Big 12 Anonymous Player Survey: Toughest Place to Play

This is an excellent week of Big 12 football. We have two five-Yormark games with BYU-Arizona State and Colorado-Kansas, and all sixteen teams are in action. 

I have a full breakdown in this week’s primer, but first, it’s the next installment of the Big 12 basketball anonymous player survey.

I talked to around 20 players at Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City and got their choices for Big 12 champion, favorite opposing coach in the league, arena with the meanest fans, and much more. 

After 26 votes from the players, we have a tie for the toughest place to play in the Big 12. The winners are…Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) and the Fertitta Center (Houston)!

Kansas – 8
Houston – 8 
Iowa State – 4
Baylor – 2 
BYU – 2 
Texas Tech – 1 
K-State – 1 

Here’s what they said:

“Kansas. Kansas gets really, really, really loud.”

“Definitely Allen Fieldhouse. I don’t know what Baylor’s is called, but it got loud in there last year.”

“Kansas or BYU. BYU actually has a lot of fans and they have a big arena. It’s really loud in there.”

“A lot of people would say Allen Fieldhouse, but I think it’s Iowa State or maybe even Texas Tech. Baylor’s new arena is pretty tough to play at, too.”

“Houston is a little smaller, actually, but that made it a little more loud too. We played them when we were ranked high, and they were ranked high. It was a fun environment, for sure.”

“I would say Houston. They don’t have a very large gym. It’s kind of small, so the fans and the noise are kind of compact on top of you.”

“BYU or Houston. I didn’t go to Kansas. BYU was loud. They have a lot of people in there. They were playing well against us, so it just got loud.”

“Houston and Iowa State were good. They were loud. Iowa State, we played at 11 am. If we played them at night time, it would have been even louder.”

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Week Thirteen 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 thirteen primer! All times listed are Central Time (CST)

Five Yormarks

#14 BYU (9-1, 6-1) at #21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) – 2:30 ESPN 
Line: ASU -3

What would you have said in July if somebody told you that BYU-Arizona State would be the Big 12 game of the year when the Cougars and Sun Devils were fresh off being picked 13th and 16th in the Big 12 preseason poll? 

This game turned out to be big enough that SEC-based college football voice Josh Pate chose to come to Tempe instead of Columbus for Ohio State-Indiana on Saturday. 

So much is on the line for both teams. 

BYU desperately needs to right the ship after a month’s worth of mostly shaky performances that culminated in a loss to 3-6 Kansas. The Cougars still control their Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff destiny, but another slip-up means the biblically long list of Big 12 tiebreakers could determine their fate. 

Arizona State already moved from nice story to serious threat with a win at K-State last week. Now, the Sun Devils can put themselves close to the driver's seat to make the league title game with a win over BYU. Nothing would be guaranteed, but they’re in a very advantageous spot with tiebreakers if they take down the Cougars. 

As for those pesky tiebreakers, the Big 12 says only Colorado and BYU can clinch a spot in the title game this week. BYU would need a win over ASU and an Iowa State loss to Utah. 

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham has the best perspective I’ve heard on handling all of the tiebreaker scenarios. 

The Sun Devils are a home favorite. To win in Tempe, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and the BYU offense will have to put in a much better effort than we saw against Kansas. 

The Cougars struggled mightily in the red zone, and Retzlaff's interception in the end zone right before halftime changed the game. If he can come through with a better performance, there are plays to be had against a Sun Devils defense that is 96th in the country in success rate against the pass. 

Watching Arizona State’s three-headed monster of Sam Leavitt, Cam Skattebo, and Jordan Tyson battle the Big 12’s best scoring defense will be fascinating. The Cougars have only allowed 30+ points once this year. 

Make sure your calendar is clear at 2:30 Central tomorrow.

#16 Colorado (8-2, 6-1) at Kansas (4-6, 3-4) – 2:30 Fox
Line: Colorado -2.5

Oh, and make sure you have a second TV ready at 2:30 Central. You won’t want to miss this banger of a matchup, either. 

