about his financial backing of Cougars athletics and framed it as part of a much larger effort from alumni who continue to give because the school means something to them.
For BYU, that matters because competing in modern college sports is as much about sustained buy-in as it is about headlines. Smith pointed to the depth of the donor pool around the program, stressing that the support comes from many different people instead of a single source, and his own involvement is tied to his connection to the university as an alumnus. In a landscape where financial muscle often shapes roster building, BYUs case looks stronger when one of its most prominent boosters says the network behind it is bigger than most outsiders may realize. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Defensive Rotation Is Already Creating A Bigger Opportunity
Through three games, BYU has already shown a clear willingness to spread the workload around, especially on defense, where the snap counts point to a rotation that keeps bodies fresh and options open. The Cougars have also used the bye week to take a longer look at who is ready for more, while on offense the workload has been led by familiar pieces and complemented by targeted usage for players such as wide receiver Legend Glasker.
The bigger question now is how that rotation changes once the season resumes, particularly with injuries forcing the staff to keep sorting through depth. A younger safety like Kennan Pula is among the names positioned to benefit if the coaching staff decides to expand the defensive group even further, and BYUs approach suggests those opportunities may come sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Inherited The Big 12 Pressure Fans Have Wanted
Week 4 of the Big 12 season brought the kind of shakeup BYU fans have been waiting to see, with several results reshaping the conference race in a hurry. Cincinnati handed Kansas State its first loss, Oklahoma State went into West Virginia and came away with a win, and Utah took care of Iowa State on the road, all of which tightened the pressure at the top and made every upcoming league game feel a little heavier.
For BYU, that kind of chaos is part opportunity, part test. The Cougars now find themselves in a conference where every week can alter the standings, and the next round of matchups will say plenty about who can handle the grind when the league starts sorting itself out. Week 5 brings another chance for teams to prove they belong in the conversation, and BYU is right in the middle of the conversation fans have been eager to have. [Read more 🡒]