Can you believe it? The first month of the college football season is in the books and the Big 12 has already played five weeks. It’s going to fast. Before you know it, the weather will turn (or maybe it has where you are), the leaves will start to fall, your wife/girlfriend will demand you go apple and pumpkin picking (just not on Saturday), and then you will be making Thanksgiving plans.
The Big 12 has been off to a tremendous start with an unpredictable season just a couple of games into conference play. Be honest, you didn’t have BYU, Texas Tech and Colorado atop the Big 12 standings after September, did you? If you did, you’re a liar. Or go buy a lottery ticket.
So as we look back on the month of September, here are the Top 5 Big 12 football moments from the opening month of the college football season.
1. Shedeur Sanders’ Hail Mary
This was the difference between people getting to say, “We told you so” about Colorado, and the Buffaloes suddenly being a team that looks like it’ll be trouble around the Big 12. Colorado’s win over Baylor appears to have given the entire program some confidence as well. Just look at what they did at UCF.
Shedeur Sanders‘ Hail Mary to LaJohntay Wester came as time expired vs. Baylor to force overtime, where the Buffaloes ended up winning the game. It also had huge implications for Baylor, who came out lifeless last week vs. BYU, is now 0-2 in league play, and Dave Aranda’s seat is starting to boil.
2. Keyan Burnett’s 4th Quarter Touchdown vs. Utah
Arizona led from start to finish in its Week 5 game at Utah, but there was a moment when the Utes got some momentum back, scoring early in the 4th quarter to cut Arizona’s lead to 16-10 and make it a one-score game. Arizona’s offense took the field and needed to take that momentum away from the Utes, and Noah Fifita and the offense did exactly that with an 8-play, 87-yard drive that ended up with Keyan Burnett’s 35-yard touchdown grab.
It felt like that catch sealed the win for Arizona and with Utah dropping a conference game, completely changes the outlook and future of the Big 12 landscape and we move into the month of October.
3. Iowa State’s Game-Winning Kick at Iowa
Iowa State football and the Big 12 needed a solid non-conference showing in Week 2. And Iowa State, which is expected to a Big 12 contender, going on the road and beating a Top 25 Big Ten team would go a long way for the Big 12’s credibility. It wasn’t looking good early, but the Cyclones came all the way back from down 13-0 at halftime to win 20-19 at Kinnick Stadium on a game-winning kick by Kyle Konrardy from 54 yards.
4. Big Noon Kickoff Record at UCF
We know that College GameDay is now always going to favor SEC locations over Big Ten or Big 12. That’s their business. But Big Noon Kickoff, run by FOX, is more likely to be friendly to the Big 12. And on Saturday, the show went to UCF, and according to FOX, set a record for attendees at Big Noon Kickoff.
The reactions from the hosts and panel was incredible. They were clearly blown away by the scene in Orlando. For UCF and the entire Big 12, this was a huge moment coming from one of the newer schools in the league. The game didn’t go as planned for the Knights, but frankly, for Big 12 branding, that pregame show arguably mattered even more.
5. Sonny Dykes’ Ejection vs. SMU
It was one of the weirder moments in the Big 12 season. TCU head coach Sonny Dykes got ejected vs. SMU in a night that was an absolute horror show for the Horned Frogs, getting smoked by their cross-town rivals and then seeing their head coach ejected.
This capped off a rough two-week stretch for TCU, which had just blown a three-touchdown lead the week prior vs. UCF.
Dykes took responsibility after the game, but regardless, it was an embarrassing moment for a coach who is only two seasons removed from playing for a National Title. But some days, it feels like two decades.
