For the first half of the season, it appeared that the Big 12’s label as the conference of parity was dwindling away. Texas Tech was going to run away with it, then the Red Raiders fell in Tempe to Arizona State, and the door opened back up for other teams to walk through. And many have waltzed on into the party.
The Big 12 is still anybody’s conference, and that bodes well for a TCU team that still finds itself in the mix after its narrow victory in Morgantown on Saturday night. Despite what the fanbase might say about the likelihood of the Horned Frogs playing in—and potentially winning—a conference title, it’s still mathematically possible, thanks in part to what’s been happening around them. Of course, the only thing that actually matters is TCU taking care of business and winning itself, which, if we’ve learned anything in 2025, is anything but a given.
Oct 25, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Texas Christian University Horned Frogs running back Trent Battle (6) runs the ball during the second quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images / Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Appalachian Affliction is real, and it was very much alive on Saturday night at Milan Puskar Stadium for TCU. For the better part of a decade, the Horned Frogs have suffered from an ailment that’s prevented them from beating West Virginia. And while it appears that a remedy was found via the 23–17 victory, anyone who laid eyes on that game knows that the win was less a foolproof cure and more like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole.
Sure, it’s hard to win on the road, especially in Morgantown, but this is a West Virginia team that ranks near the bottom of the country in most statistics, and still, the Horned Frogs failed to put it away. There have been fleeting instances during Sonny Dykes and Kendal Briles’ tenure running the offense where the team has been able to salt away a game with ease, and Saturday night was not one of them.
Oct 25, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda works the sideline during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
When Aranda was hired by Baylor following the 2019 season, it was because of his prowess as the defensive coordinator at LSU. Six years later, Baylor’s defense stinks, and there’s no sign of any reprieve anytime soon.
In the Bears’ 41–20 defeat to a Cincinnati team that fancies itself among the elite in the Big 12, the Bearcats controlled the tempo with a rushing attack that was unstoppable. Brendan Sorsby, Tawee Walker, and Evan Pryor combined for 235 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. That allowed Cincinnati to essentially sit on the ball for most of the game, not allowing Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who’s come back down to earth in recent weeks, to gain any momentum.
As a result, Cincinnati finds itself in the mix for the conference championship—and subsequently the College Football Playoff—while Baylor is still searching for answers where there might not be any. The Bears entered this season with expectations to compete for a championship, and it’s clear that they’re going to fall far short of that goal.
TCU has already claimed victory over Baylor and will face Cincinnati in the final game of the year, a contest that could prove to be extremely important.
Oct 25, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; BYU Cougars safety Faletau Satuala (11) intercepts a pass against the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images / Reese Strickland-Imagn Images
Even without star running back LJ Martin—who departed in the first quarter and never returned—the Cougars, down multiple scores on two occasions, still won 41–27 over Iowa State in Ames.
Iowa State outgained BYU 495–410 but turned it over four times, including three interceptions by Rocco Becht, all of which were costly. The second pick was the most disastrous of them all for the Cyclones, as standout defensive back Faletau Satuala—one of the most underrated players in the conference—jumped an out route, intercepted the pass, and returned it for a score that proved to be the knockout blow.
BYU is still undefeated, and even with several challenging games remaining on the schedule, there appear to be no signs that it’ll be slowing down anytime soon. Of course, the Frogs will hope to have a say in that in a couple of weeks when they travel to Provo to face the Cougars, but if this is how BYU’s going to play, then TCU could have some trouble.
Houston’s challenge heading into the season was that it was always going to have to work hard to convince people it was legit. After beating Arizona State on the road, it appears that the doubts the general college football population possessed might have been quelled, at least in the short term.
For Texas Tech, Oklahoma State was never expected to be much of a roadblock, but cruising to an easy win after last week’s setback in Tempe had to feel good, especially with a challenging stretch of games looming ahead.
Then there are the Utes, who completely dismantled Colorado and Deion Sanders in every possible way. Utah led 17–0 at the end of the first quarter and 43–0 by halftime before taking its foot off the gas in the final two frames to win 53–7. Starting quarterback Devon Dampier wasn’t even playing, and this was still the result.
Oct 25, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (2) waves to fans after scoring against the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half of the game at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
It was wet and rainy in Lawrence, and that led to a fumble-fest at the start of the game. That didn’t seem to bother Kansas State, though. The Wildcats, once left for dead, have risen like a phoenix and now sit at 4–4 and above .500 in conference play. Perhaps even more satisfying for Kansas State, the 42–17 win over Kansas marked its 17th straight victory in the Sunflower Showdown—the Jayhawks haven’t beaten the Wildcats since 2008. Wow.
As Kansas State continues to surge, the Horned Frogs’ loss in Manhattan several weeks ago continues to loom large in the conference standings. If TCU wants to leap over the Wildcats, it’ll need to hope for a couple more K-State defeats down the stretch.
Team
Conference Record
Overall Record
Streak
No. 10 BYU
5-0
8-0
W8
No. 17 Cincinnati
5-0
7-1
W7
No. 13 Texas Tech
4-1
7-1
W1
No. 22 Houston
4-1
7-1
W3
No. 24 Utah
3-2
6-2
W1
Arizona State
3-2
5-3
L1
Kansas State
3-2
4-4
W2
TCU
3-2
6-2
W2
Iowa State
2-3
5-3
L3
Baylor
2-3
4-4
L2
Kansas
2-3
4-4
L2
Arizona
1-3
4-3
L2
UCF
1-3
4-3
W1
Colorado
1-4
3-5
L1
West Virginia
0-5
2-6
L5
Oklahoma State
0-5
1-7
L7
TCU has head-to-head wins, and subsequently the tiebreaker, over Baylor, Colorado, and West Virginia, but crucially doesn’t with Arizona State and Kansas State, the two teams directly ahead of it in the standings. It’ll have the opportunity to pick up some big-time wins—or suffer debilitating losses—down the stretch against Iowa State, BYU, Houston, and Cincinnati.