Week 3 of the college football season delivered another eventful weekend across the Big 12, with conference contenders beginning to separate themselves while other teams raised even more questions about where their seasons are headed.
From statement wins and close calls to disappointing performances and developments that could have an impact well beyond one Saturday, there was plenty to digest across the league. With another week in the books, here are the five biggest Big 12 football takeaways from Week 3 of the 2026 season.
Conference Hierarchy Begins
BYU got to 1-0 last week in Big 12 play, and now Arizona State and Texas Tech join the Cougars atop the very early conference standings. Texas Tech held off Houston on Friday night in Lubbock 28-26. But the story so far is that Texas Tech does not look like the 2025 version. They are now 0-3 against the spread this season, whereas they were one of the best in college football against the spread in 2025 at 12-2. So this may mean the Big 12 is wide open. But the good news for the Red Raiders is that Friday night was their last ranked game on the schedule (as of now). However, there are several Big 12 teams who are already looking even better than advertised, including BYU and Utah, while West Virginia and Oklahoma State may have something to say about this race as well. And there’s still Houston and Arizona lingering. Plus, we haven’t even mentioned Kansas State. It’s late September, but it’s going to be a fun stretch of football in this conference.
West Virginia’s Top 25 Win vs. UVA
This was a fantastic non-conference win for the Mountaineers, and as a result, the Big 12. WVU was the better, tougher and more efficient team in this game in Charlotte. Michael Hawkins Jr. may not be Pat White, but he may be the closest thing to Pat White. In the win, Hawkins became the first WVU quarterback with 3+ rush TD and 2+ pass TD a single game since White in 2008. The defense seemingly got more impressive as the game progressed, with Zac Alley dialing up some well-timed blitzes that UVA did not have any answers for. This is the best win of the Rich Rodriguez era, and it’s the most important one as well as this team builds on a 3-0 start going into conference play next week vs. Oklahoma State.
Near-Fatal Games
The Cincinnati Bearcats found themselves trailing Miami (OH) 28-7 at halftime. And UCF was losing to Georgia State 24-20 at halftime. The Bearcats had to outscore Miami 28-3 in the second half to eek out a 35-31 victory. It was the Bearcats’ largest rally since they came back from a 21-0 deficit in 2018 to beat Ohio University 34-30. Cole Tabb’s 53-yard touchdown was the go-ahead score for UC with 1:29 to go. It would have been a disastrous way for Scott Satterfield and the Bearcats to enter conference play. But they avoided the disaster.
And so did Scott Frost, thank goodness for him. And it wasn’t just about how they didn’t have QB Alonza Barnett. UCF’s defense gave up a scoring drive to Georgia State on every drive from the 4:00 minute mark in the first quarter until late in the third quarter. Then, finally, they buckled down and got a few stops, while allowing the offense to step up and put some big run plays on the board to get back in front and hold on for a 37-27 win.
Losing either of these games would have been a disaster for the Big 12.
London, Let’s Not Do That Again
The first FBS game in London came courtesy of Kansas and Arizona State. It was a pretty ugly game overall, won by Arizona State 24-17. The game was not as close as the score indicated, and the offense by both teams was generally horrific. The game was decided by special teams mistakes by Kansas, along with turnovers by the Jayhawks that Arizona State turned into points. We didn’t get the best of either team, and who can blame them given the thousands of miles traveled in recent days.
I’m sure it won’t be the last time this game happens, and involves the Big 12, but it’s a waste of time and energy. At no point did I watch this game and think about how it was being played in London. I watched it for the game, and the quality mostly stunk. But if the Big 12 is going to do this again, try to get a more exclusive time slot than just the Noon Eastern window, where there is plenty of competition.
Colorado Lost Its Early-Season Good Will
Colorado’s 41-7 loss to Northwestern was brutal. And after the game, Deion Sanders rip into his own players after the game for their attitude in the embarrassing loss. And they deserved it. This team was a 3-point underdog and lost by 30+. All the good will this program had from the Georgia Tech win feels like its gone. And it should be after what happened vs. Weber State in an underwhelming performance and then on Saturday against a mediocre, at best, Big Ten opponent. The offense is far more problematic than the defense, with four turnovers in their first five drives. The defense is improved, but it just can’t keep going at this pace if the offense doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
