The Big 12 Conference just passed the halfway point of the season, and the league race is really taking shape. Three teams remain undefeated both in Big 12 play and overall and are in the Associated Press Top 10 this week. Two other teams absorbed their first Big 12 loss of the season but are still in the race. The rest are in full-on chase mode.
So, who’s stock went up and who’s stock went down? Let’s look at the big movers across the league.
Stock Up
BYU Cougars
The BYU Cougars beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at home on Saturday, 28-24. Yes, the ending was controversial (someone still looking for that extra second?). But, remember this — the Cougars went into that game without their best running back, LJ Martin, due to injury. It was BYU’s second game without him. The emergence of Preston Rex at running back in this game might have been the most important development. Less reliance on quarterback Bear Bachmeier in the run game is a good thing.
BYU showed its toughness and resilience in this game. It also gathered a great “chip” when it comes to proving their worthiness for the College Football Playoff, whether they win the league or not.
Houston Cougars
Hey, in case you’re wondering, Conner Weigman can throw the football, too. As much as head coach Willie Fritz wants to run the ball, he trusted his fifth-year quarterback to sling it against Oklahoma State, and he threw for 343 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-32 win.
The game was a coming out party of sorts for him. I don’t think anyone outside of the Big 12 knew he had that kind of arm. It will come in handy this week against Utah. College Gameday will be in town. Fritz gets a chance to show off his program and it’s a well-deserved one. They have momentum and a chance to shake up the Big 12 race.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
So … guess Texas Tech figured out the offense during the bye week. The Red Raiders went off for 53 points against Arizona State, scoring 43 of those points in the first half. Quarterback Will Hammond looked more comfortable. The offense looked more efficient. Tech did all of that without running back Cameron Dickey, who is out with a high ankle sprain.
The defense has been great all season. At times it’s been elite. If this is the Red Raiders’ offense moving forward, well good luck to the rest of y’all. It’s the sort of offensive explosion Tech has been waiting for against a power conference team.
Stock Down
Oklahoma State Cowboys
I’m not down on Oklahoma State as a whole. But the loss to Houston exposed some things, especially defensively. The secondary had its worst game of the season. Weigman torched them in part because of how porous that unit was. The defensive gave up more than 500 yards. Head coach Eric Morris will do some soul searching this week. The Houston game showed this defense has little margin for error.
That said, the offensive scored 32 points and scored points on four of their final five possessions of the game. Led quarterback Drew Mestemaker, that side of the ball is going to keep the Cowboys in every game they play the remainder of the season.
Baylor Bears
So … the Bears barely lose to Auburn to start the season, win four straight games, get a bye week and then get the Revivalry at home against TCU and … you do that? Six points? SIX POINTS? That’s six points more than I had and I didn’t even play. I felt like Baylor lost twice.
There was a clear path for the Bears to get to 6-0 before having to end the season with BYU, Texas Tech and Houston. Maybe Baylor still would have been 6-3 anyway. But head coach Dave Aranda could have had Baylor undefeated in league play in November and his team let it slip.
So are we back on hot seat watch or no?
Arizona State Sun Devils
That was a rough watch against Texas Tech. Arizona State made a move at quarterback, replacing Cutter Boley with Mikey Keene in the second half. That tells you everything about where the Sun Devils are at right now. The offense is sputtering. The defense is yielding points. They’ve beaten on power conference team — Kansas, which was in London.
I was wrong about this team. I thought Arizona State had a chance to contend in this league. That no longer looks to be the case.
