Welcome to Big 12 play, where every team has finally stepped into league action and the picture is starting to sharpen. Eight teams are unbeaten in conference games. Eight are still searching for their first win.
Week 4 gave us a little more clarity on a league that’s been tough to read. A few teams made real statements.
A few others raised some uncomfortable questions. Here’s who helped their stock and who took a hit.
Oklahoma State made the kind of noise that gets attention fast. After beating West Virginia on Saturday, the Cowboys look like the real deal.
The offense rolled for more than 600 total yards, and even though the defense gave up plenty of yardage, it came through in the biggest moments and forced a turnover. That offense has the feel of something dangerous, especially with the offensive line expected to get healthier over the bye week and Braydon Nelson set to provide help at left tackle.
These aren’t Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys anymore. That much is clear.
Cincinnati also earned a bump, even if the overall picture still isn’t fully settled. The Bearcats weren’t my pick to do much up to this point, and I’m still not sold on where they’ll land by season’s end.
But beating Kansas State after trailing 17-14 at halftime showed something real. Cincinnati outscored the Wildcats 21-9 in the second half, and the defense made Avery Johnson throw it 50 times.
The Bearcats stayed true to their run-first identity and controlled the clock for nearly 27 minutes. Ugly?
Sure. But they’ve now won two straight that way, and that matters.
Utah also belongs in the stock-up conversation. The Utes deserve more national attention, and it feels like that recognition is coming.
What stood out at Iowa State was how steadily they controlled the game, with only a small hiccup or two along the way. Wayshawn Parker is starting to demand more notice too.
He’s the Big 12 running back not getting enough credit, and his Big 12 co-offensive player of the week honor should help. He’s on track for his first career 1,000-yard season, and that could be a big piece of Utah’s push to get to the Big 12 Championship game for the first time.
On the other side, Kansas State has some fixing to do. I had the Wildcats beating Cincinnati, and I was wrong.
After rewatching the game, the concerns were hard to miss. The run game never really got going, which created an offensive imbalance.
The run defense was soft. Special teams gave up 18.5 yards per punt return.
On the road, those kinds of mistakes usually decide the outcome, and this is exactly the kind of week where a bye can help. Kansas State needs it.
West Virginia’s arrow is pointed down after a rough showing against Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers’ defense had no answer for the Cowboys, who piled up more than 600 yards of total offense.
The front four struggled to slow the run or get to Drew Mestemaker, and the secondary, already dealing with injuries, was beaten downfield. Offensively, West Virginia does have two excellent pieces in Michael Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook, but Oklahoma State found a way to limit both after the first three drives.
If that becomes the blueprint, the Mountaineers have a bigger problem on their hands.
TCU also slid in a hurry. Sonny Dykes was already on my hot-seat coaches list last week, and the loss to UCF didn’t help his case.
UCF is a tougher place to play than it looks, and the Horned Frogs didn’t protect the football there. They managed just 13 points and never established a run game.
At this point, TCU’s resume is what it is: wins over Grambling and Arkansas State, losses to UNC and UCF. No one is mistaking those two defeats for elite opposition, and that’s exactly why the Horned Frogs are starting to look like a plain old average team.
In Other News...
WVUs Tennessee Game Carries A Charlotte Edge Fans Know Well
West Virginias 2028 trip to Charlotte just moved up a week, with the Mountaineers and Tennessee now set to meet on Aug. 26 as part of the Dukes Mayo Classic. The change from the original Sept. 2 date follows the broader shift in the college football calendar beginning next season, and it keeps one of the more notable neutral-site matchups on the books at a venue that has become familiar territory for the program.
Charlotte carries a bit of extra meaning for West Virginia, too, and athletic director Wren Baker pointed to the citys value as a neutral site for the Mountaineers. For fans, it is the kind of schedule tweak that does not change the opponent or the stage, but does sharpen the anticipation around a game already carrying plenty of early-season intrigue. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces A Bigger Problem Than Just Bouncing Back
West Virginia and Iowa State both enter Saturday in Ames carrying the sting of recent home losses, which gives this matchup a little more edge than a typical Big 12 meeting. Rich Rodriguez has already had to sort through what went wrong for the Mountaineers, while Jimmy Rogers is doing the same on the other sideline, with both coaches acknowledging the challenges that come with getting a team reset in a hurry.
The ground game could end up shaping the tone, with Cam Cook giving West Virginia a dangerous option and Aiden Flora bringing the same kind of punch for the Cyclones. If Iowa State is going to put its recent disappointment behind it, it will have to do so against a West Virginia group that knows it can make life difficult in a hurry, and that makes the response in Ames feel like more than just a routine bounce-back spot. [Read more 🡒]
Zac Alley Sees One Urgent Fix For WVUs Defensive Collapse
West Virginias defensive problems were front and center after the loss to Oklahoma State, and Zac Alley did not try to dress them up. The defensive coordinator said the unit has work to do in both preparation and execution, a blunt assessment for a group that has spent too much time chasing plays instead of setting the tone. His message pointed less to one bad quarter than to a larger issue with how the defense is being put in position to succeed.
Alley said the fix starts with cleaner technique, a simpler scheme and more rotation so players can keep their legs under them as the season moves forward. He also touched on individual development, noting that some guys are still being evaluated on readiness for the next stretch of games. For West Virginia, the challenge now is turning that self-scouting into something tangible before the defensive slide becomes a bigger problem. [Read more 🡒]