The second full weekend of Big 12 play shook up the league picture in a hurry, and the biggest winners in this week’s rankings were Baylor and Iowa State. Both teams made major climbs after statement wins over Arizona State and West Virginia, respectively.
At the top, Texas Tech holds down No. 1, with BYU right behind at No. 2. Houston sits at No. 3, followed by Oklahoma State, Arizona, Utah, Kansas State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF, TCU, West Virginia, Arizona State, Kansas and Colorado.
Iowa State’s rise is one of the clearest stories from the weekend. The Cyclones knocked off West Virginia 45-42, while Baylor rolled Arizona State 55-19, and both results reshuffled the middle of the conference order.
The Week 5 scoreboard also included BYU’s 17-10 win over TCU, Texas Tech’s 29-7 victory over Colorado, Houston’s 27-17 win against UCF, Kansas’ 55-0 rout of Middle Tennessee, and Arizona’s 34-7 win over Cincinnati.
West Virginia’s slide is now a real concern. The Mountaineers have lost their first two league games, and they’re back home this week against Arizona. That’s not an easy landing spot for the Wildcats, but the travel works in West Virginia’s favor with Arizona making the cross-country trip for a 9 a.m. body-clock kickoff.
UCF gets another chance to make a splash when it visits No. 18 Oklahoma State, which is playing for the first time since its road win over West Virginia a couple of weeks ago. The Knights come in after falling short against Houston and will be looking to make a stronger impression.
Kansas State also enters a telling stretch. The Wildcats are 3-1 and coming off a bye after their road loss to Cincinnati, and the matchup should help answer a simple question: are they a dark-horse contender that still has another gear, or are they simply a solid team? Either way, this is a good measuring-stick game.
Baylor’s momentum gets another test in a non-conference game against Hawai'i, while Arizona State will try to steady itself at home in that same type of spot. And Utah, still unbeaten, draws a Kansas team that is 0-2 against Power Four opponents this season after losses to Missouri and Arizona State.
In Other News...
Rich Rod Just Made WVUs Biggest Problem Impossible To Ignore
West Virginias defense has reached a point where the problems are impossible to overlook, and Rich Rodriguez is treating them that way. After back-to-back rough weeks that saw the Mountaineers give up more than 1,100 yards and 86 points, Rodriguez pointed to the basics, saying the unit needs clearer coaching instructions and better execution from the players.
Arizona arrives next with a dangerous offense led by quarterback Noah Fifita, which only sharpens the urgency for West Virginia to clean things up quickly. For a team already trying to steady itself, this is the kind of matchup that can expose every loose end, and the Mountaineers will need a far sharper defensive answer than they have shown lately. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Mourns Young Commit As Program Rallies Around His Family
Chris Wilson Jr., a defensive line commit in West Virginias class of 2027, was shot and killed in Muncie, Indiana, leaving the Mountaineers facing the kind of loss that reaches far beyond football. Rich Rodriguez and defensive line coach Deke Adams both publicly shared condolences for Wilsons family and the community around him, a reflection of how deeply the news landed inside the program even though he had not yet arrived on campus.
West Virginia is now working to support Wilsons family in the days ahead and plans to honor him during an upcoming home game. For a program still trying to build toward the future, the response around Wilson has underscored something more immediate and more human: the bonds that form as soon as a player is welcomed into the fold, and the responsibility that comes with them. [Read more 🡒]
Zac Alleys Brutal WVU Reality Check Puts Defense Under Pressure
West Virginias defense has taken some hard lessons in recent Big 12 play, and the numbers tell the story: 86 points and 1,186 yards of total offense allowed. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley didnt try to dodge the issue, instead pointing to the complexity of the scheme and the need to make things simpler so players can execute faster and more cleanly.
Alley also put the burden on himself, saying the staff has to do a better job helping the unit function at a higher level. The immediate emphasis has been clear enough, stop the run and put players in better position to use what they do best, but the bigger question is whether that reset can happen quickly enough to steady a defense that has been under constant pressure. [Read more 🡒]