Week 2 of the 2026 Big 12 season delivered the kind of chaos that can make even early-season overreactions feel justified. A few teams made noise against Power 4 opponents, one program flipped the script in stunning fashion, and a couple of losses left real questions hanging after just two Saturdays.
The biggest jolt came out of Stillwater, where Oklahoma State went from losing to Tulsa one week to beating No. 6 Oregon 39-31 in Eric Morris’ debut at Boone Pickens Stadium.
That’s the kind of swing that stops college football in its tracks. The Cowboys’ defense set the tone, limiting the Ducks to 90 rushing yards at 3.0 per carry while Dante Moore was held to 191 yards on 14-of-29 passing with a 22.4 QBR.
Oklahoma State also looked far sturdier on both lines than it had in Week 1. The North Texas transfers who took plenty of heat during the week answered back, too.
Drew Mestemaker finished 26-for-43 for 317 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, Caleb Hawkins carried 23 times for 110 yards and a score, Wyatt Young caught five passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, and Ethan Wesloski led the defense with nine tackles, .5 sacks and .5 tackles for loss.
The Big 12’s early nonconference profile got a major lift from more than one result. The league went 1-2 against the SEC, with Arizona State and Kansas taking losses as underdogs and Utah winning as the favored team.
That leaves the Big 12 at 4-5 against Power 4 opponents so far, with a 6-3 record against the spread. If the Pac-12 is folded into the picture, the conference is 7-5 overall and 7-5 ATS.
Oklahoma State’s upset obviously stands out, but Iowa State also played above its weight class, and Arizona State did plenty in a 48-20 loss that the final score doesn’t really capture. The Sun Devils finished with more pass yards, more rushing yards, more yards per play, more first downs and more sacks than Texas A&M.
On the flip side, TCU’s loss to UNC and UCF’s loss to Pitt were the kind of ugly defeats that linger because the Big 12 teams looked like the better sides and still came away empty.
BYU, meanwhile, opened Big 12 play with a statement. Bear Bachmeier threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns as the Cougars rallied past Arizona 28-17 in the conference opener.
Arizona had led 17-14, but BYU took control in the second half and shut the Wildcats out over the final 30 minutes. Arizona managed only 82 total yards after halftime, and Noah Fifita took the blame even though the offense never got much going on the ground either.
Through two weeks, BYU looks like the most consistent team in the league and, at 1-0 in conference play, sits in first place.
Texas Tech’s 35-24 win over Oregon State came with a very different feel. The Red Raiders got the result, but they spent much of the night in a fight.
Braden Atkinson threw for 346 yards against them, Texas Tech averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, and the Red Raiders piled up 70 penalty yards while looking sloppy on both sides of the ball. There’s also the possibility of a quarterback battle developing between Will Hammond and Thomas Castellanos.
For a team with as much talent as anyone in the Big 12, the first two weeks have not yet looked like a fully formed contender.
Iowa State rounded out the weekend with a performance that may not have shown up in the win column, but still said something about the team. The Cyclones lost 16-13 to Iowa on Saturday night, yet they played a clean game with zero turnovers, held the Hawkeyes to 3.2 yards per rush and won time of possession.
Tyler Roehl got conservative on offense in the second half, especially once Iowa’s run defense tightened, but that’s part of the grind in a rivalry game. Even so, Iowa State’s showing suggested a team that will be difficult to deal with all season.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Are Already Sounding The Alarm After Corvallis
Texas Techs first two games have left plenty of Red Raiders fans uneasy, and it is not hard to see why. A narrow win over Oregon State followed by a less convincing showing against Abilene Christian has already turned the early part of the season into a referendum on how sharp this team really is, with social media filling up quickly with complaints about penalties, play calling and the kind of execution that tends to separate a comfortable September from a tense one.
The frustration is less about one bad night than the feeling that the same concerns are showing up too early and too often. For a program that wanted cleaner football out of the gate, the online reaction has made clear that the leash is short and the patience is thinner, which means Texas Tech will have to answer some real questions on the field before the noise around Corvallis fades. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs First Road Test Will Answer One Big Defensive Question
Texas Techs first road trip of the season arrives with a chance to see how far this group has come, and it comes in a setting that usually tells on a team fast. The Red Raiders are headed to Reser Stadium in Corvallis to face Oregon State in a game that will air on CBS, and Joey McGuire made clear this is the kind of test he wants early. With Texas Tech sitting at 12-2 and Oregon State at 2-12, the record gap might look lopsided, but the value here is less about the matchup on paper and more about how the Red Raiders handle a different environment.
McGuire has talked about the importance of the road game and the standard he expects defensively, which is where the real interest lies for Texas Tech. Away from home, the Red Raiders will get a cleaner read on whether that side of the ball can travel and hold up when the surroundings change, the crowd gets louder, and the game asks for answers in tougher spots. For a team with bigger goals ahead, this is the kind of early-season trip that can confirm a lot without necessarily telling the whole story. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs 2-0 Start Just Put Its QB Situation In Focus
Texas Techs 35-24 win over Oregon State gave Joey McGuire plenty to like in the record column, but not nearly as much at quarterback. Will Hammond delivered a solid-enough stat line, hitting 20 of 27 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, yet McGuire made it clear after the game that the Red Raiders need cleaner play from the position as the competition around him continues to take shape.
The concern was not just about the final numbers, either. McGuire pointed to turnovers, sacks and decision-making as the issues that need attention, while Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos also saw snaps at quarterback. With Texas Tech off to a 2-0 start, the question now is less about whether the Red Raiders are winning and more about how settled their quarterback room really is. [Read more 🡒]