What a Saturday the Big 12 just had. Week 7 brought a little of everything: a massive upset in Provo, a dominant showing from a conference heavyweight, a ranked fight in Houston, rivalry business in Manhattan and a walk-off field goal in Morgantown.
The headline belongs to BYU. The Cougars walked into Saturday night as double-digit underdogs against No.
2 Notre Dame, with College GameDay in Provo and the whole country watching. They answered with the kind of finish that changes a season’s conversation.
Bear Bachmeier drove BYU on a late touchdown march to grab the lead, and the defense stood firm in the final seconds, keeping Notre Dame out inside the 10-yard line to secure a 28-24 win.
That result carries real weight for the league. BYU’s upset of Notre Dame is being treated as the biggest win in the history of the 16-team version of the Big 12, and it’s not hard to see why.
It matters for credibility. It matters for the College Football Playoff picture.
And it matters because it gives BYU, and by extension the conference, a marquee non-conference win that can strengthen resumes across the board.
Bachmeier was at the center of all of it. He finished 23-of-36 for 224 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and he added 45 rushing yards and two scores on 13 carries.
He wasn’t just good. He carried the offense.
Texas Tech also delivered a performance that looked like the version of the Red Raiders plenty of people expected to see this season. The tone changed early when Ben Roberts returned an interception for a touchdown in the first quarter, and Texas Tech never let Arizona State back into it on the way to a 53-25 win.
J’Koby Williams piled up a career-high 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Will Hammond looked settled for the first time all year, completing 18 of 26 passes for 232 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown. Tech needed that kind of outing, and it may be the spark that gets the Red Raiders rolling in the back half of the season.
In Manhattan, Kansas State kept its grip on the Sunflower Showdown. The Wildcats erased a 17-7 first-half deficit and beat Kansas 35-24 to make it 18 straight in the series.
Once Kansas State found its footing, it controlled the game with sheer production: 357 rushing yards and 568 total yards, along with 7.6 yards per play. Joe Jackson led the ground attack with 159 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, while Avery Johnson added 132 rushing yards on just 12 attempts and also threw for 209 yards and a touchdown.
The win also gave Kansas State its first conference victory and moved the Wildcats to 1-2. In Year 1 under Collin Klein, this still looks like a team in transition. But rivalry wins have a way of cutting through that noise, and this one keeps the streak alive for a coach who was part of it as a player and now continues it from the sideline.
Houston earned a hard-fought one in a ranked game that had plenty of bite. The Cougars held off an Oklahoma State rally and escaped with a 35-32 win in front of a sell-out crowd.
Conner Weigman was the difference, throwing five touchdown passes and winning the duel with Drew Mestemaker, who kept flashing the kind of ability that has him climbing NFL Draft boards. Mestemaker was sharp, but Weigman made the bigger plays late.
With Houston protecting a three-point lead and under two minutes left, Weigman kept the Cowboys from getting another shot by running on a second-and-6 to help close it out.
For Houston, it was the kind of night the program has been building toward for more than a decade. The fan base showed up, and the Cougars gave them a result to match.
Not every Big 12 contender had a clean day. Baylor’s trip to the Revivalry turned into a mess.
The Bears entered the game with four straight wins and some real momentum in the conference, but Saturday unraveled quickly. DJ Lagway was inconsistent, the run game never found traction and the performance left Dave Aranda in the spotlight again.
After the loss, Aranda said, “We have to win. I understand when there’s not success, but I believe in this team.
I believe in the guys in the locker room. They care about winning.
They care about Baylor. IT means a lot to them.”
Baylor is still 2-1 in Big 12 play, and the schedule ahead gives the Bears Kansas, UCF and Iowa State next. After that comes BYU, Texas Tech and Houston.
The question hanging over the program is how much runway Aranda has left. Saturday didn’t help his case.
It was a rough showing in a rivalry game after a promising stretch, and it landed badly.
In Other News...
Houston Just Made A Big 12 Statement Fans Can't Ignore
Houston kept its Big 12 momentum rolling at TDECU Stadium with a 35-32 win over Oklahoma State, a result that gave the Cougars another eye-catching conference victory and pushed them to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. Conner Weigman was at the center of it again, directing an offense that had to keep pace with a Cowboys team that piled up 499 total yards and made the game uncomfortable deep into the afternoon.
The difference came in the fourth quarter, when Houston found the kind of explosive answer that can change the feel of a conference race. Weigman delivered the decisive cushion on a 48-yard touchdown pass to Koby Young, a play that turned a tight finish into a statement win and left Houston looking every bit like a team that belongs in the Big 12 conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Lands A Rare Spotlight In A Massive Big 12 Test
ESPN College GameDay is sticking with the Big 12 spotlight and heading to Salt Lake City for Houstons Week 8 matchup against Utah, a sign of how much national attention this conference has drawn in recent weeks. The show will be coming off its Week 7 stop in Provo for BYUs game against Notre Dame, giving the Big 12 back-to-back showcase moments on one of college footballs biggest stages.
For Houston, it is another reminder that the Cougars are part of a league race with real College Football Playoff weight behind it. The Big 12 has spent this season collecting undefeated teams and statement wins, and Houstons place in the conversation has only added to the intrigue as the Cougars head into a game that should carry major conference consequences. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Made The Kind Of Big 12 Statement Fans Craved
Conner Weigman helped steer Houston through another tense Big 12 night, with the quarterback leading multiple scoring drives and the defense coming up with enough stops to keep Oklahoma State at arms length. It was the kind of back-and-forth game the Cougars have been searching for, one that showed they can take a punch and still find a way to respond when the pressure rises.
The atmosphere matched the moment at TDECU Stadium, where 42,544 fans turned out for one of the biggest crowds in building history. For a program trying to keep building momentum in its new league, a win like this carries more weight than just one result, even if the larger story of where it fits in the conference race is still very much unfolding. [Read more 🡒]