Big 12 quarterback play was a mixed bag in Week 5, but Noah Fifita made the strongest push to the top and DJ Lagway kept climbing.
The conference didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard through the air last week. West Virginia and Iowa State delivered the only real shootout, and even that game leaned more on shaky run defense than a parade of passing fireworks.
Lagway and Fifita still put together the kind of performances that turn heads, while wet weather muddied Bear Bachmeier’s night and both Conner Weigman and Will Hammond needed time to settle in. A handful of the league’s notable quarterbacks were also off, including Drew Mestemaker, Devon Dampier and Avery Johnson.
There was one extra wrinkle worth noting from Week 5: Aiden Flora belonged in any quarterback discussion after the Iowa State running back completed both of his pass attempts for 48 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win over West Virginia, while also piling up 212 rushing yards.
With Week 6 loaded with byes, several of the league’s key passers will be sitting out again. DJ Lagway, Jaden Craig, Will Hammond, JC French IV and Isaac Wilson are all resting before returning to Big 12 action in Week 7.
The schedule does still offer a few quarterback matchups that should draw attention. Friday night brings Jaylen Raynor and Bear Bachmeier together at BYU, while Saturday features Noah Fifita against Michael Hawkins Jr. in Morgantown and a dual-threat duel between Conner Weigman and Avery Johnson in Manhattan.
Here’s how the eight best quarterbacks in the Big 12 stack up heading into Week 6 of the 2026 season.
Noah Fifita takes the top spot after another efficient and productive outing in Arizona’s 34-7 win over Cincinnati. His interception issue in the first quarter showed up again, but this time it didn’t come back to bite the Wildcats because Cincinnati missed a field goal. Fifita finished 25-of-37 for 284 yards and two touchdowns, and he also added an eight-yard rushing score.
Arizona now heads to West Virginia for its second Big 12 road game of the year, and the matchup lines up favorably on paper. The Mountaineer defense has already had a rough start to conference play, giving up more than 40 points and 550 yards in both of its first two Big 12 games.
DJ Lagway moves up after looking comfortable for the first time in a long while during Baylor’s 55-19 win at Arizona State. He fit throws into tight spaces all night and finished with 306 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Bears are off in Week 6, but the next test after the bye will be TCU.
Avery Johnson also climbs after sitting out in Week 5. Through four games, he has thrown for 910 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions, and he leads Kansas State on the ground with 291 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Kansas State opens Big 12 home play against Houston, and Johnson’s legs could matter plenty. Will Hammond is the most dangerous quarterback the Cougars have seen on the ground, but Johnson brings even more juice as a runner.
Michael Hawkins Jr. gets credit for keeping West Virginia alive in its 45-42 loss at Iowa State. He rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns and, even with uneven passing, connected with DJ Epps, Jaden Bray and Cyrus Traugh on throws of 33 yards or more.
The Mountaineers return home to face Arizona at noon EDT on TNT. Hawkins has already rushed for over 100 yards in four of West Virginia’s first five games, and BYU is the only team that has held Arizona under that mark on the ground.
Conner Weigman worked through a rough passing day in Houston’s 27-17 win over UCF, going 18-of-33 through the air. When the Cougars needed him most in the second half, he took over with his legs and scored all three of Houston’s touchdowns on the ground.
Houston now heads to Kansas State for its second Big 12 road game of 2026. The Wildcats struggled against the run in a 31-26 loss at Cincinnati in Week 4, which gives Weigman another chance to lean on his dual-threat ability.
Bear Bachmeier had to grind through ugly conditions in BYU’s 17-10 win at TCU, where the rain made passing difficult. He responded by using his legs late, finishing the Cougars’ last scoring drive with three key runs, capped by a 21-yard touchdown with two minutes left.
BYU’s next Big 12 home game is Friday against Iowa State, and Bachmeier’s importance only grows with LJ Martin out for at least a month because of a lower body injury.
Drew Mestemaker comes in after an open week for Oklahoma State. He finished September with 1,271 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, and his resume already includes wins over Oregon and West Virginia.
The Cowboys host UCF in Week 6, and the Knights have defended well enough to hang around against Power Four opponents. Mestemaker and Oklahoma State present a different level of challenge.
Devon Dampier also returns from a bye after a productive September for Utah. He threw for 896 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception, while adding 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Utah’s next test is a home game against Kansas, and the Jayhawks’ toughest quarterback opponent so far has been Austin Simmons, who threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns in Missouri’s 38-21 win over Kansas in Week 2.
In Other News...
BYU Knows Exactly How Iowa State Will Try To Drag This Out
Iowa State comes into its trip to face eighth-ranked BYU with a winning record and the kind of season that still has bowl-game goals within reach, even as the roster has been reshaped by the transfer portal. The Cyclones know what they are up against in Provo, too, and their plan is likely to reflect that reality: shorten the game, keep the ball on the ground and try to make every possession count against a Cougars team that has earned its ranking.
Aiden Flora is expected to be a central part of that approach, giving Iowa State a chance to lean into the run game and control the clock if the offense can stay on schedule. For BYU, the matchup is less about mystery than discipline, because the Cougars understand the visitors will try to drag things out and reduce the number of chances the home team gets to separate itself. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Unbeaten Start Faces Its First Real Test Without LJ Martin
BYU heads into Saturdays home game against Iowa State trying to protect a strong start while adjusting to life without LJ Martin, the running back whose absence changes the feel of the offense. The Cougars have leaned on balance and efficiency early, and now the spotlight shifts to the players asked to absorb Martins workload while keeping the attack on schedule against a Cyclones team that has shown some vulnerability on defense.
Iowa State arrives at 3-2 with issues that BYU will try to exploit, especially around missed tackles and protecting the quarterback. For the Cougars, though, the bigger question is whether the offense can stay steady enough without one of its key pieces, and whether the defense can help control a matchup that carries a little more weight now that the unbeaten start is on the line. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Suddenly Has A Cannon DeVries Problem Before Iowa State
BYUs special teams and secondary are dealing with a late-week wrinkle as defensive back and starting punt returner Cannon DeVries has been downgraded to doubtful for the upcoming game against Iowa State. The setback comes after he did not make the kind of progress the Cougars had hoped for in his recovery, putting another layer of uncertainty on a matchup that already asks plenty of BYU on both sides of the ball.
If DeVries is unable to go, BYU will have to shuffle its defensive backfield and turn punt-return duties over to Tiger Bachmeier, even though that role has not always gone smoothly for him. The Cougars would obviously prefer to have DeVries back sooner rather than later, with Notre Dame looming as the next target for his return, but for now they are left sorting through a special-teams question that could matter in a hurry against Iowa State. [Read more 🡒]