The Big 12 race is starting to sort itself out, and the separation is showing up in a hurry. Some teams are building real momentum, some are hanging around, and a few are discovering just how hard this stretch of the season can be.
One of the clearest risers right now is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are not just winning; they’re looking like a team that can decide the shape of this conference race.
Drew Mestmaker threw for more than 300 yards against UCF, and the defense answered after a few tackling issues by holding the Knights to seven second-half points while also scoring a defensive touchdown. That’s the formula working in real time: the offense piling on pressure, the defense delivering at the exact moments that matter.
Saturday’s game against Houston is the big hinge point. It’s Oklahoma State’s first matchup against a ranked opponent while ranked itself, and the stakes are obvious.
If the Cowboys handle business, they could roll into their Nov. 14 meeting with Texas Tech still undefeated in Big 12 play. If they slip, they’re still in the hunt, but the climb gets steeper fast.
Either way, their stock is moving up.
Arizona also earned a serious boost. The Wildcats went into Morgantown for a noon kickoff - 9 a.m. back in Tucson - and did it without three wide receivers.
None of that slowed them down. Arizona put up 51 points, Noah Fifita threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns, and Isaiah Mizell stepped into the spotlight with six catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
The defense gave up 31, but that number doesn’t carry the same weight against a West Virginia team that is built to score. With six games played and only one loss, to BYU, Arizona is very much in the mix for the Big 12 title game.
As long as Fifita keeps operating at this level, the Wildcats will have a chance.
Utah has climbed into the same conversation. Last weekend was the first time the Utes really had to deal with a push, and Kansas made them work for it.
Utah led only 21-17 at halftime, the Jayhawks challenged them in different ways, and the Utes had to adjust before finally pulling away after the break. The second-half response mattered.
So did Wayshawn Parker, who ripped off 171 yards and two touchdowns and now looks like the running back Utah should keep feeding. He’s done this before, too, helping close the door on an upset-minded opponent in Iowa State earlier in Big 12 play.
After coming in with some skepticism tied to the coaching change, Utah now looks to be in excellent shape.
Not every stock report is glowing, though. UCF is still stuck in a tough pattern away from home.
The Knights have now dropped 12 straight road games since beating TCU in their Big 12 debut in September of 2023. Scott Frost is the one who has to break that streak, and the reality is that his team keeps showing fight without finding a finish.
Against Oklahoma State, UCF was missing 10 players, including Alonza Barnett III and Duane Thomas Jr., and that kind of depletion leaves the offense with very little margin. The defensive line can only carry so much.
If the Knights can’t start turning these close road games into wins, a bowl berth is going to remain out of reach.
Kansas State is another team whose season is heading in the wrong direction. It’s unusual to look at the Wildcats and see a team that simply doesn’t look like Kansas State, but that’s where things stand.
Houston came in and controlled the game after a tight first quarter, and the biggest issue remains on the defensive side. The portal losses hit hard, Collin Klein worked to patch things together, but there just isn’t enough there right now.
That puts a lot on Avery Johnson and the offense, and it also raises the stakes for this weekend’s Sunflower Showdown against Kansas. Kansas State’s 17-year run in that rivalry is on the line.
BYU is in a strange spot in this discussion because the Cougars are still undefeated, but the injury to LJ Martin changes the temperature around the team. Bear Bachmeier turned in a huge performance, throwing for 329 yards and rushing for 109 more, and he pretty much carried the load.
That’s the problem. It’s hard to imagine asking him to do that every week.
BYU did get six other players involved in the run game, but Preston Rex led the non-Bear rushers with 21 years. The Cougars now have to find a real answer on the ground, and they need one quickly with No.
2 Notre Dame coming to town.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Faces Its Biggest Big 12 Test Yet At Houston
No. 18 Oklahoma State heads to Houston with the kind of late-season stakes that can reshape a conference race, and it does so carrying real momentum after four straight wins. The Cowboys have already shown they can move past the upheaval that defined the offseason, and now they get a top-20 road game against a Houston team that has also started to find its footing under Willie Fritz, fresh off a win over Kansas State.
TDECU Stadium should provide one of the Big 12s most revealing matchups of the weekend, with both teams bringing notable offensive talent and the winner stepping deeper into the championship conversation. For Oklahoma State, the challenge is proving its surge is about more than just recovery, because Houston is the sort of test that can show whether this run has real staying power. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma States Surprising Run Faces Its Biggest Test Yet
Oklahoma States sudden turnaround has given the Cowboys real momentum heading into the kind of game that can tell you whether a hot start is a blip or something sturdier. After dropping its opener, Oklahoma State has strung together four straight wins, including an upset over Oregon, and now heads into a matchup with No. 20 Houston in a game that carries plenty more weight than a typical September test.
Houston has matched the Cowboys with three straight victories, and the Cougars bring one of the leagues more dangerous passing-game weapons to the table in tight end Patrick Overmyer, who leads the team in receptions and yards. For Oklahoma State, this is the next step in proving the surprise run is real, because a road win over a ranked opponent would say a lot more about the Cowboys than any early-season surge ever could. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Warren Just Gave Oklahoma State Fans A Huge NFL Reminder
Former Oklahoma State fans had plenty to track in the fifth week of the 2026 NFL season, and Jaylen Warren made sure his name was impossible to miss. The former Cowboys back turned in a huge day for Pittsburgh, while Justice Hill helped Baltimore survive in overtime, Ollie Gordon II found the end zone for Miami and three ex-Cowboys were part of Detroits win, another reminder of how much NFL mileage Stillwater talent continues to rack up.
The weekend also came with a few setbacks, as Tylan Wallace, Teven Jenkins and Nick Martin were inactive because of injuries. Even so, the broader picture was encouraging for Oklahoma State followers who have watched this pipeline grow year after year, with Warrens latest showing serving as the loudest proof that the Cowboys imprint on Sundays is still very much alive. [Read more 🡒]