Big 12 Empathy

As Big 12 fans, we should empathize with Oregon State and Washington State. Many schools in this conference could have been in the exact same position the Beavers and Cougars found themselves in after ten schools in the Pac-12 left them high and dry. 

So, I’m happy to see them adding teams from the Mountain West on the same weekend they get their shots at Oregon and Washington on the field. 

The Big 12 schedule this week gives us intriguing matchups on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with Friday’s game between K-State and Arizona taking center stage. I’ve ranked them all on the Yormark scale for you today!

Headlines

• It looks like the Big 12 didn’t actually kill the Pac-12. Oregon State and Washington State are adding Boise State, San Deigo State, Colorado State, and Fresno State from the Mountain West, starting in 2026. 

• Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports that the Big 12 never showed any interest in adding the Beavers or Cougars, leaving them to turn to expansion. He also says Cal and Stanford aren’t likely to return to their former league.

• Brett McMurphy reports that Utah quarterback Cam Rising isn’t likely to play on Saturday at Utah State, but he is expected to play against Oklahoma State next week. That’s excellent news for the Big 12.

• In other positive injury news, Colorado says safety Shilo Sanders won’t be out for long after undergoing successful arm surgery. 

• West Virginia head coach Neal Brown hints that the Mountaineers may soon have some major changes to their non-conference schedule – including ditching Alabama and adding Pitt as an annual game. 

• Any Big Eight fans out there? Reddit College Football points out that the league would be having an incredible year if it still existed.

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Week Three Primer

I’ll be previewing games every week based on a scale of one to five Yormarks. Five Yormarks is the most entertaining and enticing game possible, while one Yormark is a snooze-fest. 

Here’s your week three primer!

Five Yormarks

#20 Arizona at #14 K-State (-7) – 7:00 (Friday) Fox

K-State and Arizona have a chance to deliver a huge TV number to the Big 12 on Friday night. On a week when there aren’t many great games on paper, this may be the best of the bunch. 

It’s a non-conference game because it was scheduled before Arizona joined the league, but that doesn’t mean it’s not significant. 

First, there are playoff implications here. The winner may have some breathing room to lose a game or two and still earn an at-large bid to the playoff. 

Most importantly, both teams have been sluggish so far and could use a win tomorrow to change the trajectory of their season.

Arizona was in a dogfight into the fourth quarter last week with Northern Arizona and gave up almost 500 yards of offense to New Mexico in week one. 

K-State’s defense allowed 342 yards passing to a redshirt freshman quarterback at Tulane last week in a game that went down to virtually the final play. 

I think the game comes down to the K-State defense. 

Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and head coach Chris Klieman both cut their teeth as secondary coaches. They should be able to eliminate some of the major coverage busts we saw last week against the Green Wave, but is six days enough time to do that and put together a plan for Tetairoa McMillan?

The answer to that question will give you the answer to who is winning this game. 

UCF (-2.5) at TCU – 6:30 Fox

This is a huge game that we aren’t talking about enough. 

The winner of this game can immediately enter what appears to be a wide-open Big 12 title race. 

It’s also a chance for both of these teams to reverse the narrative stuck to them from last season. 

TCU had a wicked fall from grace after playing for a national championship two years ago. Head coach Sonny Dykes needs a strong bounce-back year to prove that 2023 was the fluke, not 2022. 

A very confident UCF program and fan base were humbled last year in their first season as a Big 12 member. The Knights continue to recruit near the top of the league, but they want that to turn into results on the field sooner rather than later. 

The good news for UCF is that they bring the nation’s top-ranked rushing attack to Ft. Worth. RJ Harvey, Peny Boone, and Myles Montgomery make up a dynamic trio in the backfield. 

TCU’s run defense has been strong in two games this year, but Saturday will present an entirely new kind of challenge.

Horned Frog QB Josh Hoover continues to fly under the radar in the conference and is putting up excellent numbers: 72% completion percentage, 620 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. 

Could this be a breakout game that puts him on the national radar? Stay tuned.

4 Yormarks

West Virginia (-2) at Pitt – 2:30 ESPN2

I LOVE the Backyard Brawl.

Play Sweet Caroline around a Mountaineers fan to find out exactly why it’s so awesome. I’ll even give you a hint:

This is a massive game for West Virginia head coach Neal Brown. 

Beat Pitt, and you hit the reset button for your season. As disappointing as the Penn State game was, how many people had WVU at 3-0 heading into Big 12 play?

Knock off your bitter rival to get to 2-1, and the season will be back on the rails heading into a game against Kansas that looks more winnable now than when the season started. 

Lose, and you’ll have endured losses to two rivals and be sitting below .500 without an FBS win heading into a stretch of games against Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, K-State, and Arizona. 

Yikes. 

Pitt’s new-look offense will be a challenge for the Mountaineers to slow down. Alabama transfer quarterback Eli Holstein is the first freshman QB at Pitt to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games in over 30 years, and running back Desmond Reid gashed Cincinnati last week for 254 total yards. 

But the Bearcats should have beaten Pitt last week, and West Virginia should be a better team than Scott Satterfield’s bunch this year. 

ESP, baby. 

Arizona State at Texas State (-2.5) – 6:30 ESPN (Thursday)

This is a game for the real ball knowers. Only diehard college football fans realize just how intriguing this Thursday night contest is.

There’s no denying that Arizona State is the surprise of the conference so far this year. Picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll, Kenny Dillingham’s squad crushed Wyoming and had Mississippi State down 30-3 before giving up 20 unanswered to end the game last week. 

Thursday is an entirely different challenge, though. 

Texas State is a very good group of five team that could challenge for a College Football Playoff spot. It’s also the Sun Devils’ first road test of the season. 

Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo is worth the price of admission in this one. He leads the Big 12 in rushing and absolutely killed an SEC defense last week – bad news for a Texas State defense that allowed 151 yards per game last year on the ground. 

ASU’s defense will have to be ready for a high-powered Bobcats attack averaging over 41 points per game this year. James Madison transfer quarterback Jordan McLoud has a deep group of playmakers to utilize. 

Win this game, and the Sun Devils could be 4-0 when Kansas comes to town. 

3 Yormarks

UNLV at Kansas (-7) – 6:00 Friday ESPN

After an offseason filled with lofty expectations, the Kansas hype train hit a brick wall in Champagne, Illinois, on Saturday when the Jayhawks lost to an Illinois team that had no business beating them.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said the right things this week about pounding the rock more. Running back Devin Neal is an absolute star and was methodically tearing apart the Illini defense when he actually got the ball.  

Everything Kansas wanted to achieve this year is still in front of them, but now there is real doubt – especially after the struggles of 2023 Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Jalon Daniels. 

This is no gimme on Friday for the Jayhawks, either. UNLV won nine games last year, pushed Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and thumped Houston two weeks ago. 

I have a hunch we’ll see Kansas get back on track in front of a limited home crowd in Kansas City, but big problems may be on the horizon if they don’t. 

#12 Utah (-20) at Utah State – 3:30 CBS Sports Network

I would typically give this game a two-Yormark rating, but Cam Rising’s status has me keeping an extra eye on Maverick Stadium. 

It looks like the Utes’ seventh-year star quarterback won’t play in this one, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. 

Overall, that’s a pretty positive report from McMurphy, even if it means we don’t see Rising on Saturday. The Big 12 needs him to be available next week for the showdown with Oklahoma State. 

Utah’s defense should be plenty good enough to hold the line against the Aggies, but it would be nice to see progress from the Utes offense when Issac Wilson is under center. 

Surely, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham and company will open up the offense more for Wilson this week than they did protecting a 23-0 lead when he came in against Baylor, right?

Colorado (-7) at Colorado State – 6:30 CBS

How much longer can the Buffs hang on to legitimate national relevancy this year? If they drop this one to their in-state rivals, it would certainly expedite the process of America losing interest.

Nebraska exposed the same two issues that Colorado had last year: a porous offensive line and a vulnerable defense. In the words of Denver Post Columnist Sean Keeler (yes, that Sean Keeler), Coach Prime’s strategy to address those issues during the offseason was to use the microwave instead of the oven.

It’s hard to match the star power Coach Prime has at the skill positions on offense, but without the substance in the trenches, what good does that do?

The Buffaloes feel like cotton candy to me right now. Sure, there’s some flash there that tastes great, but it’s lacking real substance. And you can only eat so much of it without feeling sick and losing interest. 

Colorado better win this week to keep America coming back for another stick of the sugary treat.

Cincinnati (-3.5) at Miami (OH) – 11:00 ESPNU

This game is all about Cincinnati’s attitude. After giving up 22 unanswered points in the final 16 minutes of last week’s loss to Pitt, will they let that define the direction of the season?

If they’ve regrouped, I’d imagine the Bearcats will be just fine. 

They should have revenge on their mind after the RedHawks stunned them in overtime last year. Miami would go on to win its second MAC title in five years.

The RedHawks did push Northwestern in a 13-6 loss in week one and will present a challenge for Cincy’s pass defense. 

Rice at Houston (-4) – 7:00 ESPN+

I’m sure Willie Fritz isn’t into moral victories, but a 16-12 loss at Oklahoma last week is about as close as it gets. It was a significant step forward after a 27-7 loss to UNLV to start the Fritz era. 

The challenge now is to take another step forward and get win number one.

Last year’s double-overtime loss to the Owls was one of the final nails in the coffin for former head coach Dana Holgorsen, so this qualifies as a revenge game for the Cougars. 

North Texas at Texas Tech (-9.5) – 11:00 FS1

The fact that this game is in the three Yormark category is an indictment on Texas Tech. The intrigue is finding out what the Red Raiders have left in the tank. 

Are they ready to mail it in this season after a rough start and a slew of injuries? Or will they finally deliver a decisive win that puts the train back on the tracks heading into conference play?

BYU (-11) at Wyoming – 8:00 CBS Sports Network

Wyoming has been a solid program lately with three straight bowl appearances, but they’ve been anything but impressive this season in losses to Idaho and Arizona State. That doesn’t mean this will be a cakewalk for the Cougars, but they should handle business here. 

After holding SMU without a touchdown for the first time in eight years, I’d expect a solid encore from the stingy BYU defense. But can they get a better performance from quarterback Jake Retzlaf?

This is a sneaky rivalry of sorts for BYU. They’ve played Wyoming 88 times, more than any team other than Utah or Utah State, and have shared four conferences with the Cowboys. 

2 Yormarks

#13 Oklahoma State (-19) at Tulsa – 11:00 ESPN2

Life without star pass rusher Collin Oliver begins for the Cowboys as the defense looks to regain some confidence after allowing 648 yards to Arkansas. 

I’d also like to see running back Ollie Gordon II and the OSU ground game take off after a sluggish start to the season. It feels like he’s due for a breakout performance after averaging a measly 2.9 yards per carry against the Razorbacks. 

The Cowboys have won nine straight in this series, dating back to 1998. 

Air Force at Baylor (-15.5) – 6:30 FS1

I’m always leery of scheduling the service academies. 

Playing the triple option offense can be like getting a root canal, and Air Force traditionally does it as well as anybody. The Falcons have been first or second in the nation in rushing the last four seasons. 

They’ve also won five straight games against power conference opponents. 

Good news, though, Bears fans. So far, this isn’t the Air Force of old. The Falcons are eighth in the Mountain West in rushing at just 155 yards per game. 

1 Yormark

None

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