Week 3 of the Big 12 football season is officially in the books, and it was a huge weekend for the conference. The action started Friday night in Lubbock and didn’t wrap up until late Saturday night in Tucson.
There were massive wins, disappointing losses and a few performances that were downright ugly.
Here’s the Good, Bad and Ugly from Week 3 across the Big 12. I’m not going to hit every blowout or predictable result, but these are the games and performances that stood out the most.
The Good
Texas Tech (Beat Houston 28-26)
On a night when things could have gone either way, Texas Tech found a way to get it done.
No, it wasn’t Will Hammond carrying the Red Raiders. Instead, Tech leaned on a rushing attack that finished with 168 yards, led by Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams. Wide receiver Kenny Johnson also came up with some big plays in a game that went back and forth all night.
And when the defense needed one final stop, it made the play.
By no means was Texas Tech dominant or perfect. In fact, there are plenty of things Joey McGuire and his staff will want cleaned up. But the Red Raiders survived a legitimate test and remained unbeaten.
Sometimes, that’s all you need.
West Virginia (Beat No. 25 Virginia 38-27)
I couldn’t have been more wrong about West Virginia going up against Virginia — and I’m sure glad I was.
Michael Hawkins Jr. put on a show, accounting for five total touchdowns while rushing for 123 yards. Cam Cook also helped fuel a WVU rushing attack that Virginia simply couldn’t stop for stretches of the game.
Just as impressive was the response from the Mountaineers’ defense. After allowing 14 points in the first quarter, West Virginia surrendered just 13 over the final three quarters.
Some are calling this West Virginia’s best win in years, and I have to agree.
This was a statement win for Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers.
Cincinnati’s Comeback (Beat Miami (OH) 35-31)
Let me start by saying this: Beating Miami of Ohio by four points is not impressive. Finding yourself down 28-7 in the third quarter is even worse.
But just when I had given up on the Bearcats, they put together one heck of a comeback.
JC French engineered some huge drives, while Cincinnati’s defense buckled down and allowed just three points in the second half. It took every bit of effort — and maybe a little luck — but Cincinnati somehow escaped with a 35-31 victory.
Was it a good performance? Absolutely not.
But the comeback was.
Credit the Bearcats for not rolling over when plenty of teams would have. Cincinnati avoided what would have been one of the ugliest losses of the Big 12 season.
Arizona State (Beat Kansas 24-17)
By no means was it pretty, but a win is a win — even across the pond.
Cutter Boley struggled to consistently find his targets, forcing Arizona State to lean heavily on its running game. But the biggest reason the Sun Devils left London with a victory was their defense.
Arizona State forced three Kansas turnovers, and ultimately, that was the difference.
I still don’t know exactly how good this Arizona State team is. But I also find it difficult to draw sweeping conclusions from a weird overseas game at Wembley Stadium.
The Sun Devils needed a win after what happened at Texas A&M, and they got one.
The Bad
Houston (Lost to Texas Tech 28-26)
I’m not going to harp too much on Houston here because the Cougars played their asses off on the road against a Top 15 team.
Connor Weigman was excellent, the running game was solid, and for long stretches Houston looked every bit like a team capable of competing near the top of the Big 12.
The Cougars jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead before sputtering a bit, but they never went away. Ultimately, the game came down to a two-point conversion attempt that fell short.
There was a lot to like about Houston’s performance.
But at the end of the day, winning is what matters, and the Cougars couldn’t quite finish off what would have been a massive road upset.
Kansas (Lost to Arizona State 24-17)
If not for Kansas making things interesting late, I would have put the Jayhawks in the Ugly category.
The offense couldn’t get out of its own way, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that Isaiah Marshall may not be the answer at quarterback. Multiple turnovers certainly didn’t help, either.
If not for the Kansas defense making several stops, this game could have gotten out of hand much earlier.
Now the Jayhawks have lost back-to-back games after starting the season with plenty of optimism.
The offense needs to figure things out — and fast. Otherwise, this season could go down the drain in a hurry.
The Ugly
Colorado (Lost to Northwestern 41-7)
There’s ugly, and then there’s whatever the hell Colorado was on Saturday against Northwestern.
Julian Lewis wasn’t good. The Buffaloes turned the football over four times. And the defense wasn’t much better.
There’s really no way to sugarcoat this one: Colorado got its ass kicked, and it was never close.
This was one of the most pathetic performances I’ve seen from a Big 12 team on a national stage in a long time.
Where was the team that went on the road and beat Georgia Tech?
That team certainly wasn’t in Evanston.
Deion Sanders was understandably upset afterward — including with some of his own players — and now the question becomes how Colorado responds.
Because after a performance like this, next weekend’s trip to Waco suddenly feels a whole lot more important.
