Big 12 Notebook | Parity could be as high as ever in Big 12, plus a big Friday night Week 3 showdown

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If there’s one takeaway through two weeks of play, it’s that that the Big 12 might have as much parity as ever.

Oklahoma State upset No. 6 Oregon, Arizona State and Iowa State battled tough in ranked road matchups and frontrunners Texas Tech, BYU and Utah all rolled this weekend. That’s not to mention Houston, Kansas State, Colorado and others moving to 2-0 and looking improved so far this season.

Here’s a look around the Big 12 heading into Week 3.

No. 22 Houston (2-0) at No. 13 Texas Tech (2-0), Friday, 7 p.m. CT, FOX

One of the biggest games on the Big 12 calendar comes on a Friday night in Week 3.

Texas Tech and Houston already have a common opponent. The Cougars defeated Oregon State, 33-20, at home in Week 1 while the Red Raiders pulled away late at Oregon State last week, 35-24.

Houston hung 533 yards on the Beavers with more than 200 yards rushing, then posted 388 rushing yards in a beatdown of Southern last week. Quarterback Conner Weigman is 29 of 42 for 425 yards, four touchdowns and an interception on the season.

On the flip side, reigning Big 12 champ Texas Tech looked mortal in Corvallis. Oregon State led with under seven minutes to play, and TTU allowed 417 passing yards and was outgained 472-352. QB Will Hammond has completed 76.7% of his passes for 487 yards and two touchdowns.

There’s upset potential here, but the Cougars will have to do it in Lubbock, where the TTU has won eight in a row. Houston will look to establish its running game, which has averaged 308 yards, against a Tech rush defense only allowing 2.7 yards a carry.

It’s a big opportunity for Houston to take a step toward making Arlington for the first time.

Spread: TTU -7.5

West Virginia (2-0) vs No. 25 Virginia (2-0) in Charlotte, Saturday 6:30 p.m. CT, ACC Network

West Virginia is 2-0 for the first time since 2018, and now the Mountaineers and second-year coach Rich Rodriguez have their first big test.

WVU quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. – an Oklahoma transfer – was solid against Coastal Carolina and UT Martin, throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns while leading the team with 199 rushing yards.

Virginia will give him his toughest challenge yet, though. The Cavaliers are ninth in total defense and fourth in scoring defense, allowing only 11 points through two games.

Virginia QB Beau Pribula has been about as efficient as possible, completing 84% of passes for 317 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for another 102 yards. One of the bright spots for WVU so far has been the pass rush, though, which is tied for 12th nationally with seven sacks.

Spread: UVA -10.5

Big 12 race just got more interesting

Oh, how things can change in a week. Oklahoma State was at the very bottom of Big 12 power rankings after a Week 1 loss to Tulsa, and the Cowboys followed that up with a 39-31 win against No. 6 Oregon.

The Big 12 already had a jumble of teams seemingly capable of making the Big 12 title game. Now, add the Cowboys back to that list of teams.

The Big 12 still runs through Tech, but BYU is already 1-0 in league play with a win against Arizona, and Utah has looked unstoppable, ranking 12th nationally in total offense.

Kansas State is 2-0 with a reborn offense under new head coach Collin Klein, and the Wildcat defense has allowed only 10 points. Houston, Colorado and Cincinnati all look improved this season, and each moved to 2-0 this week.

Even in defeat, Arizona State was promising, holding No. 10 Texas A&M to 255 yards of offense and outgaining the Aggies by more than 100 yards on the road. Iowa State also dropped to 1-1 but nearly pulled off the upset in a 16-13 loss at No. 21 Iowa. Arizona isn’t out of the picture, either.

Buckle up, it could be one of the more interesting races to the Big 12 championship game.

Big 12 vs Power Four

A fun outcome of nonconference play is to see how Power Four conferences stack up against each other.

Going into Week 3, the Big 12 ranks third among Power Four leagues with a 4-6 record against the other three power conferences. The SEC (8-2) leads, with the ACC (5-6) in second and the Big Ten (3-7) in the basement.

The Big 12 has two more chances to bolster its record and prowess in the Power Four this weekend, as West Virginia plays Virginia, and Colorado travels to Northwestern. Those are the final two Big 12 vs Power Four games on the schedule, but BYU plays No. 3 Notre Dame (independent) in Week 7 on Oct. 17.

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