After three weeks, the Big 12 already feels like a league full of questions, and Week 4 is set up to answer a few of them in a hurry. With conference games on the board and a handful of tricky nonconference tests still looming, this weekend could tell us plenty about who’s real and who’s still pretending.
The most intriguing matchup on the slate might be the one in Morgantown, where Oklahoma State visits West Virginia in a game that could help define the conference’s sleeper race. The Cowboys came into the year with plenty of buzz around the talent Eric Morris brought in, but the Mountaineers have made their own noise by starting 3-0 for the first time in eight years.
That run got even louder after West Virginia knocked off a Top 25 Virginia team by double digits. Now both teams are chasing their first conference win, and the winner won’t just leave with momentum - it’ll have a strong argument as the Big 12’s true dark horse contender.
There’s also real pressure building in Colorado, where Deion Sanders is trying to reset things after last weekend’s ugly 41-7 loss to Northwestern. Sanders made it clear he was unhappy with how his team played and how some players responded afterward, pointing out that several players were laughing and smiling after the game.
He then said in a press conference earlier this week that he made roster changes by dismissing several players. The message was unmistakable: he was fired up and all business.
Whether that approach sharpens the Buffaloes or causes the whole thing to crack from within is the big question. For now, Colorado gets a fresh start with a trip to Waco to face Baylor on Saturday.
Houston is staring at a different kind of danger. The Cougars are a double-digit favorite, but the trip to Statesboro, Georgia, to face Georgia Southern has all the markings of a trap.
It’s an unusual setup for a Power Four team, especially this late in September, and Houston is coming off a heartbreaking loss at Texas Tech. Add in the fact that UCF is waiting next week for the conference home opener, and this has the feel of a game where a team can get caught looking ahead.
Houston may still be the better team, but it cannot afford to treat Georgia Southern like an afterthought.
Utah, meanwhile, has looked overwhelming through three games, rolling past Idaho, Arkansas, and Utah State while outscoring those opponents 142-24. That’s a dominant start on paper, and the Utes have looked every bit the part so far.
Still, the schedule hasn’t really challenged them yet, which leaves the obvious question hanging over them: how good are they, really? Saturday’s trip to Ames for a meeting with Iowa State should help answer that.
It’s a chance for Utah to show that the early blowouts mean something more than just a hot start.
Cincinnati also enters Week 4 with a lot to prove, even at 3-0. The Bearcats needed a miraculous comeback to get past Miami (Ohio) last weekend, and that kind of escape job doesn’t exactly settle nerves.
Things get harder now with Kansas State coming to town. A win would go a long way toward quieting doubts about Scott Satterfield, while a loss could change the tone around this season fast.
And the road ahead is brutal. Cincinnati still has home games against Kansas State, Texas Tech, Utah, and Colorado, plus trips to Arizona, West Virginia, Houston, Iowa State, and BYU.
One could make a strong case that the Bearcats drew the toughest conference schedule in the Big 12.
In Other News...
Ashton Porter Is Becoming A Huge Measuring Stick For Houston's Defense
Through three games, Ashton Porter has already become one of the more revealing pieces in Houstons defensive front. Opponents have been keying on him with double- and triple-teams, a sign of how quickly he has started to draw attention, and he has still found ways to make an impact with two pass breakups and a sack.
Porters next step is less about effort than refinement, especially in how he works his pass-rush plan against veteran linemen. He has talked about sharpening his counter moves and getting better at escaping double teams, which makes the coming weeks important for a player who has flashed promise but still needs more live reps to round out his game. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Heads Into A Week 4 Reunion Georgia Southern Fans Will Feel
Houstons trip to Statesboro for a Week 4 road game carries a little more personal history than a normal nonconference stop. It will be the Cougars first visit there, but the backdrop is familiar enough for both sidelines to make the matchup feel a bit like a reunion, with Willie Fritz returning to the place where he once coached and Clay Helton leading Georgia Southern as a Houston alumnus with family ties to the program.
There is even a shared thread under center, where starting quarterbacks Conner Weigman and Max Johnson arrive with their own connection from their Texas A&M days. It gives the game a layer of familiarity beyond the usual early-season scouting, and for Houston it adds a chance to measure itself in a setting where the relationships run deeper than the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Fans Have A Freshman Worth Watching Very Closely
Through the first three weeks of the 2026 college football season, a handful of freshmen around the Big 12 have already started to make their presence felt, and Houston has reason to keep an especially close eye on its own young group. The league has seen early impact plays from names like Legend Glasker, Cannon DeVries, Keisean Henderson, LaDamion Guyton and Kevin Obot, the kind of first-year production that can change the feel of a roster before conference play really settles in.
For Houston, the appeal is bigger than one hot start or one highlight. Freshmen who contribute this early can alter depth charts, create new options for the coaching staff and give the Cougars a better sense of where the next wave of playmakers might come from. With the season still young, the question is not just which newcomers have flashed, but which one might keep building on it as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]