Week 8 only tightened the Big 12 knot, and the latest chaos left three storylines standing out from the pack: Texas Tech took its first hit of the season, Utah kept adding to its playoff case, and Baylor finally pulled the plug on the Dave Aranda era.
Start with Texas Tech, because the loss to Cincinnati did more than hand the Red Raiders their first defeat. It peeled back the layers on a team that had already been flashing warning signs.
At 6-0, Texas Tech had been getting by with slow starts, uneven quarterback play and too many games that stayed tighter than they should have. Cincinnati made all of that impossible to ignore and dealt a loss that should land as a blunt reminder heading into the back half of the season.
Still, I’m not ready to back off the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech is 6-1, still squarely in the Big 12 championship picture, and the path ahead looks manageable enough to keep the faith. Arizona and Oklahoma State are on deck, and while neither game is going to be a walk, they’re not obstacles that should scare off anyone who believes this team has another run in it.
Every serious contender in this league has a flaw. Utah has lived through several close calls.
BYU has dealt with injuries. Nobody is clean.
What Texas Tech still has is talent, and that matters. Joey McGuire’s team has enough to answer the Cincinnati loss, and my read is simple: the Red Raiders get back on track, finish 11-1, and make it back to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game.
Utah is making its own case in a different way, and right now that case is hard to ignore. The Utes are the Big 12’s last undefeated team after another weekend full of upsets around the sport, and the win over Houston only sharpened the picture. They control their own fate in the conference race and in the College Football Playoff conversation.
The schedule is still far from forgiving. Utah has trips to Cincinnati and Arizona ahead, plus a home date with rival BYU in a game that could loom huge in the league race.
There’s room for a stumble. There always is.
But even if the Utes slip once, 11-1 is very much in play. And if they get there, it’s tough to picture them being left on the outside of the 12-team Playoff field. Whether 11-1 is enough to send them to Arlington is another question, given how jammed the standings are, but as things stand now, Utah looks like the safest playoff bet the Big 12 has.
Then there’s Baylor, where the decision to fire Dave Aranda felt overdue, even if it wasn’t easy. His time in Waco had the shape of a long, uneven ride: the Bears would beat expectations when the bar was low, then fall short when the pressure rose. Aranda kept buying himself more time, but the program’s slide since the Big 12 Championship five years ago never really stopped.
The move came after the loss to Kansas, which left Aranda at 40-40 overall and 26-32 in Big 12 play. For a school with Baylor’s resources and a recent championship on the resume, that just isn’t enough.
Could more time have changed things? Maybe.
But Baylor’s leadership chose not to wait and risk getting boxed out in the coaching market later. That matters, too.
Sometimes the toughest call is the correct one. For Baylor, making it now gives the program a chance to move on and start building the next chapter.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Just Sent A Strong Message About Joey McGuire
The noise around Joey McGuires job security got a swift response from a prominent Texas Tech supporter this week, and it was about as direct as it gets. Cody Campbell publicly said McGuire is not going anywhere, adding that the coach could even be in line for a contract extension and raise as the Red Raiders look to steady things after a recent loss.
Campbell also made clear that the backing around the program is not cooling off. He said Texas Tech donors are ready to increase their financial investment in football, a sign that the support structure around McGuire remains firmly in place even as speculation has started to build outside Lubbock. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Gets Timely Boost For An Offense That Keeps Stalling
Texas Tech is getting a needed lift back in the backfield with Cam Dickey cleared to return from the high ankle sprain he suffered Oct. 3. His absence over the past two games has been felt in the places the Red Raiders have struggled most, especially when the offense has needed a reliable answer in short-yardage situations and inside the red zone.
Dickeys return gives Texas Tech a chance to steady an offense that has been stalling at the wrong times. Even with the passing game setting the tone, the Red Raiders have been looking for more consistency when the field gets compressed, and getting Dickey back should help them improve the efficiency that has slipped while he was out. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech's New-Look Roster May Need One Thing To Survive Early
Texas Tech is heading into the new season with a roster that looks almost entirely remade, and the Red Raiders may need some quick chemistry to go with all that new talent. Nine newcomers are in the mix, including eight players who have never worn the jersey before, which means the early weeks will be as much about figuring out roles as they are about winning games. Add in the injury situation up front, and the lineup balance starts to look a little different than what anyone probably envisioned in the offseason.
That puts even more pressure on Texas Techs perimeter game, especially a three-point attack that could become the teams best path through a tough non-conference slate. The Red Raiders are about to see several opponents with strong frontcourts, so the challenge is not just scoring efficiently but surviving the physical matchups that come with them. For a team still learning itself, those early tests may say as much about its ceiling as anything else. [Read more 🡒]