Week 9 sharpened the top of the Big 12 board and muddied just about everything underneath it.
Utah made the clearest statement of the weekend, rolling into Cincinnati and leaving with a 49-25 win that kept the Utes alone at the top as the conference’s only unbeaten team. Texas Tech answered its own questions with a strong win over Arizona, while BYU shook off its first loss and stayed in the upper tier. After that, the league turned chaotic in a hurry.
Iowa State pulled off a wild 51-49 win over Oklahoma State, Colorado finally got its first Big 12 victory, TCU needed a second-half surge to survive Kansas, and Baylor looked like a completely different team in its first game after firing Dave Aranda. With November here and the Big 12 race tightening, here’s how the league stacks up after Week 9.
- Utah Utes
Utah stays put at No. 1 because there’s no real argument against it. The Utes are still unbeaten in Big 12 play, and the way they handled Cincinnati only reinforced that they’re getting stronger. The offense is showing more creativity and explosiveness, and the defense keeps becoming more dependable.
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech makes one of the biggest climbs of the week after knocking off Arizona, a Top 25 team that had been rolling through a five-game winning streak. Thomas Castellanos may or may not be the long-term answer, but the Red Raiders got efficient production on the ground and the defensive front showed up the way it’s supposed to this season.
- Houston Cougars
Houston didn’t play, but the Cougars slide a spot anyway. There had been a real case for ranking them ahead of Texas Tech because of how they’d looked lately, but Tech’s win over a ranked opponent changes the picture. A bye week can’t compete with that kind of résumé boost.
- BYU Cougars
BYU stays in the top five, but the last two weeks have been rough. The Cougars have turned in their two worst performances of the season against UCF and Arizona State, and neither opponent was exactly lighting the league on fire. This team needs LJ Martin back ASAP.
- Arizona Wildcats
Arizona drops after the loss at Texas Tech. The front seven, which had been earning praise lately, got pushed around by Tech’s run game, and that proved to be the difference. Noah Fifta also had a tough second half and looked far less sharp than he had in previous weeks.
- Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State jumps into the top half after one of the weekend’s most impressive wins. Jimmy Rogers and the Cyclones beat Oklahoma State in dramatic fashion, and Jaylen Raynor helped jump-start an offense that had been struggling by putting up 600 yards one week after being benched. Ames continues to be one of the toughest places to play, even after the Matt Campbell era.
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys fall after the loss, and the defense is still the issue that keeps dragging them down. Iowa State’s offense had been going nowhere lately, and Oklahoma State made it look explosive.
Even after the Cowboys took a 49-48 lead late, the game never felt safe. “That’s too much time.” “ruff”.
- Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati drops after getting blown out by Utah, which came just one week after the Bearcats handled Texas Tech. That’s the kind of swing that makes this conference hard to pin down. The schedule doesn’t let up either, with road games at Houston and Iowa State coming next.
- UCF Knights
UCF follows up its huge win over BYU with a brutal letdown against Baylor. That loss was as damaging as it gets after last week’s high point, and it leaves a lot of the momentum from the BYU win behind. It’s the kind of result that makes you question how the Knights looked so sharp a week earlier.
- West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia gets the bye after wins over Cincinnati and TCU. The break comes before a brutal closing stretch: Texas Tech on the road, then Kansas, Houston and Utah. Not exactly a friendly finish.
- Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State is trending upward thanks to its freshmen battery at quarterback and running back. Jake Fette and Cardae Mack look like they could form a strong one-two punch, and there’s clearly something promising taking shape in Tempe. The challenge now is figuring out how to keep both of them in the fold.
- Baylor Bears
Baylor is one of the strangest teams in the league, and this week only added to the confusion. After firing Dave Aranda, the Bears went out and blasted UCF.
When Baylor is on, it can look really good. The problem is that the highs and lows are all over the place.
- TCU Horned Frogs
TCU had to rally from a scoreless first half to beat Kansas, something the program hadn’t done since 2018. Sonny Dykes badly needed the win, even if it doesn’t settle everything around the program. For now, it at least takes some pressure off.
- Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado finally got into the win column in Big 12 play with an overtime win over Kansas State. Deion Sanders needed that one too, and the Buffaloes actually ran for more than 200 yards against a K-State front that has been vulnerable. It was a solid win, plain and simple.
- Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State’s season keeps sliding, and the quarterback situation is now down to a fourth-string option. The bigger concern is the defense, especially up front, where the Wildcats just don’t have enough size or skill right now. Giving up more than 200 rushing yards to Colorado is a rough look.
- Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas brings up the rear after letting TCU escape. Lance Leipold handed that game to the Horned Frogs, and it was the worst coaching and decision-making display from a Big 12 coach this season. The Jayhawks have talent, but they keep getting in their own way, and Saturday was the clearest example yet.
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