By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
This past week saw close to half of the Big 12 conference on their bye week. But that doesn’t mean there weren't a handful of games that created multiple storylines and performances that stood out on the national radar.
The more things change, the more things stay the same
For the fifth straight week, Kansas found itself in a fourth quarter back-and-forth showdown, this time on the road at Arizona State.
And for the fifth straight week, Kansas blew its fourth quarter lead in embarrassing fashion as the Jayhawks fell 35-31 in what was one of the best games nationally last week.
For the first time this season, Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels and the Jayhawk offense did not commit a turnover and actually won the turnover battle. But just as was the case against Illinois and TCU, the defensive line of Kansas could not stop the run as Cam Skattebo of Arizona State ran over their line, including a 39-yard run late in the fourth quarter that set up the game winning touchdown for the Sun Devils.
For Kansas, the road only gets tougher from here as the Jayhawks still have to face a ranked Iowa State, BYU, and Kansas State and an improved Colorado team. After two years of impressive play by the Jayhawks, it’s a disappointing return to reality for a team that people thought could win the conference preseason.
Will the real Wildcats stand up?
Week to week this season, nobody knows which Arizona team is going to show up. One week the Wildcats will get rolled by Kansas State, the next they’ll dominate a strong Utah team.
This week it was the lackluster Wildcats showing up as Arizona fell at home to Texas Tech 28-22 in a game that truly never felt like it was Arizona’s to win. After Noah Fifita’s best performance of the season against the Utes, the Wildcats shot caller struggled at times against a Texas Tech defense that had been susceptible to the big play throughout the season to this point.
The other downside for the Wildcats was a banged up Quali Conley on limited snaps look really good but not in the game for long stretches due to his injury. Overall, this puts Texas Tech in a good position to make a run towards the conference title game as the Red Raiders have two layup conference games off their bye before traveling to Iowa State at the beginning of November.
Even if Texas Tech was to drop that game, their toughest game remaining after that one is a home game against Colorado. All things considered, Texas Tech is in a good position with everything they want to play for still in front of them.
Fort Worth, we have a problem
Flying under the radar this past week was a Friday night in-state showdown between Houston and TCU in Fort Worth.
For the Horned Frogs, this was an opportunity to keep building momentum after their victory against Kansas the week before against what appeared to be a very beatable opponent after an abysmal start to the season by a team that many considered to be the worst team in the conference. For Houston, it was a chance to get a signature early season win with a new quarterback taking over after back to back shutout losses for an anemic offensive unit.
The Cougars dominated TCU in a 30-19 game that truly wasn’t close at all. At 3-3 this loss is a massive shot to the heart of the Horned Frogs chances of reaching a bowl game as their second half schedule is loaded. TCU still has to face Utah, Texas Tech, Arizona, and Oklahoma State, all teams who have better rosters and all besides one that have better coaching. This is a trend for Sonny Dykes as the Horned Frogs have continued to regress following their national championship loss to Georgia and it appears it may cost him his job in the process.
Game of the week: No. 16 Utah at Arizona State, 7:30 PM, ESPN
With the other half of the conference on their bye week this week, a Friday night standalone showdown between these former Pac-12 conference rivals is the biggest game on the conference slate.
For Utah, this could be a chance for Cam Rising to return at quarterback for the Utes after he left their week two matchup against Baylor due to a hand injury that has sidelined him for the past month.
After suffering a loss to Arizona two weeks ago, this game is massive as another loss may knock the Utes out of contention for both a conference title game spot but a playoff spot as well.
For Arizona State, this is a chance for the biggest win in the Kenny Dillingham era so far. It had been three years since Arizona State had reached four wins in a season before the Sun Devils victory over Kansas last week that brought the team to 4-1 and led to the receiving votes in the AP poll.
A victory over Utah puts Arizona State in good position to stay in contention for the conference title and will provide the Valley with momentum around the team that hasn’t been seen since the team knocked off Oregon in 2019.
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