Week 10 in the Big 12 brought a little bit of everything at quarterback: late-game heroics, eye-popping stat lines, and one brutal night that sent a starter tumbling down the rankings.
Noah Fifita helped Arizona survive TCU in a 29-28 thriller to open the slate, but the most dramatic swing came in the Holy War, where the two quarterbacks on the field produced wildly different outcomes. One accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns.
The other threw four interceptions. That kind of split is hard to ignore, even in a league full of fireworks.
There was no shortage of offense in Texas Tech’s 53-48 escape of West Virginia either. Thomas Castellanos and Michael Hawkins Jr. turned it into a track meet, combining for 68 first-half points while both throwing for more than 300 yards and doing damage on the ground as well.
With Week 11 arriving, the Big 12’s best quarterback matchups are clustered toward the back end of the schedule. Kansas at West Virginia sets up as a battle of mobile passers, with Hawkins Jr. using his legs all season and Isaiah Marshall coming off two 100-yard rushing games in his last three.
The conference’s two ranked games also feature contrasting styles: No. 2 Utah’s Devon Dampier against No.
23 Arizona’s Noah Fifita, and No. 12 Texas Tech’s Castellanos against Drew Mestemaker and a hot Oklahoma State offense.
Here’s how the league’s eight best quarterbacks stack up entering Week 11 of the 2026 season.
DJ Lagway showed a different side in Baylor’s 42-31 win over Iowa State, leaning on his legs more than he had at any point this year. He threw touchdown passes to Tony Livingston and Taz Williams, ran for 119 yards and another score, and nearly had a second rushing touchdown before fumbling as he crossed the goal line at the end of the first half.
Baylor now heads to No. 10 BYU for a 3:30 p.m.
EST kickoff on Fox. Utah’s quarterback play helped decide last week’s meeting with the Cougars, but Lagway does not bring the same kind of threat on the ground that Devon Dampier does.
Bachmeier stays in the rankings, but his Holy War performance was rough enough to drag him down. After BYU moved ahead 20-14, he threw four interceptions over the final three quarters, doubling his season total in one night. Not every pick was the result of bad luck, either; the second and third were thrown straight to Utah defenders.
BYU returns home to face Baylor at 3:30 p.m. EST on Fox. The Bears have forced at least one turnover in every game this season, though they also just turned in one of their weakest defensive outings of the year against Iowa State.
Castellanos followed up one big outing with another, and Texas Tech’s offense kept humming against West Virginia. He finished with 362 passing yards, several deep completions, five touchdowns and 102 rushing yards in a huge night for the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech now travels to No. 25 Oklahoma State for a 9:30 p.m.
EST game on ESPN. The Cowboys have allowed at least three touchdowns to opposing offenses in all six of their Big 12 games.
Hawkins Jr. also delivered a huge performance in that same game, topping 300 passing yards for the second time this season. He connected with TaRon Francis, Prince Strachan and Ryan Ward on deep balls all night and added 88 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground, as usual making life difficult for the Red Raiders.
West Virginia stays home to host Kansas at 5:30 p.m. EST on ESPNU. The Jayhawks have been solid against the run over the last three weeks, but both Kansas State and Utah topped 275 rushing yards against them in mid-October.
Weigman helped Houston edge Cincinnati 31-24, completing 17 of 24 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 30 yards and the Cougars’ third score. His toughest throw came on an eight-yard touchdown to Amare Thomas, a back-foot strike that still found its mark.
Houston heads to Colorado for a late Friday night kickoff at 10:15 p.m. EST on ESPN. The Buffaloes have faced two offenses in a row that were starting third-string quarterbacks.
Dampier was the engine for Utah in the Holy War, accounting for all four touchdowns in the Utes’ win. He threw two scores to Braden Pegan, one a 46-yard strike in tight coverage over the middle and the other a 14-yard corner route in the end zone. He also ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and he caught a 29-yard pass from Creed Whittemore on fourth down.
Utah now heads south for a ranked road game at No. 23 Arizona at 7:30 p.m.
EST on Fox. The Wildcats have already seen a similar quarterback-running back combination in Thomas Castellanos and J’Koby Williams, who piled up 292 rushing yards against them.
Fifita’s line against TCU had both the bad and the clutch. He threw a pick six that put Arizona in a halftime hole, but he helped pull the Wildcats back out of it. He scored on a nine-yard run in the third quarter to briefly put Arizona back in front, then later hit Quincy Craig on a contested touchdown pass in the fourth to help trim the deficit.
Arizona stays home for that matchup with unbeaten No. 2 Utah at 7:30 p.m.
EST on Fox. The Utes have forced turnovers in each of their last six Big 12 games, including a four-interception game against BYU.
Mestemaker may have turned in the weekend’s most complete performance. In Oklahoma State’s 66-28 win at Kansas State, he threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns, ran for a score and even caught a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He did throw a pick six in the second quarter, but Oklahoma State already led 28-14 at the time.
The Cowboys host No. 12 Texas Tech in a ranked showdown at 9:30 p.m.
EST on ESPN. The Red Raiders have struggled defensively over the last three weeks, and they gave up 582 total yards in last week’s win over West Virginia.
In Other News...
West Virginia Has One Lineup Call That Still Matters Vs Kansas
West Virginias weekly availability report leaves the Mountaineers with a little more clarity heading into Kansas, even if the picture is not completely clean. Tight end Cam Ball and offensive lineman Lamarcus Dillard are out, while quarterback Jyron Hughley and safety Jacob Bradford are expected to be available, giving the staff a better sense of what it can count on as it finalizes the game plan.
Kansas has its own issues to manage, with offensive lineman Connor Stroh and quarterback Cole Ballard unavailable. Amir Herring and Chase Jenkins are the names to watch as potential replacements, and that kind of shuffle can ripple through both protection and execution, which is why West Virginias remaining lineup decision still carries some weight as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mountaineer Trey Lathan Is Still Giving WVU Fans A Reason To Smile
Trey Lathan may be wearing Kansas colors now, but the former West Virginia linebacker is still finding a way to connect with Mountaineer fans through something bigger than football. This season, he pledged to donate $50 for every tackle he makes to Miami Childrens Hospital and WVU Medicine Golisano Childrens Hospital, a gesture rooted in his familys experiences and one he has already taken beyond the checkbook by visiting the hospitals with teammates.
Coming into the game against West Virginia, Lathan has piled up 62 tackles, which has translated into $6,200 for Miami Childrens Hospital and $3,100 for WVU Medicine Golisano Childrens Hospital. It is the kind of off-field story that resonates in Morgantown, where Lathans time in the program still matters and where his latest chapter has given fans another reason to pull for him, even if the jersey has changed. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Faces A Sneaky Test As Unbeaten Start Continues
West Virginia heads into its home date with Mercer looking to keep an unbeaten start rolling and push the winning streak to three. The Mountaineers are 2-0 after a recent win over Stetson, a game that again showed how much this early-season group can lean on multiple contributors rather than one go-to scorer.
Mercer arrives at 2-2 after an overtime win against Georgia Southern, and the Bears bring a balanced attack that can make this a little trickier than a typical nonconference tune-up. With several Mercer players already producing in double figures, West Virginia will have to stay sharp at both ends if it wants to keep the momentum going and avoid letting a sneaky test turn into a problem. [Read more 🡒]