The college football season is underway and Week 4 saw some high-end conference play, along with a several of non-conference match ups for the Big 12. There was one game on Friday night, with Oklahoma State losing to Tulsa, and then several games on Saturday, starting with Utah hosting Texas Tech, and ending in Boulder, with Colorado playing Wyoming. So with that, let’s take a look at the top five takeaways from Week 4 in the Big 12 Conference.
The Big 12 Will Run Through Lubbock
The Red Raiders pulled away from Utah to seal a 34-10 win in Salt Lake City on Saturday. And it was because Texas Tech dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, something a team typically can’t say when playing Utah, never mind on the road. But that’s how impressive a performance it was for Tech.
And for the Red Raiders, there has to be a quarterback controversy brewing. That’s how good Will Hammond was against an elite defense, replacing the injured Behren Morton. Hammond finished 13/16 for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 61 yards. He was accurate, showed poise in the loudest road environment in the Big 12, and showed better dual-threat ability than Morton. I’d turn to Hammond going forward. The ceiling is higher.
Multiple Big 12 Defenses Shine
In addition to Texas Tech, the defensive performances of BYU, UCF and Kansas stood out above the rest. BYU was led by Evan Johnson, who had two interceptions, including a pick six late in the first half to totally take any momentum away from East Carolina, as the Cougars went on to win the game 34-13. BYU held ECU to 3.4 yards per carry in another dominant defensive performance.
Meantime, UCF held UNC to under 220 yards of total offense in their 34-9 win against the Tar Heels on Saturday. UCF had two interceptions against Gio Lopez and locked the Tar Heels down for only 2.5 yards per carry in the game. Then, it was Kansas, who gave up 324 yards vs. West Virginia, but in a 41-10 win for the Jayhawks, a bunch of those yards came in garbage time. The Jayhawks were led by Dean Miller with seven tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, while former Mountaineer Trey Lathan had an interception against his former team.
Arizona State’s Title Defense Begins
Arizona State is now 1-0 in its Big 12 Championship defense from 2024 following a 27-24 win over Baylor. It was never going to be easy, and this Baylor game is one I had circled as one of the most critical games in the Big 12 this season. But, it’s the Sun Devils who come out on top, thanks to a walk-off field goal, and ASU is now atop the Big 12 standings.
While Baylor QB Sawyer Roberston had himself a really good game, especially late, it was Arizona State signal caller Sam Leavitt who was the better quarterback on the night. It wasn’t just his stat line of 22/32, for 221 yards, one touchdown pass, plus 62 rushing yards and one score on the ground. And Leavitt came up big in some of the biggest moments on the road on Saturday night. He really needed that after a mediocre non-conference.
But it doesn’t get any easier from here for Arizona State. Look at these next three games for Arizona State: TCU next Friday night, then at Utah and then back home to play Texas Tech. That is as difficult a stretch as there is in the Big 12 Conference right now. If Arizona State ends up back in Arlington this season, they will have absolutely earned it.
Is Mike Gundy Done?
Well, after losing to Tulsa on Friday night 19-12, I don’t see how Mike Gundy could possibly survive. He’s 1-11 in his last 12 games, with the only win coming in Week 1 of this season against UT Martin. They’ve lost every other game all against FBS opponents. The Cowboys look like a shell of the program that came within a play of making the College Football Playoff in 2021, and reach the Big 12 Championship Game in 2023.
Gundy looks worn down, his program has no juice, and the fans emptying out early from Boone Pickens Stadium to not have to watch the clock hit 00:00 in a loss to Tulsa was sad and shocking to watch unfold on Friday. I suppose a turnaround of some kind in possible, but at this point, would keeping Gundy just delay the inevitable? I believe so. And I take no joy in writing that, because I absolutely love what Mike Gundy has done for Stillwater, the state of Oklahoma, and the Big 12 Conference.
The Big 12 Owns the ACC
The Big 12 went 6-1 against the ACC this season, including two wins on Saturday, with TCU handling SMU, and then UCF beating UNC. Here’s a look at the match ups from this season, along with the results.
| Date | Big 12 Team | ACC Team | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 2025 | Baylor | SMU | Baylor won 48-45 |
| Sep 13, 2025 | West Virginia | Pittsburgh | West Virginia won 31-24 |
| Sep 20, 2025 | TCU | SMU | TCU won 35-24 |
| Sep 6, 2025 | BYU | Stanford | BYU won 27-3 |
| Sep 1, 2025 | TCU | North Carolina | TCU won (48-14) |
| Sep 20, 2025 | UCF | North Carolina | UCF won (34-9) |
| Aug 29, 2025 | Colorado | Georgia Tech | Tech won (27-20) |
Last season, the Big 12 went 3-3 against the ACC. So that makes the league 9-4 over the last two seasons against the conference.
