Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:
Game of the week
No. 11 Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at Houston (4-0, 1-0), Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Four Big 12 teams have started at least 4-0 for the first time since 2015, but the Red Raiders or Cougars will get their first loss. Houston won in overtime last week at Oregon State after overcoming a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Texas Tech’s games haven’t even been close.
The Red Raiders have a 40.8-point average winning margin that is the best nationally and they haven’t trailed this season. They are 4-0 for the first time since 2013, also the last time they were 5-0. Texas Tech, coming off an open date, has outscored its opponents 133-3 in the first half.
Houston has already matched its win totals from both 2023 and 2024, when the Cougars went 4-8 in each of its first two seasons after joining the Big 12. They were last 4-0 in 2016, when they also got to 5-0.
The undercard
No. 14 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0) at Cincinnati (3-1, 1-0), Saturday, noon EDT (ESPN2)
While Iowa State can on the first Saturday of October become the first team to secure bowl eligibility, the goal for the Cyclones is to be playing in the Big 12 championship game on the first Saturday of December for another chance to win their first title. They have trailed only 28 seconds this season and have won six games in a row since losing to Arizona State in last year’s title game, a streak that began with their bowl win over now-No. 3 Miami. Cincinnati ended a five-game Big 12 losing streak with a 37-34 win at Kansas last week.
Rocco Becht has 23 wins as Iowa State’s starting quarterback, trailing only Brock Purdy’s 30 wins. Becht’s school-record streak of 22 consecutive games with a TD pass, which was the longest active FBS streak, ended in last week’s 39-14 win over Arizona. But he ran for three 1-yard scores.
Impact player
— Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson has at least three TD passes in five consecutive games for Baylor (3-2, 1-1), the longest streak by a Big 12 quarterback since Kyler Murray’s eight in a row in 2018. Robertson goes into Saturday’s game against Kansas State (2-3, 1-1) as the national leader with 342.6 yards passing per game and 17 TDs.
— Kansas QB Jalon Daniels has 1,262 yards and 16 TDs passing, He had 500 total yards (445 yards and four TDs passing, 55 yards rushing) last week in a 37-34 loss to Cincinnati. The Jayhawks (3-2, 1-1) play at UCF (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday.
Inside the numbers
No. 23 BYU (4-0, 1-0) is seeking its second consecutive 5-0 start, and fourth in the past six seasons under coach Kalani Sitake. The Cougars host West Virginia (2-3, 0-2) on Friday night. … Arizona (3-1, 0-1) hasn’t allowed a passing touchdown and now plays Oklahoma State (1-3, 0-1), which has a Big 12-low two passing TDs. … No. 25 Arizona State (4-1, 2-0), the defending Big 12 champion, and Utah (4-1, 1-1) have open dates.
Back in Fort Worth
Deion Sanders and Colorado (2-3, 0-2) are at TCU (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday night for the first time since the coach’s winning debut with the Buffs in the 2023 opener, when Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs were coming off a national title game appearance.
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By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
