The college football season is in full swing and the Big 12 Conference had eight games on the schedule in Week 8. It was the first week where the Big 12 had eight conference games on the slate, meaning every team was exclusively playing a conference game.
There were Big 12 teams looking to stay undefeated, plus new faces at quarterback across the conference. But as is always the case in the Big 12, there were close games, unexpected winners and thrilling finishes across the conference. Here are the Top 5 takeaways from Week 8 of the Big 12 football season.
BYU’s Magic Continues
The BYU Cougars improved to 7-0 on Friday night with a thrilling 38-35 comeback win vs. Oklahoma State. Trailing 35-31 with just over a minute left, BYU’s offense had to go 75 yards and score a touchdown to win. And that’s exactly what they did. BYU had to convert a key fourth down and Jake Retzlaff had a 27-yard scramble that put the Cougars within striking distance. Two plays later, Retzlaff hit Darius Lassiter for a 35-yard score to take the lead with just 11 seconds left.
BYU is 7-0 for just the second time since 2001 after Friday night’s victory. And this is a game they won, despite not playing their best football. BYU had dominated turnover margin this season, but an uncharacteristic batch of turnovers and a bad rushing defense (269 rush yards allowed) put the Cougars in a position where they almost lost this game to a downtrodden Oklahoma State program.
But every successful team is going to have a game or two like this throughout the season. The good ones find ways to win. That’s what BYU did on Friday night.
Speaking of Magic: Jack Trice Magic
I know Hilton Magic is what it’s all about in Ames. But maybe there’s something to be said for Jack Trice Magic after Iowa State came back to beat UCF 38-35 and move to 7-0 for the first time since 1938 and 4-0 in conference play for the first time in school history.
Quarterback Rocco Becht did it with his arm and his legs. He finished 20/46 for 274 yards, one touchdown pass, 97 rushing yards and two rushing scores.
UCF led 28-14 after scoring on their first drive in the third quarter, but the Cyclones chipped away pulling to within one point, 28-27 late in the third quarter. Two drives later, Braeden Marshall picked off Becht, which set up UCF’s final touchdown to give the Knights a 35-27 lead. The Cyclones responded with a field goal. And after three-straight punts, Iowa State put together the game-winning 11-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by a Becht one-yard run.
Iowa State now goes into a bye week on a high, and most importantly, still undefeated, in what’s turning into a historic season in Ames.
Related: Top 3 Takeaways From Iowa State’s 38-35 Win Over UCF
Baylor’s Big Blowout
No one needed a win more than Dave Aranda. And he got a win, and then some. Baylor blew out Texas Tech 59-35. The Bears scored 35 of their points in the second half as the offense was lights out for the final 30 minutes.
After opening the second half with a three-and-out by the Bears, Texas Tech scored a touchdown to pull to within a field goal. After that? Baylor scored touchdowns on five-straight drives to end the game in one of the most impressive offensive explosions of the entire college football season.
Even back-up quarterback Dequan Finn got in on the action to put the icing on the cake with a 34-yard touchdown run on the final drive of the game for the Bears to finish off the enormous victory. QB Sawyer Robertson finished 21/32 for 274 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, Baylor smashed the Tech defense for 255 yards and an average of 7.7 yards per carry.
Beating an in-state rival in this fashion cools Aranda’s seat, at least for now. And it felt like Baylor took a month’s worth of frustrations out, really since the Colorado Hail Mary, on the Red Raiders, who were a complete no-show.
Don’t Forget About Kansas State
The Wildcats have now won three Big 12 games in a row after their bad loss at BYU to open Big 12 play last month.
And the Cats are doing it in impressive fashion, most recently going to Morgantown and crushing West Virginia 45-18. Avery Johnson continues to get better for Kansas State as his confidence keeps growing. He finished with 298 passing yards and three touchdowns on the night.
The Wildcats are in a great position to finish strong down the stretch of the 2024 season. They’ll likely be favorites in their next four games against Kansas, Houston, Arizona State and Cincinnati. And if things break how we think they might (which is always a fool’s errand in the Big 12, but lets play along), then the final game of the regular season, Farmageddon, could have Big 12, and College Football Playoff implications. What a weekend that could end up being.
Related: Top 3 Takeaways From Kansas State’s 45-18 Win Over West Virginia
Utah’s Big 12 Title Hopes are Done
This is something I never thought I’d say, never mind before Halloween, but here we are in the crazy world that is the Big 12 Conference. Utah fell to TCU on Saturday night, and at 1-3 in the league, is not going to win the Big 12, and won’t even make the Big 12 Championship Game.
The defense is solid, but the offense has no juice to it. That was the case even during Cam Rising‘s brief return, but is clearly the case with Isaac Wilson running the show. The Utes are near the bottom of the Big 12 in every major statistical category.
Wilson is a solid, young player who can develop into the role, and the coaching staff seems ready to give him that opportunity. But no matter what, Utah cannot possibly think it’s realistic to rely on Cam Rising in 2025. There’s still a chance he could return for an 8th season in 2025. If he wants to do it, that’s his prerogative, but Utah should be ready to move on next season and prepare their offense around their quarterback of the future, whoever that may be.
