It’s Been a Wild Week

It’s been a wild week in college athletics with Group of Five conference realignment, more conferences filing lawsuits, and abrupt transfers from starting quarterbacks. 

Luckily, in Big 12 country, we can focus mainly on the games on the field – and the games coming up on the hardwood this winter. 

Here’s what you need to know:

Headlines

• The Big 12 basketball schedule is out! Here’s a link to the full schedule. The league says the schedule is based on “a combination of geography, historical results, and a poll of the coaches to best balance the schedule in terms of travel and competitiveness.”

• Only three Big 12 teams are mentioned in this week’s College Football Playoff Bracketology from On3’s Andy Staples. Utah is the projected four seed, an obvious choice after the Utes’ win in Stillwater. But Staples doesn’t seem to believe in one of my perceived Big 12 favorites. 

• Last weekend, the Big 12 had four games with one million+ viewers, including the Colorado-Baylor game, which finished in the top five with 3.64 million viewers. 

• Memphis athletic director Ed Scott mentioned the Big 12 as a possible future home for the school when explaining why Memphis turned down a chance to join the Pac 12. I doubt we ever see that happen but never say never in realignment.

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Week Five 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 five primer!

Five Yormarks

None. If K-State and Oklahoma State had both won last week, we’d have a five-Yormark classic on our hands. But, uh, that didn’t exactly happen…

4 Yormarks

#20 Oklahoma State at #23 K-State (-5) – 11:00 ESPN

Is this a Big 12 title elimination game? 

That’s a bit too hyperbolic, but I get the point. Both teams were picked in the top three of the Big 12 preseason poll. Both teams got drilled last week by a team from the state of Utah. 

Starting 0-2 would be disastrous for either team considering the expectations, and it would put them in a hole that would be very difficult to dig out of – especially with Utah looking like a very strong favorite to lock down one of the spots in the conference title game. 

Both teams will have to improve their offenses significantly if they want to win the league crown. 

It’s been wild to see Oklahoma’s States ground game struggles. The Cowboys are 115th in the country in rushing, and reigning Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon has been held under 50 yards rushing for three straight weeks. 

The passing game carried the Pokes until it hit a brick wall last Saturday against Utah, and head coach Mike Gundy benched starting quarterback Alan Bowman in the second half. 

Bowman seems to have a reasonable explanation for what happened, but for Cowboys fans, the proof will have to be in the pudding on Saturday. 

K-State also needs much better quarterback play from Avery Johnson. 

He threw two crucial interceptions during the Wildcats’ six-minute meltdown in Provo. It looked like the game was moving too fast, and a raucous crowd was taking its toll on the true sophomore, who was making his first career Power Four road start. 

While many K-State fans have been critical of offensive coordinator Conor Riley, I’d encourage them to watch this film breakdown by former Wildcat wide receiver Curry Sexton. The problems seem to be more about execution.

K-State does have a significant advantage being back home. A younger team tends to give you a wider variance in results at home and on the road, and the early returns suggest this Wildcat team is no different. 

If you’re into trends, Chris Klieman’s teams have won nine straight games coming off of losses by an average of 24 points per game – including a 48-0 win over Oklahoma State the last time they played in Manhattan. 

#22 BYU at Baylor (-3.5) – 11:00 FS1

If you watched both teams play last week, the line might look pretty weird. How could BYU be an underdog after smashing K-State last week? Baylor’s best win is Air Force! 

It’s all about the situation. 

The Cougars are coming off the high of a major home upset and have to hit the road. And while Baylor isn’t a power, they’re better than the 2-2 record shows. If not for a miracle finish last week, they’d be 3-1 and flying high. 

Can the Bears regroup mentally after what happened? Head coach Dave Aranda is certainly saying the right things. 

“When you’re cut wide open, you sit down, you bleed a little bit, and it’s important to rise up and fight again,” Aranda said. “We’re a resilient bunch. The guys fight for what they believe in. I know they believe in us.”

It looks like Baylor has found a solid option at quarterback in Sawyer Robertson, who racked up 230 total yards and three touchdowns in Boulder, but the BYU defense is a different challenge.

The Cougars still haven’t allowed a touchdown in eight quarters against FBS opponents – K-State and SMU – this year. 

BYU is suddenly fighting to stay in the Big 12 title race, while Baylor is fighting to keep its season from spiraling. 

I’m expecting a tight one in Waco.

Colorado at UCF (-14) – 2:30 Fox

It’s tough to generate four Yormarks-worth of interest when one team is favored by two touchdowns. That tells you how exciting I think this game could be stylistically. 

TCU has flaws, but the Horned Frogs threw for over 400 yards on the UCF defense. Now, the Knights have to defend Sheduer Sanders and Travis Hunter. Can Hunter replicate the 200-yard night that TCU wide receiver Jack Bech had?

