Week 8 is already here, and the Big 12 has several storylines to follow as the race to Arlington heats up.
The regular season is conference games only from here on out, and the margin of error is as thin as ever, with more than a half dozen teams looking like they could make a run to the Big 12 Championship at some point or another this season.
This week, we have a full slate of eight games, with one on Friday night and seven games waiting throughout the day on Saturday.
Here are the top storylines from around the league that you’ll want to follow along with during the action.
Is BYU on Upset Alert?
Nothing about Friday night’s game should suggest that Oklahoma State can come into Provo and beat BYU in LaVell Edwards Stadium — which is exactly why it feels like the kind of thing that a Mike Gundy-led team would do. The Cougars are currently favored by 9.5 points, and OSU has been atrocious on defense, ranking dead last in Big 12 play in rushing defense (312.7 ypg), total defense (524.3 ypg), and 14th in scoring defense (34.0 ppg). Plus, it was reported on Thursday that the Pokes intend to sit Alan Bowman in favor of Garrett Rangel coming out of the bye week. So, is Oklahoma State bringing a lousy defense and a new quarterback to Provo to take on an undefeated and 13th-ranked BYU team?
Yeah, something feels a little eerie about that.
The Battle For an Unlikely 3-1 Contender
Did you know that the winner of Kansas State vs. West Virginia is going to be 3-1 in Big 12 play? Yeah, not that surprising, right? Did you know that the winner of Arizona State vs. Cincinnati will be in the exact same situation? The Sun Devils (5-1) and Bearcats (4-2) have both gotten off to better starts than was expected of them before the season, and the winner of this game will be right in the thick of the Big 12 race with just five games remaining. Arizona State will be down its starting quarterback with Sam Leavitt sitting out, and Jeff Sims will take the reigns.
Can he handle the pressure of making his first start of the year inside Nippert Stadium?
Colorado as an Underdog in Tucson
Colorado will hit the road after taking Kansas State to the brink in a 31-28 thriller last weekend, and it will head south to take on an Arizona team that has lost three of its previous four. Last week, Arizona went to BYU and got embarrassed after three interceptions from Noah Fifita helped the Cougars run away with the game, 41-19. Back at home this weekend, Arizona opened up as a three-point favorite over Colorado and is hovering right around 2.5-point favorites as of Thursday evening. However, ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Travis Hunter and the Buffaloes a 58.9% chance of winning the game. Last season, a 7-3 Arizona team escaped Boulder with a 34-31 win over the 4-6 Buffaloes and had to come back from a 31-21 fourth-quarter deficit to do so.
Vegas has the home team, but analytics say to go with the visitors. Who’s it going to be?
How’s the Weather in Morgantown?
While Neal Brown hopes that Mountaineer fans show up in droves to enjoy the tailgating and beautiful fall weather in Morgantown, the folks in Blue & Gold are looking for a win. WVU is 0-3 vs. ranked opponents this season and welcomes the 17th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats into Milan Puskar Stadium. When you take a closer look at the visitors, though, there appears to be a path to victory for Brown’s squad. K-State has struggled in road games this season. They had to erase fourth-quarter deficits against Tulane and Colorado, and they got their doors blown off at BYU.
Can WVU make Avery Johnson uncomfortable and force him into mistakes on the road?
