Week 5 is where the Big 12 starts to separate the real ones from the rest.
The nonconference slate is nearly done, October is here, and conference play is taking center stage for almost everybody in the league. Three Big 12 teams are sitting out this week, and Kansas is the lone exception to the conference-only feel, hosting Middle Tennessee in its final nonconference game of the regular season.
For everyone else, the pressure is real. Some teams are trying to plant a flag as actual Big 12 contenders. Others are just trying to show the problems from September can be cleaned up.
Four teams, in particular, have a clear point to make.
Houston has already shown it can hang with a top opponent. Two weeks ago, the Cougars came up just short against Texas Tech in a game that could wind up being one of the best in Big 12 play.
Last weekend, they responded by handling Georgia Southern 42-28 in a rare Power Four road trip to a Group of Six school. Now comes the next test: UCF at home on Saturday.
If Houston wants to stay in the Big 12 race, this is the kind of game it has to close out. The Cougars look like the more talented team.
Now they need to act like it.
Arizona’s challenge is more specific, and probably more dangerous. The Wildcats have had three weeks to stew over that loss to BYU, a game that slipped away in the second half.
Wins over Northern Illinois and Washington State have steadied things a bit, but this week brings a Cincinnati team that has already piled up more than 1,000 rushing yards through four games. The Bearcats leaned on the ground game to control the second half in their win over Kansas State, and that gives Arizona a very clear assignment: slow the run and get Cincinnati off the field.
If not, the Bearcats can drag this game into their own rhythm the same way they did against Kansas State.
Arizona State comes into Week 5 needing a different kind of answer. Two weeks after its trip to London, the Sun Devils still have to prove the offense can settle in and produce with more consistency.
That task gets tougher against Baylor. If you watched Baylor-Colorado on Saturday like I did, you saw a defense that can make life miserable in the Big 12.
The Bears bottled up Colorado for long stretches, limited the Buffaloes to only a few big plays and kept pressure on the quarterback. Arizona State now has to show it can handle that kind of heat and keep its offense from disappearing.
Then there’s West Virginia, where the assignment is as blunt as it gets: fix the defense, and do it fast. The Mountaineers were gashed for more than 600 yards of total offense by Oklahoma State last week.
The Cowboys found room on the ground against West Virginia’s three-high safety look, then picked apart the secondary in the second half. There’s a long list of things to clean up, but the clock is the problem.
West Virginia gets only one week to sort it out before heading to Ames to face an Iowa State team also chasing its first Big 12 win.
This week is about proof. Houston, Arizona, Arizona State and West Virginia all have something to show.
In Other News...
WVUs Defensive Collapse Is Raising Bigger Questions Than Fans Expected
West Virginias defensive struggles are no longer just a bad stretch, theyre becoming a real problem for a program trying to find stability in conference play. The Mountaineers have given up plenty of yardage and too many explosive plays in recent games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, and the concern goes beyond one rough afternoon or one busted coverage. With the defense sitting last in total defense among Power Four teams, the numbers are starting to match what has looked obvious on the field.
Zac Alley and Rich Rodriguez are both under the microscope now, because the issues keep pointing in two directions at once: execution and roster talent. West Virginia has also had trouble against first-year head coaches this season, which only adds to the sense that opponents are finding answers faster than the Mountaineers are. The deeper question is whether this is simply a correction period for a young unit, or a more serious sign that the defensive foundation is not where it needs to be. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Defense Has A New Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Pro Football Focus latest grades gave West Virginia fans a familiar kind of snapshot, one that showed a defense still searching for answers after a recent game. The numbers pointed to a unit that had trouble finishing plays, with tackling angles and overall disruption becoming recurring issues, even as the offense had its own uneven day up front.
The bright spots on defense were limited to linebacker Isaiah Patterson and safety JaCorey Thomas, the only Mountaineers who really stood out in the grading. Elsewhere, West Virginia managed only eight pressures, and the offensive line also had its hands full despite a strong rushing total, leaving the bigger concern less about one bad sequence than about whether the front seven can start looking more consistent. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Just Showed How Dangerous This Team Can Be
West Virginias latest matchup with Iowa State offered another reminder that this team can beat you in more than one way. In the 13th meeting between the programs and the first since 2024, the Mountaineers leaned on a ground game that kept churning and a supporting cast that showed up everywhere else, from the trenches to the kicking game. Michael Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook each went over 100 rushing yards, a sign that the offense has found a reliable physical edge.
The rest of the roster did its part too, with the defense stacking tackles and sacks while special teams helped tilt field position with solid punting. For a West Virginia team trying to prove its ceiling is higher than a one-dimensional attack, that kind of complete effort matters. When the run game is rolling and the other phases are holding up their end, the Mountaineers look dangerous in the way good teams are supposed to. [Read more 🡒]