Week 9 reshaped the Big 12 quarterback conversation in a hurry, and Week 10 opens with a fresh name sliding into the top eight.
Thomas Castellanos is the newcomer after Texas Tech’s 34-26 win against No. 22 Arizona, a game that paired two very different quarterback styles and ended with the Red Raiders leaning on the option game. Noah Fifita piled up more than 400 passing yards, but Castellanos and Texas Tech’s ground-heavy approach carried the day.
That wasn’t the only quarterback showcase to grab the league’s attention. Iowa State’s 51-49 win over No.
24 Oklahoma State turned into a wild duel, with Drew Mestemaker doing what he does and Jaylen Raynor delivering the kind of all-around night that forces people to notice. Raynor passed for a season-high 309 yards and three touchdowns, then added 48 rushing yards and another score.
Injuries also kept changing the picture across the conference. Kansas started Cole Ballard in place of Isaiah Marshall in its loss at TCU, while UCF turned to Alonza Barnett III after Keyone Jenkins went down in the second half of the loss to Baylor. Kansas State is in the toughest spot of all: Avery Johnson is out indefinitely, and backup Jacob Knuth has been ruled out against Oklahoma State.
The Week 10 slate brings a few quarterback matchups worth watching right away. Friday night sends TCU and Arizona onto the field, with Noah Fifita back in the spotlight and Jaden Craig continuing to fly under the radar. Craig has thrown for 2,207 yards through eight games, which is the third-most in the conference.
Saturday starts with a ranked showdown between No. 9 BYU and No.
3 Utah, and that one features two of the Big 12’s best dual-threat quarterbacks in Bear Bachmeier and Devon Dampier. Later, West Virginia and No.
15 Texas Tech will go with a less traditional pairing, as Michael Hawkins Jr. and Thomas Castellanos bring mobility more than pure pocket passing.
Castellanos’ performance against Arizona may have been enough to change how Texas Tech uses him going forward. He completed 11 of 24 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and his legs matter just as much as his arm because they pull attention away from J’Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey.
That same Texas Tech offense now gets West Virginia, with the Mountaineers coming in after allowing more than 200 rushing yards in games against Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Cincinnati. Hawkins Jr. has been productive all season, with 1,598 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns and two interceptions through the first eight games, plus 836 rushing yards and 16 more scores on the ground.
Baylor also gets another look at a quarterback who just flashed big-play ability. Sawyer Robertson was one of two Big 12 quarterbacks off in Week 9, and his 2,053 passing yards rank fourth in the league while his 20 touchdown passes trail only Drew Mestemaker.
The Bears are back at McLane Stadium to face Iowa State after two road games, and the Cyclones have been giving up yards through the air for a while now. They haven’t held an opponent under 300 passing yards in over a month, dating back to their 45-42 survival of West Virginia.
Bachmeier’s best stretch against Arizona State came on Baylor’s penultimate first-half possession, when he threaded a 14-yard completion to Legend Glasker through triple coverage and then found Kyler Kasper for a 13-yard touchdown on another tight-window throw. He did throw an interception on the next drive, but the overall night still stood out.
Utah’s Dampier put together a dominant first half against Cincinnati before the game got out of hand. He was 15-of-16 passing with two touchdowns by halftime, and even after a second-half pick six, he added a 59-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Andrews. BYU’s defense has kept three October opponents under 300 yards of offense, but the Cougars haven’t faced a quarterback quite like Dampier yet.
Mestemaker’s outing against Iowa State was nearly flawless except for one interception on a throw across his body that he failed to read properly. He still finished with 323 passing yards and five touchdowns, and the last one briefly put Oklahoma State ahead with less than a minute left.
Arizona, meanwhile, leaned heavily on Fifita in the loss to Texas Tech. He finished with a season-high 417 passing yards, and his most eye-catching throw came on the 94-yard touchdown to Isaiah Mizell, a sideline shot that turned into a huge play.
Week 10 closes with Arizona back home against TCU on Friday night, and the Horned Frogs will try to keep another quarterback from getting loose. TCU gave up a season-high 451 yards in its win over Kansas, but it still hasn’t allowed an opposing quarterback to top 300 passing yards.
In Other News...
Utah Already Faces A Concerning Early Test At Home
Utah had to dig itself out of an ugly first half to get past Long Beach State, rallying from a 17-point deficit and escaping with a 66-63 win. Trey Campbell was a major part of the turnaround, helping steady the Utes when the game threatened to get away from them, but the result did little to soften the edge in the building after the final buzzer.
Alex Jensen made it clear he was not satisfied with how Utah opened the game, even in victory, and now the Utes turn around for another home test with Towson coming in. The Tigers dropped their opener 89-70 at Santa Clara, and Pat Skerry said the effort was there even if the execution was not, which makes this an early chance for Utah to show it can start cleaner before the margin for error gets any smaller. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Offense Just Gave BYU One More Problem To Worry About
Utahs offense has become a moving target under coordinator Kevin McGiven, and thats part of what makes it so difficult to pin down from week to week. The Utes have leaned into versatility all season, with backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin showing up in the run game and even lining up at receiver, while seven different players have already cleared 100 receiving yards. Braden Pegan has been the most productive target in the passing game, and the balance has given Utah more ways to stress a defense than just one featured option.
Hunter Andrews also gave the group a boost in a recent game, adding another layer to an offense that has found production from all over the formation. Daniel Bray chipped in with a rushing touchdown as well, underscoring how many pieces can matter in a given week. With BYU next on the schedule, McGiven pointed to the Cougars defensive complexity, which only adds to the intrigue for a Utah attack that already seems comfortable making opponents account for just about everyone. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Utah Just Turned Into A Very Different Game Day
The early alarm clock is part of the deal this week in Salt Lake City, where Utah is set to face BYU at 10 a.m. MST. It is a different kind of game day for the Utes and their fans, who are used to building their Saturdays around a later kickoff and now have to rethink everything from breakfast to tailgating.
Around town, the adjustment is already showing up in real time. Fans are reshaping their pregame routines to fit the morning start, with some leaning into breakfast-style gatherings, while local bars and restaurants are opening earlier to catch the crowd before and during the game. For a rivalry weekend that already carries plenty of energy, the timing adds a fresh wrinkle to the usual script. [Read more 🡒]