Week 6 in the Big 12 doesn’t bring a ranked-versus-ranked clash, but it still comes with a handful of games that should tell us plenty about where this league stands. The top of the board is headlined by #22 Houston visiting Kansas State, and the bottom ends with Hawaii at Arizona State - a matchup that sits well below the rest in terms of intrigue.
The game with the most on the line is the one in Manhattan. Houston already has a loss, Kansas State has one too, and another defeat for either side would do real damage to Big 12 title hopes before October gets much older.
Houston has already shown it belongs in the Top 25 conversation. Kansas State, though, remains harder to pin down.
The Wildcats flashed real promise in non-conference play, then stumbled in their Big 12 opener against Cincinnati. Back home, this has the feel of a game they need if they want to get back into the race.
Arizona at West Virginia lands just behind it because the Mountaineers are still one of the league’s most watchable teams, even if two conference losses likely shut the door on their championship chances. Cam Cook and Michael Hawkins Jr. give West Virginia a rushing attack that can stress defenses, and Arizona gets a chance to prove it can handle that kind of pressure.
The Wildcats have already hung around with BYU and followed that up with a dominant win over Cincinnati. This is the kind of matchup that should help answer whether Arizona is a real sleeper or just another middle-tier Big 12 team.
Friday night in Provo brings Iowa State at #8 BYU, and that one has plenty going for it. Big 12 football under the lights always carries a little extra juice, and this should be no exception.
Aiden Flora has been one of the conference’s most productive players, so BYU’s defense will have its hands full. The Cougars, meanwhile, need a better offensive showing after last week’s sluggish outing in Fort Worth.
Both teams want to run the ball, both play with a physical edge, and that usually means a tight one.
UCF’s trip to #18 Oklahoma State checks in next, and it also carries a notable marker: this is Oklahoma State’s first game as a ranked team in more than two years. The Cowboys’ offense has been electric, with Drew Mestemaker leading the way and plenty of weapons around him.
UCF doesn’t draw the same attention offensively, but the Knights have shown they can defend. The real test is whether that defense can keep Oklahoma State from turning this into a track meet in Stillwater.
Kansas at #12 Utah feels like the most one-sided game on the slate. Kansas has not done much to build confidence, while Utah keeps looking like a serious Big 12 championship threat.
The Utes’ defense remains one of the best in the league, and the offense appears even more dangerous than it did a year ago. A road upset would be a shock in Salt Lake City.
At the very end sits Hawaii at Arizona State, the lone non-conference game involving a Big 12 team this weekend. Arizona State is trying to rebound after a blowout loss to Baylor, but compared with the conference games around it, this one doesn’t offer much to latch onto. For everyone not invested in the Sun Devils, it’s the easiest game on the schedule to overlook.
In Other News...
Iowa State's Upset Chance Just Got More Real Against BYU
BYUs trip to face Iowa State took on a different feel once the Cougars learned theyll be without top rusher LJ Martin, who is expected to miss about a month with a lower-body injury. The No. 8 team in the AP poll still brings plenty of talent into the matchup, but losing a key back changes the shape of a game plan that was already headed toward a tricky test against a Cyclones team trying to keep its momentum rolling under first-year coach Jimmy Rogers.
Iowa State is coming off a high-scoring win, though the defense still has issues to sort through, and the timing of this one adds another layer. The Cyclones will play their first true road game outside Iowa on a short week, which is never an easy ask, but a BYU offense missing one of its most important pieces gives Iowa State a more realistic path to springing the upset it needs to stay in the thick of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces One Offensive Test That Could Decide BYU Upset Hopes
Iowa State heads into its road trip to face No. 8 BYU with the same question hanging over its offense that has followed the Cyclones through their toughest matchups this season: can they generate enough against an elite defense to stay in striking distance? The numbers have not favored Iowa State when the opponent can really get after it, with the Cyclones producing fewer points and fewer yards per play against stronger defensive fronts, and this one brings another stiff test in a hostile setting.
BYU has earned its high ranking in part by controlling the run, which puts extra pressure on Iowa States key pieces to find answers early and often. Aiden Flora and Jaylen Ranyor will be among the players the Cyclones lean on most, but the larger issue is whether Iowa State can do enough offensively to make the game look different from the others in which it has been bottled up. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State's Surprising Start Suddenly Puts Bowl Hopes In Play
A 3-2 start has Iowa State in a much better spot than preseason projections suggested, especially after all the roster turnover that left plenty of questions in August. The Cyclones have picked up wins over West Virginia, Bowling Green and Southeast Missouri State, and while the losses to ranked Utah and Iowa showed how thin the margin still is, the early record has given the season a more promising shape than expected.
Now the conversation has shifted from simply finding answers to chasing seven wins and a bowl berth. The road there is still uncertain, but with upcoming games still to play, Iowa State has at least put itself in position to make the second half matter in a way few outside the program would have predicted before the season began. [Read more 🡒]