Another unbeaten fell in the Big 12 on Saturday, and this one could reshape the entire conference playoff race.
Cincinnati stunned No. 8 Texas Tech, 37-24, to hand the Red Raiders their first loss of the season and end a nine-game Big 12 winning streak that stretched back to last year. The Bearcats used a massive second quarter to seize control, then rode the kind of performance that can alter a league race in a hurry.
JC French threw four touchdown passes, and Cole Tabb turned in a career day with 173 rushing yards as Cincinnati snapped a two-game skid and picked up a signature win. The Bearcats also took advantage of Texas Tech’s ongoing issues through the air, while the Red Raiders hurt themselves with three turnovers and never dug out of the 21-point hole they created against themselves in the second quarter.
For Scott Satterfield, it marked just his second ranked win at Cincinnati in four seasons.
There was extra bite to this one for the Bearcats, too. Last season’s starting quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, left in the offseason and signed with Texas Tech out of the transfer portal, though he never took a snap for the Red Raiders. Sorsby was suspended after a gambling investigation and then mutually parted ways with Texas Tech in June.
The loss leaves Texas Tech in a tougher spot if it wants to repeat as Big 12 champion and claim the league’s automatic College Football Playoff berth. Will Hammond and the Red Raiders likely have to win out - with Arizona among the teams still ahead - to stay in the conversation.
The top of the Big 12 standings still has plenty of movement left. BYU sits at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play, followed by Utah at 6-0 and 3-0, Texas Tech at 6-1 and 3-1, Houston at 6-1 and 3-1, and Arizona at 5-1 and 2-1. BYU is at UCF in Week 8 after last weekend’s win over Notre Dame, while Houston and Utah meet Saturday night and Arizona hosts Iowa State.
That matters because the Big 12 is trying to make a case for multiple CFP teams, and the league can’t afford too many more losses among its contenders. The selection committee’s new conference strength metric adds another layer to the discussion, especially when schedules vary so widely from team to team.
Still, only one of the Big 12’s five ranked teams in Week 8 has a strength of schedule inside the national top 35, and that will be part of the committee conversation next weekend. BYU currently sits No. 1 in strength of record and No. 7 in game control, numbers that give Kalani Sitake’s team a strong platform if it keeps winning. Utah has similar metrics, though its strength of schedule is No. 99, the worst in the conference.
Saturday night’s game between No. 14 Houston and No.
10 Utah carries major weight for the race at the top. A Houston win would move the Cougars into a multi-team tie for second place behind BYU.
Utah, meanwhile, would gain the upper hand in the Big 12 conversation before next week’s trip to Cincinnati and the Nov. 7 meeting with BYU.
Texas Tech’s path is clear only in the broadest sense: the Red Raiders can still finish 11-1, and from there the CFP picture becomes more complicated. They’d hold the head-to-head edge over Houston if the Cougars finish with one conference loss, but if Utah or BYU are tied with Texas Tech at season’s end, the league would turn to tiebreakers involving common opponents. Cincinnati now gets a say in all of it, with Utah and Houston both still on the Bearcats’ schedule.
The Big 12’s push for multiple playoff bids is hanging on the next few weeks, and Cincinnati’s upset made that road a lot more difficult for Texas Tech.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Has A Stake In The Big 12's Next Decision
Cincinnatis upset win over Texas Tech on Saturday did more than shake up the Big 12 race. It also set off a conference review after fans stormed the Nippert Stadium field, putting the Bearcats in line for a possible $50,000 fine under the leagues field-storming policy. The Big 12 is now examining whether the appropriate security measures were in place and whether a safe path was provided for the visiting team and officials.
For Texas Tech, the interest goes beyond the loss itself, because the leagues next decision will help define how these postgame scenes are handled moving forward. The Big 12 typically reaches a ruling within days of incidents like this, so Cincinnatis situation should be settled soon, with the conference weighing both the celebration and the safety issues that came with it. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs QB Problem Just Changed The Big 12 Picture
Texas Techs trip to Cincinnati turned into more than just a lopsided 37-18 loss. It exposed how fragile the Red Raiders can look when the offense stalls inside the red zone and the ground game, on both sides of the ball, starts slipping away. Will Hammond threw for 227 yards, but the one interception and one fumble were part of a messy night for an offense that never found enough rhythm to keep pace.
On the other side, the Bearcats controlled the line of scrimmage in a way that changed the feel of the game and, by extension, the Big 12 conversation around Texas Tech. Cincinnati piled up 257 rushing yards, with Cole Tabb doing most of the damage, and the Red Raiders spent too much of the night chasing answers after Brendan Sorsby was unavailable because of eligibility issues tied to gambling allegations. For Texas Tech, the loss was frustrating enough on its own, but the bigger concern is what it says about how quickly the margin can disappear when the quarterback situation turns uncertain. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Faces Its First Real Road Test At Cincinnati
No. 8 Texas Tech heads to Nippert Stadium for what figures to be its first true road test of the season, and the matchup brings a familiar sort of Big 12 stress. Joey McGuire and defensive coordinator Shiel Wood spent part of the buildup circling Cincinnatis running game, while also keeping an eye on quarterback JC French IV and the ways the Bearcats try to make a defense stay honest. For a Red Raiders team that has looked sharp and physical, this is the kind of game that starts to reveal how much of that success travels.
Texas Techs defense has been one of the early talking points around the program, and recent individual performances have only added to the optimism. But road games have a way of testing discipline as much as talent, especially in a venue like Nippert where the noise and tempo can change the feel of a game quickly. The broadcast will be easy to find, but the bigger question is whether the Red Raiders can take their defensive confidence on the road and handle a Cincinnati team built to make opponents work for every stop. [Read more 🡒]