Another week of Big 12 football has shuffled the board again, and the league is past the halfway mark with a new team sitting on top of these power rankings.
The headline result belongs to BYU, which knocked off No. 2 Notre Dame, while Houston and Oklahoma State delivered one of the week’s best matchups in the Top 20.
The Cougars beat the Cowboys 35-32, though Oklahoma State still somehow fell out of the AP Top 25 after losing by three on the road. Arizona moved into the poll at No. 25 after its bye week.
Here’s how the conference shook out after Week 7 results:
West Virginia 45, Cincinnati 42
No.
8 BYU 28, No. 2 Notre Dame 24
No. 10 Texas Tech 53, Arizona State 25
No. 11 Utah 27, Colorado 24
No. 20 Houston 35, No.
18 Oklahoma State 32
Kansas State 35, Kansas 24
TCU 17, Baylor 6
And here’s the updated Big 12 pecking order:
No. 16: Colorado
No. 15: Kansas
No. 14: Arizona State (13)
No. 13: Cincinnati (9)
No. 12: West Virginia (14)
No. 11: UCF
No. 10: Iowa State
No. 9: Baylor (8)
No. 8: TCU (12)
No. 7: Kansas State
No. 6: Arizona
No. 5: Utah
No. 4: Oklahoma State
No. 3: Houston
No. 2: Texas Tech (1)
No. 1: BYU (2)
Week 8 brings a packed slate across the conference:
West Virginia at TCU, 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 8 Texas Tech at Cincinnati, 12 p.m.
ET on FS1
Baylor at Kansas, 1 p.m.
ET on TNT
No.
2 BYU at UCF, 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX
Kansas State at Arizona State, 3:45 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Colorado at Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. ET on FS1
Iowa State at Arizona, 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 14 Houston at No.
10 Utah, 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN
College GameDay is headed to Salt Lake City for the top-15 clash between Houston and Utah. The winner will be in a strong position to reach Dallas at the end of the season.
There’s also a chance the Big 12 could be sitting with as many as six ranked teams by Week 9 if Arizona beats Iowa State and Oklahoma State handles Colorado. Among the teams just outside the rankings, the Cowboys are getting the most votes.
West Virginia has something tangible in front of it, too: if the Mountaineers win in Fort Worth, they’ll be one victory away from bowl eligibility.
In Other News...
West Virginia Let A 15-Point Lead Turn Into A Bigger Concern
West Virginia had the game under control for stretches, but a 15-point lead slowly slipped away as Maryland turned an exhibition into a warning sign. The Mountaineers still got a strong scoring night from Finley Bizjack, who finished with 25 points, yet the early cushion did not hold once Marylands pressure and physicality began to tilt the matchup.
Andre Mills carried the Terps with 27 points, and Pharrel Payne added a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds as Maryland finished the rally and outlasted West Virginia 90-81 in overtime. For the Mountaineers, the bigger concern was not just the final result, but how turnovers and the loss of composure allowed a manageable game to become one they could not recover from. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Just Reopened A Bowl Path With Everything Still To Prove
A narrow win over Cincinnati gave West Virginia a much-needed boost and, just as importantly, reopened the conversation about a possible bowl trip. With the record moving in the right direction, the Mountaineers are back in the mix in a way that felt uncertain not long ago, and several outlets have already started slotting them into different postseason possibilities. Others are still waiting to make a call, which says plenty about how much work remains.
The problem is the road ahead is hardly forgiving. TCU is next, and the Horned Frogs are favored by oddsmakers, which means West Virginia will have to keep stacking results against a tougher part of the schedule if it wants the bowl chatter to turn into something real. For now, the Mountaineers have restored hope, but they have not yet earned the kind of cushion that makes the rest of November feel safe. [Read more 🡒]
WVU May Have Found The Best Way To Unleash Mike Hawkins Jr
West Virginias passing game has started to look a little different, and the change has given Mike Hawkins Jr. a clearer runway to make an impact. The Mountaineers have leaned more on quick throws to complement the run game, a shift that helped Hawkins pile up 464 passing yards against Cincinnati, one of the highest single-game totals in program history. Hawkins said the plan helped him get into rhythm early while also building more comfort with his receivers and running backs.
For a WVU offense still searching for its best version, that kind of balance matters. The staff has seen enough to believe there is more room for the passing game to grow as Hawkins becomes a more credible threat through the air, and the idea of that progress coming alongside the ground attack gives the Mountaineers a more promising path forward. [Read more 🡒]