Week 5 did a lot of sorting in the Big 12, and it wasn’t subtle. BYU kept rolling with a road win at TCU, Texas Tech left Boulder with a 29-7 victory, Baylor blew the doors off Arizona State, Arizona handled previously unbeaten Cincinnati, Houston climbed out of a 17-point hole to beat UCF, and Iowa State survived a wild one against West Virginia.
That kind of Saturday tells you plenty. Some teams are starting to look like real conference threats.
Others are raising bigger and bigger questions. And a few programs left Week 5 with a lot more to think about than they had going in.
Aiden Flora was the difference in Iowa State’s 45-42 win over West Virginia, and that’s putting it mildly. The Adel, Iowa native came into the season with just 15 carries and 111 career rushing yards.
He also stayed put while a lot of the big Iowa State names followed former head coach Matt Campbell to Penn State. Flora didn’t leave, and now he’s carrying the Cyclones offense.
Against West Virginia, he ran 22 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs. He also added two more scores on halfback passes. For a walk-on in his first two years in the program, that’s a huge night by any standard.
Iowa State’s offense had entered the game ranked 16th in the Big 12 in total yards, though that number came with some context since the Cyclones had already faced tough defenses like Iowa and Utah. Still, what they did against West Virginia stood out.
Their total was their highest in a conference game since they piled up 608 against Texas Tech in 2016. Flora was at the center of it, including two game-winning drives.
At TCU, the story is getting uglier. BYU deserves credit for going on the road and winning in the rain without LJ Martin and Isaiah Glasker, but the bigger takeaway is what happened to the Horned Frogs offense. It simply hasn’t come together.
Sonny Dykes brought in Gordon Sammis to give TCU more of a smash-mouth identity, but the pieces don’t seem to fit. The offensive line, Jaden Craig and the skill players haven’t found much rhythm together, and the result has been an offense that looks flat and uninspiring.
Dykes has to be wondering whether the overhaul was worth it, and the quarterback spot may be the next place he looks. Adam Schobel is waiting, and sooner rather than later, it may be time for Dykes to see what the TCU legacy can do.
Texas Tech’s trip to Colorado wasn’t pretty, but the Red Raiders got exactly what they needed: a 29-7 win. The defense set the tone, especially the secondary, which picked off Isaac Wilson four times and kept Colorado off balance with a bend-but-don’t-break approach.
Even with the 5-0 start, there are still plenty of questions around this team. Will Hammond still hasn’t settled in, the passing game remains inconsistent, the running game hasn’t had that breakout performance, and the offensive line is still very much to be determined.
Tech has the record, and that matters. But with the halfway point of the regular season approaching, it would be a mistake to assume this is a team that’s just going to cruise.
Baylor may be the most interesting team in the league right now. The Bears are 4-1, with the only loss coming against Auburn, and they hammered Arizona State 55-19 on Saturday night. It was the Big 12 home opener for the Sun Devils, coming off a bye, and Baylor made it look like Arizona State never got off the plane from London.
DJ Lagway was sharp, finishing 25 of 40 for 306 yards and four touchdowns. When he’s locked in, he might be the most entertaining quarterback in the Big 12 to watch.
Baylor also ran for 244 yards, and Joe Klanderman’s defense keeps trending upward. The Bears held Arizona State under 100 rushing yards, and Cutter Boley struggled most of the night.
Now Baylor heads into its bye at 4-1 before facing a TCU team that suddenly looks vulnerable in Week 7. After that, the Bears still have games at BYU, against Texas Tech and at Houston, and those could carry major Big 12 title implications.
And then there’s Houston, where the football was good and the crowd was not. The Cougars rallied from 17-0 down to beat UCF 27-17 at home, a strong win for a team off to a 3-1 start and sitting inside the Top 20. But the attendance was the story nobody could avoid.
This has been an issue before, including Kelvin Sampson calling out the fanbase in Week 1. Still, with Houston playing its Big 12 home opener as a ranked team, the turnout was rough enough to be called embarrassing. Blame the heat, the early start, the administration or broader attendance trends - none of it changes what the eyes saw.
There isn’t another Power 4 ranked team that would have a home crowd like that. If Houston wants to be taken seriously, the support has to match the football.
The Cougars are playing some damn good football. The stands should look a lot better than they did Saturday.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Stumbled Onto A Colorado Mystery Before Kickoff
Texas Tech supporters got an unexpected glimpse behind the curtain before kickoff when a 25-page Colorado game plan playbook was reportedly found at the Buffaloes' team hotel. The document appeared authentic and, according to the report, lined up with plays Colorado actually used in the game, turning what might have been a routine pregame footnote into a curious subplot around the matchup.
The game itself only deepened the intrigue for the Red Raiders, who watched Colorado struggle through a 29-7 loss marked by turnovers and interceptions. After a third straight defeat, Deion Sanders pointed to problems inside the program and said the Buffaloes will open up the quarterback competition during the bye week, leaving plenty of questions for a team trying to steady itself. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Defense Just Turned A Nervy Start Into A Statement Win
Texas Tech walked into Boulder facing a tricky setup and spent the first half looking like a team trying to find its footing. Colorado had the early edge, but the Red Raiders kept hanging around long enough for the defense to start tilting the game their way, and once the takeaways started coming, the whole mood of the night changed.
John Curry, Brice Pollock and Malik Esquerra each came away with interceptions as Texas Tech turned a halftime deficit into a 29-7 win. Will Hammond threw for 134 yards and a touchdown, while J'Koby Williams and Quinten Joyner also found the end zone, giving the Red Raiders a road victory that felt a lot cleaner by the finish than it did when it began. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Escapes One Cameron Dickey Fear But Another Question Looms
Texas Tech got one encouraging bit of news out of Cameron Dickeys ankle injury from the Colorado game when X-rays came back negative, easing fears of anything catastrophic. Head coach Joey McGuire said the back is likely dealing with a high ankle sprain, but the timing of the Red Raiders open week gives the staff at least a chance to see if Dickey can work back in time for Arizona State.
Even with Dickey sidelined, Quenten Joyner handled a bigger workload and made his presence felt in the win over Colorado. That keeps Texas Tech from feeling completely exposed if Dickey needs more time, but it also leaves a familiar question hanging over the next stretch: how much of the offense will be available when the Red Raiders return to the field? [Read more 🡒]