The Big 12 Conference race took another dramatic turn in Week 8 as contenders emerged, playoff hopes took shape and one coaching tenure officially came to an end. With Baylor firing Dave Aranda, Utah standing as the league’s lone unbeaten team and six Big 12 programs now ranked in the AP Top 25, the conference has never looked deeper or more chaotic. From statement wins by Cincinnati, UCF and Arizona to disappointing performances from Colorado and Iowa State, here’s a look at whose stock is rising and whose stock is falling as the Big 12 football season enters the stretch run.
Stock Up
UCF
I knew this was gonna be a tough game. In fact, our site owner, Pete Mundo, called this exact scenario back in August. Even has the receipt.
He wrote that he expected BYU to beat Notre Dame and then go to Orlando the next week and lose in a letdown game to the Knights.
It was a crazy game, but the Knights walked away with a win in overtime. When you consider how much the Knights have had to claw and scratch and scrape their way through this stretch without quarterback Alonzo Barnett III, this is a building block win for head coach Scott Frost and his bunch. I saw it in person against Oklahoma State a couple of weeks ago.
If they ever get Barnett back, the Knights have a chance to get to a bowl game.
Cincinnati
Has anyone done a wellness check on Cody Campbell? Didn’t he say that Texas Tech was going to curb-stomp Cincinnati when they met? That did not go how he expected. Frankly, it didn’t go how any of us expected.
Cincinnati went out and handled Texas Tech from the jump. All the offensive issues that I thought that the Red Raiders had solved last week? Well maybe not so much. For Cincinnati this was a statement game on multiple fronts.
But, once Campbell wanted full-on revenge on Cincinnati after the whole Brendan Sorsby debacle (for reasons I imagine only Campbell knows), the Bearcats too care of business and damaged Texas Tech’s hopes of winning the Big 12.
By the way, Texas Tech hasn’t beaten anyone by 40 points this season.
Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield was diplomatic about it after the game. But that one had to feel really good.
Arizona
Arizona’s got a tough stretch of games coming up against Texas Tech this weekend and Utah in two weekends. But let’s tip our hat to the Wildcats. I think some folks felt as if they maxed out last year by winning nine games and they were preparing to take a step back. Head coach Brent Brennan and Arizona have done nothing of the sort.
If anything, these Wildcats look a little bit better than last year’s team in some areas. Having quarterback Noah Fifita really helps. But Brennan is using their success on the field to fuel a good recruiting class and should pull well in the transfer portal.
But right now, in this moment, the Wildcats are still competitive for a Big 12 championship game berth. The win over Iowa State was dominant and it showed that they’re not gonna be a pushover for Texas Tech this weekend in Lubbock. That game should be the game of the week.
Stock Down
Baylor
Baylor finally pulled finally pulled the plug on the Dave Aranda era on Sunday So what else can you say? Their stock is way down. The Bears had the look of a team that could be a surprise contender just a couple of weeks ago. But the way they lost that game to Kansas — by having a game-winning field goal blocked in the final seconds — that just that was the last straw.
There isn’t a person that covers this conference that doesn’t respect the heck out of Dave Aranda and he’s going to be a great defensive coordinator somewhere in the SEC next year. But Baylor needs new leadership. I wrote about the coaching carousel on Monday and I put forth who I think gets the job. I hope he gets it. I really think he can do great things there.
But for now, it’s gonna be a bumpy rest of the season in Waco. Enjoy Joe Klanderman.
Colorado
I’m not sure where Colorado goes from here. I covered their game with Oklahoma State on Saturday, and the Buffaloes played a great first half. Then CU made one mistake on the first play of the second half — and it just completely flipped the script. Colorado went from scoring 24 points in the first half to scoring none in the second half.
It was as extreme a change in momentum as I’ve seen in the game all year. Colorado has a good defense. The numbers won’t show that from this game but it’s a good unit. But the offense just can’t put a consistent football game together. I’m starting to think Deion Sanders isn’t going to be there this time next year.
Iowa State
One thing I’ve come to expect from Iowa State football is that it’s always competitive. Even when the Cyclones lost early in Matt Campbell’s tenure, they were competitive. But they were not competitive against Arizona. Not at all. It might be one of the worst games I’ve seen Iowa State play in a long time. They just didn’t seem to have any juice, they didn’t have any consistency and of course benching quarterback Jaylen Raynor tells you everything you need to know about where the Cyclones are at right now.
Now, it’s a Halloween game on Saturday against Oklahoma State and a chance to bounce back. But right now, the Cyclones are starting to look like a team that’s going to miss a bowl game — and not just because they tap out after their head coach leaves.
