The Big 12 is five weeks into the season and we have five undefeated teams in league action with BYU, Utah, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Baylor on the list. Will this be the pool of teams that reaches the Big 12 Championship game? We also have five teams without a win, including three that have already lost two games. Those teams may already be out of luck when it comes to the title game. Those six teams in between? Time to start making your case. So who’s stock went up and who’s stock went down? Let’s look at the big movers across the league.
Stock Up
Baylor Bears Keep Impressing
Ok, beating Colorado? Fine. I could see that. But going to Arizona State and laying that whooping on the Sun Devils? That was a 55-19 beat-down on the road. The Bears defense looks like something completely different under coordinator Joe Klanderman. Quarterback DJ Lagway is healthy now and he threw four touchdown passes on Saturday. Head coach Dave Aranda looks legitimately excited — and not even in that Dave Aranda way we’re used to.
If “this” is Baylor the rest of the season, well we have a new contender. Guess what? Their next four games are gettable, too.
Houston Cougars Moving Up
The Cougars looked listless for a half. Even their head coach, Willie Fritz, admitted that after the game. But they turned it on in the second half against UCF. That interception was a massive help in the third quarter. Conner Weigman continues to impress me. Re’Shaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes are a two-headed monster in the backfield.
The Cougars already have a loss so they really can’t afford another in Big 12 action if they want to control their own destiny. Beating UCF at home was a necessary litmus test. Oh, by the way Houston fans — you’re getting a night game against Oklahoma State in two Saturdays. Maybe show up this time? That’s a damn good team on the field.
Iowa State’s… (Offense)
So, the Cyclones can score points? Cool. Did you know running back Aiden Flora did something that no Big 12 player had done since Vince Young? And Flora isn’t even a quarterback. He accounted for five touchdowns, and Iowa State needed all the trickeration it could muster because, well, the defense had problems with WVU’s offense. There’s no way around the issue that unit has after two weeks.
But if Iowa State can score points like that the rest of the season, that helps the defense and will make things difficult on their opponents, some of which carry title aspiration. I know the Cyclones do, too. But it’s going to be tough with a conference loss already in the bag. Knowing you can score the points helps.
Stock Down
Colorado Buffaloes Keep Sliding
So, somehow it got worse. After falling to Baylor the Buffaloes scored just seven points against Texas Tech. Quarterback Isaac Wilson threw three interceptions. His backup, Joseph Williams, threw one. Apparently Julian Lews, the former five-star recruit, isn’t the backup anymore. Or is he? Head coach Deion Sanders didn’t seem to want to answer any of that.
“No, no. I would love JuJu to come in here and he tell you what happened. Don’t ‘you benched JuJu from first string to third string.’ No, that’s not how it went down,” Sanders said. “It didn’t happen like that.”
So, how did it happen? Sanders had nothing to say about it.
I know Sanders doesn’t care what any of us in the media think and that’s perfectly fine. But he should care what his new athletic director, Fernando Lovo thinks. Something tells me Lovo doesn’t think too much of this.
Texas Tech is Undefeated, But…
This is such a weird team. The defense is salty. The unit has forced 10 turnovers in five games and picked off four passes against Colorado. The Red Raiders are No. 26 in the country in points allowed per game (16.20). They’re still getting pressure on the quarterback — perhaps not as much as a year ago — but the rush is influencing opponents consistently.
The offense is, well, meh right now. It’s getting the job done. Quarterback Will Hammond hasn’t found that gear yet. The run game is in solid shape, but everyone is holding their breath on Cameron Dickey’s injury. At least it’s reportedly a high ankle sprain. But that means he’s going to be out for a few weeks. It’s a hard injury to play on.
Tech is winning ugly and a win is a win. But the thing about winning ugly is eventually you run out of margin for error. The Red Raiders need to get synched up. Arizona State comes to Lubbock on Saturday. The Sun Devils are gonna be ticked after losing to Baylor. Oh, anyone remember who beat Texas Tech last year? Anyone? McFly?
West Virginia Can’t Get Out of Its Own Way
For the second straight week? Yes, for the second straight week. That’s what happens when the defense gives up MORE points (45) to a supposedly less talented offense (Iowa State) than it gave up to a supposedly more talented offense (Oklahoma State) in back-to-back weeks (allowed 42 points to OSU). Yeah, sorry, lots of parentheticals.
The Mountaineers aren’t winning a Big 12 title this year. What’s worse is that the coaching staff remade the defense through the portal and it’s not working. The secondary is banged up. Time for the unit to focus on one defensive front for a while. Whichever one works best.