I’m sure most of you aren’t by now, but don’t be deceived by the Jayhawks’ record. KU has completely flipped a switch, and they’re playing as well as anybody in the league. No Big 12 team has two wins as good as Kansas’ victories over Iowa State and BYU. 

Head coach Lance Leipold will go for the trifecta of watching the Big 12 world burn. A win over the Buffs would give him three straight wins against conference contenders, and if he pulls it off, all three will come at a grave cost to the league’s chances of securing a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. 

No Kansas fan should look at it like this, but a Colorado loss would be objectively bad for the league – and the same is true for a BYU loss at Arizona State. It would lower the chances that the Big 12 champion finishes above Boise State in the playoff rankings.

The Buffs have looked like the best team in the league for weeks and are closing in on a trip to Arlington. Does pressure start to mount the closer they get? I’ll let Coach Prime answer that himself. 

Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter is now the favorite to win the Heisman, but he’ll get a tough test this week from the KU secondary. Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant have combined for 25 career interceptions. Much like the defense as a whole, that duo is very boom or bust. That sets the stage for plenty of fireworks going both ways.   

Kansas needs to exploit its advantage on the ground offensively. Colorado’s defense is rock solid, but their run defense is fairly pedestrian. The Jayhawks have a steady stream of talented ball carriers between running backs Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw and quarterback Jalon Daniels.

This should be the best atmosphere for a KU game at Arrowhead all year. That’s a much-needed shot in the arm for a jilted fan base that was checked out in mid-October. 

4 Yormarks

#22 Iowa State (8-2, 5-2) at Utah (4-6, 1-6) – 6:30 Fox
Line: ISU -7.5

This is a more intriguing game than it appears on the surface. 

Utah’s season is beyond repair, but the Utes have fought hard the last two weeks against the top two teams in the conference despite a more injury-depleted roster than anybody in the league. The 49-24 final at Colorado is deceiving. Utah was within striking distance in the fourth quarter. 

I’d expect a healthier Issac Wilson at quarterback this week. He gutted out an up-and-down performance in Boulder with a 102-degree fever and the flu. 

The good news for Utah is the injury-riddled Cyclones defense is much more vulnerable on the ground than through the air. Cincinnati rushed for a season-high 287 yards last week, and only Oklahoma State allows more rushing yards in the Big 12.

Iowa State pulled away late to take care of Cincinnati last week and snap a two-game losing streak, but it still doesn’t feel like the Cyclones are playing their best football. Things got shaky a month ago in the comeback win over UCF, and haven’t fully recovered since. 

Two significant things are still in play for ISU: the first ten-win season in school history and the second-ever Big 12 championship game appearance. They’ll need some help for the latter, but it’s not at all out of the question. 

Could this be Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham’s last home game at Rice-Eccles Stadium? Here’s how he answered that question this week as retirement speculation swirls.

3 Yormarks

Cincinnati (5-5, 3-4) at K-State (7-3, 4-3) – 7:00 ESPN2
Line: KSU -8.5

Technically, K-State is still alive in the Big 12 championship race, but for all intents and purposes, the Wildcats' chances ended last week with a loss to Arizona State. 

How motivated will K-State be to play a team they have no real rivalry or connection with now that its playoff and conference title dreams are essentially over? That’s an issue many teams across the country will be dealing with now that we’re in the expanded playoff/NIL/portal era of college football. 

If the Wildcats are motivated, hopefully, it shows on offense. Just four games ago, they had the Big 12’s highest-scoring offense in terms of points per possession. They’re currently tenth. 

Quarterback Avery Johnson is slumping, running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards are banged up, and offensive coordinator Conor Riley is under fire (by the fans, anyway). That’s not exactly a recipe for success. 

Bowl eligibility is on the Bearcats’ minds. Losers of three straight, they need to beat either K-State or TCU to end the season to get to six wins. It would represent a nice feather in the cap of second-year head coach Scott Satterfield after a forgettable debut season.