As great as Sanders and Hunter are, UCF running back RJ Harvey has a chance to outshine them both on a national stage. I love that for him. 

Harvey might be the most underrated player in the country. He’s fourth in the nation in yards per game, which is a big part of why UCF has the best rushing success rate in the country.  It’s time for a true national audience to see him in action. 

This game should fetch a solid TV rating – not just because of Coach Prime but also because the primary competition in the 2:30 window is a Notre Dame-Lousiville game behind a paywall on Peacock. 

Computer models have loved UCF all season long, and while Colorado isn’t exactly Georgia, Saturday’s game represents by far the best opportunity that the Knights have had so far to persuade the college football world that they’re legit.

3 Yormarks

Arizona at #10 Utah (-10) – 9:15 ESPN

This looked like a potential five-Yormark game in the offseason. 

The high-powered Arizona offensive attack taking on Cam Rising and company off of a bye week? One year after the Wildcats rolled the Utes and tacked on a 51-yard touchdown pass instead of kneeling in garbage time? Sign me up. 

Unfortunately, Arizona hasn’t lived up to the hype…yet. 

I’m not ready to give up on the Wildcats this year, but two closer than they should have been non-conference wins and a blowout loss at K-State haven’t instilled much confidence. 

In that respect, the bye week came at a good time for Arizona. Hopefully, it gave head coach Brent Brennan the chance to reevaluate some things. 

Of course, we’re still on Cam Rising watch. Utah’s star quarterback didn’t play because of a hand injury last week, and predicting his official status for Saturday night seems like a fool’s errand. 

While the Utes' offense is still competent with true freshman quarterback Issac Wilson, according to Brennan, there’s one very important difference between the two. 

Here’s hoping we get a healthy Rising and an improved Arizona for this Big 12 After Dark matchup. 

TCU at Kansas (1.5) – 2:30 ESPN+ – Arrowhead Stadium

The intrigue in this game comes from a desire to see who can stop the bleeding. 

TCU was an abject disaster last week at SMU. The Frogs gave up three non-offensive touchdowns, turned the ball over five times, were penalized 14 times, and head coach Sonny Dykes got ejected from the game in the third quarter. 

Combine that with blowing a three-touchdown lead to UCF in a home loss the week before, and it feels like TCU’s season is teetering on the brink. Was 2022 just a fluke for Sonny Dykes?

The Jayhawks haven’t fared much better. 

Their best win is Lindenwood. Fans loathe their offensive coordinator. And their star quarterback can’t stop turning it over. 

The good news for Kansas is that TCU has been gashed on the ground the last two weeks to the tune of 527 combined rushing yards allowed to SMU and UCF. That has to be music to the ears of Kansas running back Devin Neal, who is a bonafide star. 

Typically, I’d give the home team a big edge in this game, but this one won’t be played in Lawrence. Assuming KU does the Is and crosses the Ts on the contract with the Chiefs by Saturday, TCU and Kansas will play at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. 

I’m expecting a lot of empty seats with the Jayhawks scuffling and a frustrated fan base. Lance Leipold might be expecting the same. 

So, Kansas's home field advantage won’t be as strong as it was when College Gameday was in town the last time these two teams met for a KU home game.

The storylines going into the game are similar to KU’s matchup with West Virginia last week. Will the Jayhawks find a way to break through this time?

Cincinnati at Texas Tech (-3) – 7:00 ESPN2

The Tommy Tubber-bowl? Okay, I might need to workshop that one. 

Both teams have something to prove. Texas Tech wants to show that its resurgence is going to stick. Cincinnati can shed any allegations that its 3-1 start is all schedule-driven. 

Can the Red Raiders be a legitimate contender in the Big 12 title race? They certainly can’t drop a home game like this if they want to be taken seriously. 

The running back match-up is worth the price of admission. Both Tahj Brooks and Corey Kiner are averaging over 100 yards per game, and Brooks’ return from injury after the Washington State game has given the Red Raiders’ offense a massive jolt. 

Don’t sleep on the quarterbacks, either. Tech’s Behren Morton leads the league in touchdown passes and is third in yards per game. Cincy’s Brendan Sorsby isn’t far behind at 263 yards per game and has a TD/INT ratio of 8/0.

2 Yormarks

#18 Iowa State (-14) at Houston – 6:00 FS1

On paper, this continues a quiet September for the Cyclones’ schedule outside of the trip to Iowa City. 

Iowa State, now firmly entrenched as a Big 12 title contender, is a two-touchdown favorite and should be able to handle a Houston team that has scored 12 points or less in three of its four games. 

If you’re into history, the Cyclones can make plenty of it with a win. Head coach Matt Campbell will become the all-time wins leader at Iowa State if he picks up number 57. It would also give ISU its first 4-0 start since 2000.

1 Yormark

None

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