Tuesday’s Big 12 conversation has three clear themes after a wild start to the season: Oklahoma State’s massive bounce-back, some early unease around Texas Tech, and a new read on Iowa State after a strong showing in defeat.
The biggest surprise of the weekend came in Stillwater. After Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa in Week 1, plenty of people - the writer included - were ready to write the Cowboys off.
Then came Saturday’s performance against top-ten Oregon, and the Cowboys didn’t just win the matchup in spirit. They controlled the Ducks in every way imaginable.
The turnaround was so extreme it bordered on hard to believe. The difference from Week 1 to Week 2 was described as the biggest leap seen in years of covering college football.
The hope now is that the chaos settles down a little, because the version of Oklahoma State that showed up against Oregon is being treated as the real 2026 Cowboys. If that’s the case, the Pokes are going to make noise in the Big 12.
The one thing Stillwater still has to prove is consistency.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, is unbeaten but not beyond scrutiny. A 2-0 start sounds clean enough, yet there’s hesitation about declaring the Red Raiders the league’s best team just yet.
They looked a little rough around the edges against Abilene Christian in Week 1, which was understandable with so many new faces in the mix. But Saturday’s game against Oregon State raised a few more questions.
The run game has not been as dominant as expected, and Will Hammond still hasn’t done enough to lock down the job in convincing fashion. Head coach Joey McGuire seemed to echo that concern after the win, saying, “There’s two sacks out of the four sacks that are on the quarterback.
He’s got to throw the ball away. You can’t take sacks.”
He followed that up with, “There’s a clock that’s got to go off in your head when you step up, nothing’s there,” McGuire added. “You either run or you throw the ball out of bounds.”
There are also issues on the other side of the ball. The defense does not look like last year’s unit, the secondary was beaten up last weekend, and the front line doesn’t appear to have the same talent level.
None of that means Texas Tech is bad. It does mean the “clear-cut best team in the Big 12” label feels premature.
Friday’s game against Houston offers a chance to change that view.
Then there’s Iowa State, which looks a lot sturdier than expected. With a new coaching staff and a wave of new faces, the Cyclones were picked by the writer as one of the conference’s bottom three teams in the preseason. That opinion took a hit after their loss to Iowa.
Even in defeat, Iowa State showed real fight. The effort in Iowa City stood out, and the Cyclones were only a play or two away from leaving with a win.
That kind of performance changes the picture. Instead of a team near the bottom, Iowa State now looks more like a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team.
The bigger question may be which programs truly belong at the bottom of the league, because that still feels too early to sort out.
In Other News...
Iowa State Suddenly Has A Passing Game Problem To Solve
Iowa States passing game took a hit in the Cyclones game against Iowa when wide receiver Evan Boyd went down with a knee injury, and head coach Jimmy Rogers said he will miss the rest of the season. Boyd arrived as a transfer with Power Four experience and was expected to be a meaningful part of the offense, so his loss changes the early shape of the receiver room in a hurry.
Carter Pabst and freshman Jamal Polite Jr. are now among the players with a chance to absorb some of those snaps and targets. For Iowa State, the challenge is not just replacing one receivers production, but finding a way to keep the passing game balanced enough to support the rest of the offense after losing a player it had counted on. [Read more 🡒]
Tamin Lipsey Could Change Iowa States Biggest 2026-27 Question
Tamin Lipseys future could end up shaping one of Iowa States biggest questions for the 2026-27 season, and it has nothing to do with what happens on the floor in the near term. Lipsey and other student-athletes have joined a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking a fifth year of competition eligibility, arguing that players from the Class of 2022 were improperly left out of the associations Five-for-Five model.
The case is still moving through the courts, with both sides ordered to submit legal findings by Sept. 17, 2026. For Iowa State, the issue carries obvious weight because Lipsey has been central to the programs recent success, and his eligibility status could eventually affect how the Cyclones approach their roster planning for the next season and beyond. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Just Raised Expectations For Jimmy Rogers In A Big Way
The first two weeks under Jimmy Rogers have given Iowa State a far different early read than the one many projected in the summer. With a nearly rebuilt roster and a new coaching staff, the Cyclones handled Southeast Missouri State in Week 1 and then went toe-to-toe with Iowa before falling just short in the rivalry game, a start that has already pushed this group beyond the preseason chatter that had them buried near the bottom of the Big 12.
Now comes the part that will really define how much this start matters. Iowa State still has a demanding run ahead, with conference play and a mix of home and road tests set to tell whether this is simply a promising opening or the start of something more durable, and bowl eligibility will depend on how the Cyclones respond once the schedule stiffens and the margin for error gets thinner. [Read more 🡒]