Cincy has a middle-of-the-pack offense, but watch out for quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s legs. He gashed Iowa State for 141 yards rushing last week. That’s bad news for a Wildcat defense that has had issues all season with mobile QBs. 

Baylor (6-4, 4-3) at Houston (4-6, 3-4) – 6:00 FS1
Line: Baylor -8

Everything has been coming up aces for Baylor lately. The Bears have won four straight behind a red-hot offense, and head coach Dave Aranda learned that he’ll still have a job next year. 

It would take a near-miracle to get to the Big 12 title game, but Baylor is no stranger to miracles this season. 

A more realistic scenario is an eight-win season if the Bears handle Houston and Kansas, which would be just the second time in the last six years the program has accomplished that feat. 

Houston has leaned on a salty defense all year. They’ll get one of their toughest tests on Saturday when the Big 12’s passing touchdown leader, Sawyer Robertson, comes to town. 

Baylor’s offense is averaging 45 points per game during the winning streak. Houston allows only 22 points per game on the season. Something has to give. 

The Cougars can keep bowl hopes alive if their defense wins the battle. 

UCF (4-6, 2-5) at West Virginia (5-5, 4-3) – 2:30 ESPNU
Line: UCF -3

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown’s seat feels pretty toasty these days. After a brief reprieve from the heat during last year’s surprise nine-win season, losing to every team with a winning record the Mountaineers have played this season has the rumors swirling. 

Could a 7-5 finish be enough to save his job? Perhaps. I wouldn’t suggest losing a fifth home game when UCF comes to town on Saturday. 

The buzz among Mountaineer fans this week has been about UNLV head coach Barry Odom as a potential replacement if AD Wren Baker wants to make a move. 

UCF head coach Gus Malzahn’s season has been even worse, but he can salvage a bowl game with winnable games against West Virginia and Utah to finish the year. 

That gives the Knights two more games to evaluate emerging quarterback Dylan Rizk, who has shown plenty of flashes in starts against Arizona and Arizona State. 

Arizona (4-6, 2-5) at TCU (6-4, 4-3) – 2:00 ESPN+
Line: TCU -12

Very little has gone according to plan for Arizona this season in year one of the Brent Brennan era, but last week was a high point. Gone is a five game losing streak after the Wildcats crushed the surging Houston Cougars in Tucson. 

They’ll be heavy underdogs in the final two games, which makes bowl eligibility doubtful. TCU is capable of a dud, though – losses to Houston, SMU, and UCF are proof. 

In fairness, the Horned Frogs are playing their best football down the stretch. Their only loss in the last month came on a last-second field goal in Waco. 

It hasn’t exactly been all roses for TCU head coach Sonny Dykes since making the national championship game in 2022. Winning five of six to end the year could help restore faith that his run with Max Duggan wasn’t just a fluke.

2 Yormarks

Texas Tech (6-4, 4-3) at Oklahoma State (3-7, 0-7) – 2:30 ESPN+
Line: Tech -3.5

It’s been three decades since Oklahoma State went winless in conference play. The 1993 and 1994 Cowboys achieved that feat, and the 2024 Pokes are well on their way to joining them. 

With Coach Prime and Colorado coming up on Black Friday, Mike Gundy’s best shot to avoid making history is this weekend against Texas Tech. 

He’s already lost fan support on multiple levels this year, and a Tulsa World article this week featured the president of the Pokes With a Purpose NIL Collective airing out his frustrations over Gundy’s comments about critical fans earlier this month. 

The trend for Joey McGuire's teams at Texas Tech has been to finish strong. The Red Raiders are well-rested after a bye week. Do they have enough left in the tank to win out? If so, they’ll cap off the best regular season of Tech football since the late Mike Leach was on the sidelines in 2009. 

I must admit, I’m surprised to see the Red Raiders as only a 3.5-point favorite, so maybe Gundy has something up his sleeve for Senior Day.

1 Yormark

None

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