Week 9 in the Big 12 is packed, and the conference’s most important game sits right at the top: No. 22 Arizona going to No.
13 Texas Tech. It’s the league’s only ranked-on-ranked matchup this weekend, and that alone puts the spotlight squarely on Lubbock.
Arizona has slipped into the background a bit even while sitting at 6-1. The Wildcats’ only loss came at BYU, and they arrive as one of the better teams in the Big 12 whether the attention is there or not.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, is looking to steady itself after getting its butt kicked by Cincinnati. Both clubs need this one badly if they want to stay near the top of the standings, because the loser could head into November on the wrong side of the race.
No. 6 Utah’s trip to Cincinnati comes next, and there’s plenty of danger here despite the Bearcats being unranked.
Cincinnati has already shown what it can do to Texas Tech, and Nippert Stadium has a reputation for turning into a brutal place to play when the crowd gets going. Saturday will tell us a lot, because the Big 12’s last unbeaten team is walking into that environment.
Arizona State at No. 8 BYU lands third, and the talent gap is obvious enough to explain why the Cougars are favored by more than two touchdowns.
Still, BYU’s week has been anything but ordinary. The Cougars rode the emotional high of Notre Dame into the low point of UCF seven days later, so the question now is simple: can they clean things up against a team they should handle?
Baylor at UCF sits in the middle of the list, though the story here is really the Knights. Baylor has already fired head coach Dave Aranda, so the attention around the Bears has shifted elsewhere.
UCF, fresh off its biggest win since joining the Big 12, suddenly has a path that opens up fast. If the Knights take care of Baylor, Kansas, Arizona State, Iowa State and Colorado are still on the schedule.
No. 24 Oklahoma State at Iowa State comes in fifth, and that placement is driven by how unpredictable this year has been.
Oklahoma State may have the Big 12’s best offense, with the kind of firepower that can push past 50 points on any Saturday. But Ames at night is a different challenge entirely, and that’s enough to keep this one near the top of the watch list.
The bottom two matchups feel more like survival tests than conference-defining showdowns. Kansas at TCU features two teams that are simply chasing bowl eligibility now, and the loser is likely staring at a winter at home. Sonny Dykes is already on the hot seat, which gives the stakes a sharper edge for the Horned Frogs.
Kansas State at Colorado rounds things out. There’s not much here in the Big 12 title picture, but there is plenty of pressure in different ways.
Collin Klein is in his first season at Kansas State, and Avery Johnson’s status for this weekend is still a question. Colorado, meanwhile, is running out of room if it wants to get to six wins, and dropping to 2-6 would make the climb even steeper.
In Other News...
Cincinnati Has A Bigger Big 12 Chance Than Utah Wants To Admit
Saturdays Big 12 matchup has drawn plenty of attention because it pits Cincinnati against an undefeated Utah team that has looked the part through the early going. The Bearcats come in with some real momentum after a recent win over Texas Tech, and the conversation around this one has already turned to whether Cincinnati has more of a chance than Utah wants to acknowledge. David Pollack and Brent Rollins both dug into the matchup, framing it as a test of how far Cincinnati has come and how much pressure Utah can absorb in league play.
A lot of the focus naturally falls on Utahs dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier, who gives the Utes a different kind of problem for a defense trying to stay disciplined from snap to snap. Pollack believes Cincinnati is capable of handling the moment and sees the Bearcats as live underdogs in a game set for 2:45 p.m. CT on ESPN. For Cincinnati, it is the kind of late-afternoon proving ground that can shift how the rest of the Big 12 views the Bearcats if they can turn another strong showing into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Has A Real Reason To Watch The Big 12 Now
The Big 12s recent run of change has a lot to do with Brett Yormark, who took over as commissioner in 2022 and quickly put his stamp on the league. Under his watch, the conference added Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, while also landing a media rights deal that helped stabilize the leagues future. For programs like Cincinnati, the last few years have been a reminder that the Big 12 is still trying to define itself in a shifting college sports landscape, even as it holds onto its place as the No. 4 conference and continues to put multiple playoff contenders on the board.
Yormarks tenure also pushed the Big 12 into some of the sports most consequential battles, reflecting how much more assertive the league has become in protecting its interests. The conference has not shied away from taking a leadership role when it believes the stakes warrant it, and that approach has helped shape the way the Big 12 operates on and off the field. With so much of that groundwork already in place, the next phase for the league will be about whether it can keep that momentum going as the leadership picture changes. [Read more 🡒]
Cincinnati Faces Its Toughest Test Yet At Nippert Against No. 6 Utah
No. 6 Utah arrives at Nippert with the nations longest active winning streak intact, and Cincinnati knows this is the kind of late-season home game that can say a lot about where the program stands. Scott Satterfield has stressed the value of playing in front of a familiar crowd, and the Bearcats will need every edge they can get against a Top 10 team that has handled just about everything in its path.
What makes Utah so tricky for Cincinnatis defense is the variety baked into its offense, which has a way of forcing opponents to stay disciplined snap after snap. The Bearcats are also staring at a game that could swing on hidden-yardage moments, whether it is the run game, a turnover or a field goal chance, so the margin for error feels especially thin. [Read more 🡒]