The Big 12 Conference is three weekends away from knowing who will be representing the conference in the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas. Six teams still have a reasonable chance to get there.
Now that there are no undefeated teams in league action, the tiebreakers may take on more importance, depending upon what one-loss BYU, Cincinnati and Texas Tech do the next few weeks. The three two-loss teams below them, Arizona State, Houston and Utah are just dying for a little help.
Here are five notes going into Week 11, and what they mean.
Note 1: Beating the Top 25
Ten different Big 12 teams have defeated an AP Top 25 opponent this season, which is tied for the most among all FBS conferences.
What it Means: The Big 12 is a competitive conference. But it also led me to wonder which six teams aren’t pulling their weight.
Who are they? Arizona, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, UCF. Had you told me that Kansas State would not have a ranked win 12 weeks into the season when the campaign started, I would not have believed you.
Note 2: Dual-Threat QBs
BYU’s Bear Bachmeier, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby and Houston’s Conner Weigman give the Conference three different quarterbacks with at least six games with both a passing and rushing touchdown. All other FBS conferences combine for just one.
What it Means: Considering that, it’s not a big surprise that BYU, Cincinnati and Houston are still in this thing. What is surprising is that there is only one other quarterback in FBS that has done it. At this stage in the season, with as many quarterbacks that can do both, it’s surprising that there are only four.
Note 3: Texas Tech’s Margin of Victory
All nine of Texas Tech’s wins have been by wins of 22 points or more this season, becoming the first Big 12 school to achieve the feat since 2009.
What it Means: Texas Tech has truly been one of the most dominant teams in college football. The performance of the Red Raider defense has been phenomenal to watch, and Jacob Rodriguez should be on a plane to New York the week after the Big 12 title game.
So, what about that 2009 season? Who managed that feat? It was Texas, which won the Big 12 and reached the BCS Championship game against Alabama. It didn’t do it consecutively, though. Texas won by that margin in nine of its first 10 wins of the season. The outlier was its 16-13 win over Oklahoma.
Note 4: Turnarounds
Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston, Texas Tech and Utah give the conference five programs that have already exceeded their win totals from last season by a combined total of 11 wins.
What it Means: Even good teams from a year ago, like Texas Tech, can improve. But the other four were all under .500 last season. So, seeing them pick up the pieces is good to see. The most surprising team on this list, to me, is Cincinnati. I honestly thought they would be looking for a new coach right now. Instead, they are three wins away from getting to the Big 12 title game. Maybe two, depending on tiebreakers and who they beat.
Note 5: Road Warriors
Houston is the only FBS team that is undefeated on the road this season with a minimum of five games played away from home.
What it Means: Really? Yes, really. The Cougars have two games left and just one on the road, at Baylor. Win that game and the Cougars will run the table on the road, with wins over Rice, Oregon State (in overtime), Oklahoma State, Arizona State and UCF. That Arizona State win is one of the best in the Big 12 this season.
