Big 12 Update: Utah Wins Holy War, Texas Tech Survives West Virginia

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The Big 12 is never short on drama, a fact that was again evident this past weekend.

Here’s a recap of the action around the league from this past weekend.

Utah Wins the Holy War

It’s still silly that the Holy War kicked off before noon, but alas, the Utes ended a three-game losing streak against their archrivals and beat the Cougars 28-20.

In many ways, it’s a miracle the game was as close as it was, as BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw four picks in the contest. Those were somewhat offset by a pair of Utah fumbles.

The Utes raced out to a 14-0 lead before the Cougars scored the next 20 points.

It wasn’t until their were less than two minutes left in the third quarter then Utah pulled back in front with a 14-yard TD pass from Devon Dampier to Braden Pegan.

Dampier finished 14-for-26 with 177 passing yards and two passing touchdowns while running for another 89 yards and two scores. If all that wasn’t enough, Dampier caught a jump ball on a fourth down early in the third quarter to extend a drive.

Devon Dampier, are you serious?!

What a catch from the QB 😱 https://t.co/rXEEZFR9qw

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 7, 2026

The win gives Utah a bit of a buffer in the Big 12 standings. Meanwhile, BYU drops into the two-loss soup, needing Texas Tech to lose and to come out on the right end of tiebreakers.

Texas Tech Survives West Texas Shootout with West Virginia

The Mountaineers again found themselves on the wrong end of a high-scoring game, and it ended perhaps more painfully than the rest.

Texas Tech beat West Virginia 53-48 in Lubbock.

The Mountaineers stopped the Red Raiders on a fourth down with under two minutes to play, but on the first play of WVU’s ensuing drive, Michael Hawkins was trying to avoid the rush in his own end zone and took a tumble for a safety. Brutal.

WEST VIRGINIA QB FALLS IN THE END ZONE FOR THE SAFETY 😬

A crucial mistake with a chance to tie the game 😊 https://t.co/bCe92ng5kV

— ESPN (@espn) November 8, 2026

Hawkins had an otherwise fantastic game, throwing for 303 yards, running for 88 yards and accounting for four touchdowns.

But the quarterback across the field was even more dominant. Thomas Castellanos threw for 362 yards and five touchdowns while running for another 102 yards.

In total, there were 101 points scored and 1,220 offensive yards gained — the type of games West Virginia has found itself in all year long.

TCU Collapses in Tucson

As painful an ending that was for the Mountaineers, the Horned Frogs probably suffered the most brutal Big 12 loss of the weekend.

Arizona beat TCU 29-28 on Friday night after the Wildcats pulled off an onside kick (sort of) to score nine points in the final two minutes of the contest.

Down 28-20, Arizona scored with just under two minutes to play but were unable to convert the 2-point conversion.

With TCU readying to defend on onside kick, Arizona elected to pooch it over that front line. Chaos ensued, and Arizona recovered, already in field-goal range.

ARIZONA RECOVERS THE KICK 😱

📺 ESPN https://t.co/jAgvCikYkx

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) November 7, 2026

The Wildcats would kick a field goal to win it and remain in the Big 12 title hunt. TCU falls to 4-5 on the season.

Full Week 10 Results

Arizona 29, TCU 28
Oklahoma State 66, Kansas State 28
Utah 28, BYU 20
Texas Tech 53, West Virginia 48
Houston 31, Cincinnati 24
Baylor 42, Iowa State 31
UCF 33, Kansas 32
Arizona State 20, Colorado 10

Next Weekend’s Schedule

Big 12 Standings