Welcome to Tuesday Takes, where I give you five takes from the Big 12. It was a jam-packed week full of action, but here were several things that caught my attention from this past weekend.
BYU is the New Number One
This isn’t a hot take by any stretch of the imagination, but there is only one team left in the Big 12 that is undefeated, and it’s BYU. The Cougars are fresh off a big win in the Holy War over Utah and are sitting at 7-0 right now.
Although they may not receive the national respect they deserve, I wanted to ensure they are appreciated for their contributions here. Bear Bachmeier looks like a mini-Tim Tebow out there, and he’s got plenty of weapons to work with, such as Chase Roberts, Parker Kingston, and LJ Martin. Plus, that defense of theirs is as good as it was a year ago. How long will it last? I don’t know, but what I do know is that at this very moment, BYU is the best team in the conference.
Houston Will Win Nine Games This Year
If there is one team in the Big 12 that doesn’t get talked about enough, it’s Houston. The Cougars are now bowl eligible for the first time in three years and are 3-1 in conference play. They just beat Arizona this past weekend at home, and hopefully, more people are starting to take notice.
Connor Weigman has brought life to an offense that was non-existent a year ago, and their defense is good enough to keep them in games. They have five games left against Arizona State, West Virginia, UCF, TCU, and Baylor. They should beat West Virginia and UCF, and it wouldn’t shock me to see them upset TCU or Baylor to reach nine wins. What a job Willie Fritz and his staff have done down in the Bayou City.
Texas Tech is Human Afterall
Many of us (including myself) thought that Texas Tech was unbeatable. They were crushing teams by 20-plus every week despite not playing their best. Even when Behren Morton went down, Will Hammond came in and played well.
But that didn’t happen last Saturday against Arizona State. Hammond couldn’t move the offense for three and a half quarters, and the run game never took off like it normally does. This was the first time all season long that I felt like Texas Tech didn’t deserve to win, and they didn’t. I wonder if Behren Morton is more important to this offense than we gave him credit for, because without him, they looked quite pedestrian against the Sun Devils.
Nobody Respects Cincinnati
Outside of Houston, there is no other team in the conference that doesn’t get talked about as much as Cincinnati. That is crazy to me because the Bearcats are one of just two teams undefeated in Big 12 play. Brendan Sorsby has been lighting up defenses all season long, and their offense has the weapons to put points on the board against anyone.
While I have been very critical of Scott Satterfield as a head coach in the past, it would be unfair of me not to give him credit for the job he and his staff have done this year. I know their schedule picks up starting this weekend against Baylor, but the fact that they are sitting at 6-1 right now is extremely remarkable.
Dave Aranda Will Get Fired
I may be overreacting to their recent loss to TCU, but if I were Dave Aranda, I wouldn’t feel great about my job security right now. The Bears are now 4-3 through their first seven games and 2-2 in conference action.
Sawyer Robertson hasn’t been great over the last two weeks, and when he’s off, that is a big problem for Baylor because their defense is awful. I don’t know if there is too much pressure on the offense to score or what, but something has to change. And when I look at the rest of their schedule (@Cincy, UCF, Utah, @Arizona, Houston), I wouldn’t be shocked to see them finish 8-4 or 7-5. Is that enough to keep Dave Aranda around for another year? I say no.
