Big 12 football Week 3 picks, predictions for every conference game

The 2026 college football season is now two weeks in, and the Big 12 is once again uber-competitive, with eight teams beginning the season 2-0. Who will take the title crown in December is a conversation for another day, because we have a solid Week 3 slate to break down.

This week's headliner is a marquee SEC matchup: No. 8 Ole Miss hosting No. 7 LSU in Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford. In the Big 12, the top game is, without a doubt, Houston traveling to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech in a battle between two teams with conference title aspirations. Other games include the BYU at Colorado State and West Virginia at Virginia. Colorado aims to continue its strong start as it travels to Big Ten country for a matchup against Northwestern.

Here is a look at this week's staff picks for each Big 12 game on the Week 3 slate, which features all 16 teams. Games not scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, are listed as such, and all times are Mountain unless noted.

No. 23 Houston at No. 12 Texas Tech

Friday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m., Fox

Ariana: Texas Tech

This is the first Big 12 conference game against two ranked teams of the season, and it should be pretty interesting. Both teams have good offenses, but Texas Tech's defense will be the difference-maker and give them the win. I still expect it to be close, though.

Charlie: Houston

I'm juiced for this game. Houston is a solid team at every spot and is prepared to go into Lubbock and pull off the upset. Houston QB Conner Weigman will play like a former five-star recruit and beat a worse, but still good, Texas Tech defense. The Cougars are a better team than last year and will make a stop when it counts.

Kansas State vs. Tulane

10 a.m., Fox

Ariana: Kansas State

Kansas State wins this one handily. Tulane is off to a rough start to the season. They barely survived South Alabama last week and lost to Duke in the season opener; they could not even get in the end zone that game. The Wildcats' offense should put up a lot of points on the ground and through the air.

Charlie: Kansas State

It won't be the easiest game for the Wildcats, but they shouldn't have too much of a problem with the Green Wave.

Iowa State vs. Bowling Green

10 a.m., ESPNU

Ariana: Iowa State

Bowling Green is not having a good season this year. They have scored only 20 points combined in their first two games and were blown out by Nebraska last week. Meanwhile, Iowa State nearly had an upset over Iowa last week and easily beat SE Missouri in the season opener. No way Iowa State comes away from this game without a win.

Charlie: Iowa State

I don't think the Cyclones are that good, but they shouldn't slip up here.

Kansas vs. Arizona State (London)

9 a.m., FS1

Ariana: Arizona State

College football is in London now, and they should get a pretty interesting show. Arizona State quarterback Cutter Boley is leading the way in passing yards and passing touchdowns after the first two weeks of the season and should have another strong game against Kansas. The Sun Devils get their second win of the year and first conference win of the year in this game.

Charlie: Arizona State

Some people may not like college football in London, but I am all for it. Arizona State is my pick, but Kansas should keep it close.

No. 17 Utah vs. Utah State

1:30 p.m., Fox

Ariana: Utah

This probably will not be a close game. Utah enters this game as the No. 17-ranked team in the country, while Utah State has yet to get its first win of the season after games against Idaho State and Washington, though they came close to defeating Washington. Expect Utah State to put up a fight against their in-state rival, but the Utes will still win this game.

Charlie: Utah

Cincinnati vs. Miami (OH)

1:30 p.m., ESPN+

Ariana: Cincinnati

Cincinnati's run game will prove to be the deciding factor in this game. Their top running back, Gi'Bran Payne, has 210 rushing yards through the first two games of the season and will run wild against Miami Ohio. The Bearcats remain undefeated and move to 3-0.

Charlie: Cincinnati

Never count out a MAC team to take down a middle Power Four program, but I think the Bearcats stave off the in-state upset.

Baylor vs. Louisiana Tech

2 p.m., ESPNU

Ariana: Baylor

Both teams enter this game 1-1, but Baylor will leave 2-1. They were so close against Auburn in the opener and then destroyed Prairie View in Week 2. LA Tech is a pretty good team. They gave LSU a run for their money in the first half last week and put up 80 in their season opener. LA Tech should make this interesting, but the Bears still win.

Charlie: Baylor

I won't pick an upset here, but without quarterback DJ Lagway, Baylor might have a tougher time knocking out a feisty Louisiana Tech team.

UCF vs. Georgia State

5 p.m., ESPN+

Ariana: UCF

UCF is coming off an ugly loss to Pittsburgh, where they only managed to score seven points after putting up 73 in their season opener. Georgia State may be 2-0 going into this game, but the Knights are still a good team despite their Week 2 loss. UCF rebounds in this game and moves to 2-1.

Charlie: UCF

The Knights are far from an elite Big 12 team, but they are a better unit than Georgia State.

Oklahoma State vs. Murray State

5 p.m., ESPN+

Ariana: Oklahoma State

We have a winner for blowout of the week. Oklahoma State is coming off their upset win over Oregon, who was ranked No. 6 at the time and has now dropped to No. 21. Meanwhile, Murray State is 1-2 after dropping matchups to Eastern Illinois and MTSU. This will not even be close. Oklahoma State moves to 2-1.

Charlie: Oklahoma State

I don't expect this to be close, especially after seeing how OSU handled Oregon last week.

Colorado at Northwestern

5:30 p.m., Fox

We have shared Colorado-Northwestern predictions in a separate post, with each staff member providing a final score prediction and some thoughts on the game.

No. 13 BYU at Colorado State

5:30 p.m., CBS

Ariana: BYU

Colorado State has itself a good roster this season, so this will not be a 40-point blowout or anything like that. However, BYU will still win. They have a more talented roster, with Bear Bachmeier at quarterback and LJ Martin at running back. Their offense will overpower Colorado State.

Charlie: BYU

I want to pick CSU just for the Big 12 drama that would ratchet up. The Rams are good, but BYU is elite and arguably the best team in the conference. I think Colorado State keeps it close, but it gets out of hand late.

West Virginia at No. 25 Virginia

5:30 p.m., ACC Network

Ariana: Virginia

This is another case of one team simply having a better roster than the other. After nearly making the playoffs as the ACC Champion last season, Virginia is trying to get back to the championship game and build a roster capable of winning the ACC Championship. West Virginia's roster is mediocre, but mediocre will not do against the Cavaliers. West Virginia gets its first loss of the season.

Charlie: Virginia

This one should be a good battle between the two border rivals. The Cavaliers are ranked and, as my college said, have a better roster than the Mountaineers. West Virginia has players who can threaten UVA, but it won't be enough.

TCU vs. Arkansas State

6 p.m., ESPNU

Ariana: TCU

I still don't have much faith in TCU after their season opener against North Carolina. But they proved they can put up points with their 63-7 win over Grambling. Also, Arkansas State's quarterback has already thrown four interceptions this season, and I would not be surprised if he throws at least one more in this game. TCU wins, and it will not be close.

Charlie: TCU

Arizona vs. Northern Illinois

8:30 p.m., TNT

Ariana: Arizona

This will be a good chance for Arizona to rebound after their loss to BYU. Northern Illinois is 0-2 this season after getting shut out against Iowa and losing by a narrow margin to Illinois State. Arizona, meanwhile, has an elite offense that will put up a lot of points in this game. They will move to 2-1 after winning this game.

Charlie: Arizona

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Big 12 football Week 3 picks, predictions for every conference game