Week 1 of the 2026 Big 12 football season is in the books, and the conference gave us plenty to talk about.
From contenders making early statements to disappointing performances and a few results that could have ramifications well beyond the opening weekend, our first full Saturday provided an early glimpse at what could be ahead in the Big 12 race.
Obviously, it’s dangerous to draw too many conclusions after one game. But that’s never stopped us before.
So, after the first full weekend of the season, here are the five biggest takeaways from Week 1 across the Big 12.
Baylor Has Balls
I know the Bears lost to the Auburn Tigers 17-16, but my goodness, Baylor missed a two-point conversion by one foot in the final seconds. Dave Aranda elected to go for two after his team scored a touchdown with under 10 seconds left. I posted on X before the play that I didn’t like the decision, but in that moment, I did respect it. I’m not trying to Monday Morning Quarterback it, but Aranda has historically coached like this during his tenure in Waco. But if Baylor doesn’t get down on itself due to the ending, there were a lot of positives from this game. DJ Lagway was basically playing on one leg due to an ankle sprain, and threw some dimes throughout the night. The defense under new coordinator Joe Klanderman looked much improved as well. Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives that Dave Aranda might be able to carry forward into Big 12 play. That would make Baylor a potential surprise team to watch in the Big 12.
Oklahoma State Looked Awful
The Cowboys were a trendy pick to be a Big 12 Dark Horse in 2026, but the Pokes started the Eric Morris era with a terrible 24-10 loss to Tulsa. It was the second-straight season the Pokes fell to the Golden Hurricane. The better coach and better quarterback was on the Tulsa sideline. That’s a tough pill to swallow in Stillwater, especially given how much it’s reported Drew Mestemaker is being paid by the Cowboys. Now, there’s still a ton of season left, but Eric Morris could not have had a worse start to his tenure in Stillwater than he did on Saturday. The defense was mediocre, the line play on both ends was average as well, at best. There was almost nothing to like about this performance. And now, they welcome No. 2 Oregon to town next Saturday. Woof.
West Virginia’s Tale of Two Halves
In the first 30 minutes, the Mountaineers were cooking. Cam Cook had a 72-yard run on the first play from scrimmage and then scored a touchdown from 3 yards out. Later in the first quarter it was a 49-yard touchdown strike from Michael Hawkins to Armoni Weaver to make it 14-0. Before halftime, it was Cam Cook from one yard out to help WVU lead 24-0 at the break. But the second half was a different story as the Mountaineers were outscored 24-3 and gave up over 300 yards. They had to survive an onside kick attempt by Coastal Carolina to seal the win.
Rich Rodriguez called the second half an embarrassment. He’s not wrong. It was not pretty. This team has one more tune up vs. UT Martin before taking on a Virginia team that looked really solid in a 34-8 win over NC State in Week 0. WVU needs to re-focus and make sure they can play a full 60 minutes going forward.
Hello, New Quarterbacks
There were plenty of quarterback debuts across the Big 12 Conference on Saturday. Jaylen Raynor opened up for Jimmy Rogers at Iowa State by going 8/16 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two scores on 32 yards, showcasing his dual-threat ability. Cincinnati’s JC French IV went 10/14 for 77 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for three scores on 52 yards. In WVU’s win, Michael Hawkins went 11/14 for 132 yards, and one passing touchdown, while rushing for one more on 103 yards over 20 carries. Baylor’s DJ Lagway played through an ankle injury, but went 27/54 for 333 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. And at Arizona State, Cutter Boley threw for five touchdowns and over 300 yards… in the first half.
A 13-2 Week 1 for the Big 12
Honestly, I would’ve taken that back before the Big 12 games began on Thursday. Colorado’s upset of Georgia Tech was really impressive, and even though Baylor lost, you could not have asked for a better performance given the state of the program and circumstances of that game (essentially being a road contest). Oklahoma State was clearly the biggest disappointment of the weekend. But Cincinnati’s win over Boston College was dominant, while the rest of the league mostly played lesser competition and totally took care of business.
While teams like Michigan struggled with Western Michigan, and Rutgers lost to UMass, the Big 12 did not have to really sweat out any of their games vs. inferior competition. That’s always a welcomed sigh of relief in Week 1. And that’s better than Week 1 last year when UCF sweat it out vs. Jacksonville State, Cincinnati lost to Nebraska, Baylor and Colorado lost convincingly to Auburn and Georgia Tech, respectively, and Kansas State eked out a win vs. North Dakota. I’ll take 2026 Week 1 over 2025 Week 1 every time. Now, it’s onto Week 2.
