Big 12 football is back Saturday with a packed Week 5 slate, and the conference’s best value spots are spread across a handful of matchups that could easily shake up the league picture.
No. 10 BYU and No.
12 Texas Tech still sit near the top of the Big 12 conversation, but this week’s budget-friendly games give several other teams a chance to grab attention. Here are the best seats that won’t cost much in Week 5.
No. 10 BYU at TCU ($31)
BYU heads to Fort Worth looking to keep its perfect record intact, while TCU tries to avoid an 0-2 start in Big 12 play for the first time since 2022. The Cougars are favored by 6.5 points in most sportsbooks and are also trying to flip the script in a series where they’ve gone just 2-4 all-time against the Horned Frogs.
Last year’s matchup went the other way for TCU in a big way, with BYU rolling 44-13 in Provo. This time, the Cougars bring one of the nation’s top rushing attacks, powered by LJ Martin, into a matchup with Jaden Craig and a TCU offense that has had trouble taking care of the ball through four games.
TCU has usually risen to the occasion against top-10 opponents, and the Horned Frogs are hoping home field helps them clean things up on defense after a 21-13 loss at UCF. That game included seven different stops for TCU, along with two forced fumbles by cornerback Vernon Glover Jr. and safety Kylin Jackson.
West Virginia at Iowa State ($23)
This one comes with one of the tightest lines on the board, and both teams are trying to bounce back after last week’s losses.
West Virginia’s tempo offense, led by quarterback Michael Hawkins, presents a major challenge for an Iowa State defense that allowed 31 points to Utah at home in Ames last weekend. On the other side, the Cyclones will look to quarterback Jaylen Raynor and primary rusher Aiden Flora to do enough offensively to keep pace with the Mountaineers on Saturday.
Baylor at Arizona State ($17)
The cheapest ticket in the group comes with a late-night feel and a matchup that could turn into a shootout. Baylor and Arizona State both have offenses capable of getting past 30 points, and the Sun Devils are favored by just 3.5 points.
Arizona State comes in after taking advantage of Kansas mistakes two weeks ago in London and enters this one a little fresher than Baylor. DJ Lagway threw for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in last week’s 23-13 home win over Colorado in Waco, and his return to form remains the key storyline for the Bears as they face a tough Arizona State secondary.
Baylor also has another path to making noise if the pass rush can get home. Cutter Boley completed only 11 passes against Kansas in Week 3 and was sacked twice, so that part of the game could matter a lot when these teams kick off Saturday.
In Other News...
BYU Just Got Pulled Into A Big 12 Playoff Fight
College footballs latest playoff debate has started to pull more than just the usual national powers into the conversation. With leaders exploring the possibility of expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 teams to 24, the Big 12 has again emerged as one of the conferences most eager for a bigger bracket, seeing a path that could give more of its teams a realistic shot at the postseason and reshape how the league is judged in November.
For TCU and the rest of the conference, the appeal is obvious, but so are the tradeoffs. A larger field could help Big 12 contenders, yet it would also come with more costs, more strain on the regular seasons meaning and the possibility of traditional bowl games fading further into the background. Josh Pate has been among the critics pushing back hardest, arguing that expansion could deepen financial problems and make teams less willing to take on difficult nonconference matchups, which is exactly the kind of ripple effect the Horned Frogs and their league will be watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Undefeated BYU Walks Into A TCU Team Desperate To Respond
TCUs Big 12 home opener brings a chance to steady things in front of its own crowd, but the opponent does not make the assignment any easier. Undefeated BYU arrives at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3, with the Horned Frogs still trying to answer for recent struggles and regroup around the key players who will have to carry the load in a demanding conference matchup.
For TCU, the main question is how its defense handles a BYU team that has not yet tasted a loss and has already shown it can create real problems for opponents. The game also comes with the usual Saturday details fans will want to know, including kickoff time, broadcast coverage and a weather forecast, but the bigger story is whether the Frogs can turn a home date into the kind of response their season has been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Heads Into TCU With One Strength About To Be Tested
Through the first four weeks of the 2026 college football season, the Big 12 has already started to show which teams can sustain drives when games tighten up. Houston and Kansas State have set the pace in third-down conversion rate and red-zone scoring efficiency, while TCU has leaned on a defense that has done the best job in the league of getting opponents off the field on third down.
That puts the Horned Frogs in the middle of an especially interesting matchup against BYU, a game that should showcase a clash of strengths in the hidden-down category. TCUs offense has not been as steady, so every extended drive matters, and the Cougars are about to find out how well their own third-down work travels against one of the conferences most disruptive defenses. [Read more 🡒]