After a chaotic Week 2, the Big 12 rolls into Week 3 with a slate that should tell us plenty. There are conference games on the board, a trip to London, and a few teams that are about to answer some real questions.
The biggest one sits at the top of the weekend: who grabs control of the league race? Texas Tech has been viewed by many as the Big 12’s top team, even if the Red Raiders don’t look quite as strong as they did a year ago.
The schedule helps them here, though. They don’t have to deal with BYU or Utah this season, which makes their meeting with Houston stand out as their toughest conference test.
For Houston, this is the chance to do more than win a big game. It’s a shot to plant itself in the conversation as maybe the league’s best team and throw the whole conference picture into chaos.
Then there’s the oddity in London. Kansas and Arizona State are headed to Wembley Stadium for a Big 12 showdown, part of Brett Yormark’s push to take the conference everywhere it can go.
The problem is that this one feels like a reach. London isn’t going to suddenly become a college football hotbed, and this game is not going to turn people there into Kansas or Arizona State fans.
The better home for it, by far, would have been Lawrence or Tempe. At some point, the bigger priority should be building up Big 12 support in the U.S., where football already matters.
Oklahoma State remains one of the strangest stories in the country through two weeks. The Cowboys opened by losing to Tulsa by two touchdowns, then followed it up by stunning a Top 10 Oregon team.
That win looked even more convincing when you checked the stat sheet. The offense was supposed to be the calling card this season under Drew Mestemaker, and the talent around him was supposed to drive that unit.
Now the question is simple: which version of Oklahoma State is real? The one that stumbled badly against Tulsa, or the one that overwhelmed Oregon?
Saturday’s game against Murray State shouldn’t be much trouble, but the bigger mystery is what comes next for a team that has already lived through a wild emotional swing.
West Virginia is also trying to figure itself out, only from a much steadier place. Rich Rodriguez returned to Morgantown after a disappointing 4-8 season, and while he didn’t have much time to shape the 2025 team, the expectation is that the 2026 version should look better.
He has a full offseason now, more of his players in the program, and a new quarterback in Michael Hawkins Jr. The Mountaineers are 2-0 with wins over Coastal Carolina and UT Martin, but the real test comes this weekend.
A trip to Charlotte to face a Top 25 Virginia team should tell us a lot more about where this group stands.
Colorado rounds out the list of big Week 3 questions, and the answer here is all about offense. There wasn’t much belief in the Buffs entering the season, with a bottom-three Big 12 finish on the table.
But they opened by beating Georgia Tech on the road, even without a great offensive showing. Last week, Julian Lewis was sharp against Weber State, throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns.
That said, Weber State is one thing. Northwestern on the road is another.
Colorado’s defense has already shown it can handle a physical attack. The next step is proving the offense can do the same against a respectable Power Four defense.
If that happens, Colorado may end up being a lot more dangerous than people expected.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Now Faces A Tense Wait For A Five-Star Target
Moussa Kamissokos recent official visit gave Oklahoma State a chance to make its case to one of the most coveted basketball prospects in the country. The five-star forward from SPIRE Academy in Ohio has the kind of profile that can change the look of a recruiting class, and for a program trying to land elite talent, simply getting him on campus matters.
Now the Cowboys are in the part of the process where patience matters as much as pitch. Kamissoko has a full slate of visits ahead and is not expected to move quickly, which leaves Oklahoma State waiting while other national programs get their turn to impress him. If the Cowboys do end up winning this recruitment, it would be the sort of commitment that sends a clear message about where the program is trying to go. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Quarterback Uncertainty Just Got Bigger Entering Week 3
Week 2 in the Big 12 made the quarterback picture even messier, and not just for Baylor. DJ Lagways injury has pushed the Bears deeper into uncertainty heading into Week 3, while UCF is also waiting on the status of Alonza Barnett after a rough Saturday around the league. With conference matchups already carrying extra weight this early in the season, every update at the position matters, especially for teams trying to settle in before the schedule turns even more demanding.
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, got one of the more eye-catching quarterback performances of the weekend from Drew Mestemaker, who kept his team in the conversation as the conferences top arms were ranked and re-ranked heading into another round of Big 12 games. His outing stood out in a week full of movement at the position, and it only sharpened the contrast between the teams getting answers at quarterback and the ones still searching for them as Week 3 approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Dante Moore Is Facing The Oregon Test That Could Change Everything
Dante Moore came back for the 2026 season with a chance to strengthen an already lofty NFL future, and Oregon still has every reason to believe the quarterback room can turn him into another high-end pro. The Ducks have built a reputation for developing passers, but Moores path has not been smooth early, and the coaching changes around him only add another layer to how this season will be judged.
The loss to Oklahoma State only sharpened the conversation, because it was the kind of test that can either steady a young quarterback or expose how much more there is to sort out. Todd McShay still sees Moore as a top-five draft prospect, but the bigger issue now is less about talent than about how he responds to adversity and whether he can fully command the team as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]