Predicting the Best Big 12 Game of Each Week of the College Football Season

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We are exactly one month out from the Oregon Ducks playing in Boone Pickens Stadium — what a world.

That got me thinking about big games in 2026, so I decided to predict what I think will be the Big 12’s Game of the Week during each week of the 2026 college football season.

Week 0

We start with a mulligan, as the only Week 0 game featuring a Big 12 team is TCU’s game against North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland.

Could you imagine telling yourself 10 years ago that Bill Belichick would be coaching against TCU in Ireland?

It’s a matchup that won’t be short on eyeballs, as it officially kicks off the college football season and is the only game in the 11 a.m. time slot that day. Given the media circus that has surrounded Belichick in Chapel Hill, this game also won’t be short on storylines.

UNC went 4-8 in Belichick’s first season, the program’s worst record since 2018. The Tar Heels have a quarterback battle going into camp.

TCU, meanwhile, is coming off a relatively quiet 9-4 season, Sonny Dykes’ fourth in charge. Dykes has 36-17 record at TCU.

The Horned Frogs will be breaking in a new QB in Ireland. Jaden Craig, listed at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, transferred in from Harvard after throwing for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns in 11 games last season. Both of those stats were program records.

Week 1

Contenders:
Colorado at Georgia Tech
Baylor vs. Auburn (in Atlanta)
Boston College at Cincinnati

Although all of those games could be good when it comes to conference bragging rights, I think the clear standout here is Baylor going to Atlanta to take on an SEC foe.

Since winning the Big 12 in 2021 (the less said, the better), it hasn’t necessarily been all ups for Baylor and coach Dave Aranda. Since 2021, Baylor has gone a combined 22-28, finishing 5-7 last season. It feels like Aranda’s seat is at least a little toasty entering 2026.

But there’s also some buzz about the Bears with the addition of Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway. Lagway was the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports, but things didn’t exactly go to plan in his two seasons as Florida’s starter, though he still left Gainesville having thrown for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns. If Baylor can help him realize his potential, the Bears could be a player in the Big 12, or at least a team that could ruin a couple seasons.

As for Auburn, the Tigers are under new management in Alex Golesh, who was also thought to be a candidate for the OSU job this offseason. Golesh brought quarterback Byrum Brown with him from USF after Brown threw for 3,158 yards, ran for 1,008 yards and was responsible for 42 total touchdowns last season.

Week 2

Contenders:
Missouri at Kansas
Arizona State at Texas A&M
Oregon at Oklahoma State
Arizona at BYU
Iowa State at Iowa

Honestly, what a slate.

I think I’m going to have to go with the lone true Big 12 game in Arizona at BYU because come December, this game could mean a ton.

BYU is second in Big 12 titles odds, while the Wildcats are down in eighth, but the Wildcats are returning Noah Fifita, the Preseason All-Big 12 quarterback. Fifita has thrown for 9,183 yards in his time as a Wildcat with last season being his best statistical season to date (3,228 yards and 29 touchdowns).

After going 12-2 last season, BYU returners quarterback Bear Bachmeier for his sophomore year after he threw for 3,033 yards and ran for 527 yards as a freshman. There also seems to be a tinge of drama surrounding the program this offseason after the Cougars were able to retain coach Kalani Sitake despite a big push from Penn State.

“We’ve been given the challenge of doing the most with the least.”

– BYU Football HC Kalani Sitake pic.twitter.com/5DO99a9X2v

— Cougar Sports Media (@CougSportsMedia) August 10, 2026

Week 3

Houston at Texas Tech
Tulane at Kansas State
Colorado at Northwestern
West Virginia at Virginia

To me, this one is clearly Houston’s Friday night trip to Lubbock.

The Cougars are a popular dark horse candidate in the league after going 10-3 last season — Houston’s second under Willie Fritz. Houston returns quarterback Conner Weigman, a former blue-chip recruit who threw for 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.

Texas Tech is viewed as the final boss of the Big 12 this year. The Red Raiders lost a lot to the NFL Draft and lost transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby to a gambling investigation this offseason, but in the modern world, there might not be a program more ready to reload than the Red Raiders.

Week 4

Contenders:
TCU at UCF
Oklahoma State at West Virginia

As much as I want to talk about the Cowboys, I think I’m going with TCU at UCF on this one (because through the orange-tinted glasses the preseason provides, I think OSU is a marginal favorite right now).

But with TCU and UCF, I think this game could be a decider in who is going to finish in the middle of the pack and who could potentially make a push for something bigger.

I’ve already broken down the Horned Frogs a little bit, but UCF brings in Alonza Barnett III from James Madison. Barnett threw for 2,806 yards, ran for 589 yards and was responsible for 38 total TDs last season.

This marks Scott Frost’s second year back in Orlando after going 5-7 last season.

Week 5

Contenders:
Baylor at Arizona State
BYU at TCU
UCF at Houston

Should TCU win both of its games I’ve highlighted to this point, it would make for a big game against BYU, but I’m going to lean Baylor-Arizona State for now.

Both of these teams will be tested by SEC foes in the noncon, and we’ll get to see what adjustments each made from that point.

Arizona State has been the better program in recent years, but the Sun Devils still have an ongoing quarterback battle, while Lagway is already known to be the guy in Waco.

I think I’d still give Arizona State the nod in an early prediction, but there’s a world where the Lagway experiment goes right for Baylor and this ends up being a fun game.

Week 6

Contenders:
UCF at Oklahoma State
Houston at Kansas State

Again, I want to pick OSU’s game because it’s an OSU game, but I think I’m going to have to go with Houston’s trip to Manhattan.

I’m not sure I’m fully bought into the Wildcats competing for a spot in Arlington in Collin Klein’s first season, but I do think K-State will be much improved from its 6-6 finish in 2025. And a trip to Manhattan isn’t easy on anyone, just ask the Cowboys who have been outscored a combined 90-20 in their past two trips to The Little Apple.

I expect K-State quarterback Avery Johnson to have his best year yet with Klein back in the fold. We’ll see if that’s enough to pull an upset off against an Arlington-minded Houston squad.

Week 7

Contenders:
Notre Dame at BYU
Arizona State at Texas Tech
Kansas at Kansas State
Oklahoma State at Houston
TCU at Baylor

This in contention for the best Big 12 weekend of the season, but I think I’m finally willing to give the Pokes a nod on Game of the Week.

Houston for all the reasons previously mentioned.

Should things go how I expect, OSU would travel to Houston at 4-1. A win here, and the Cowboys’ race to Arlington is on. They’d be 3-0 in the league at that point with more-than-winnable games against Colorado at Iowa State on the horizon before a tough stint to close the year. But I think OSU’s would-be path to Arlington needs a win in H-Town.

Week 8

Contenders: 
Houston at Utah
Kansas State at Arizona State

This exercise has shown me that Houston has a tough schedule, but I’m again going with another Cougar game.

I feel like Utah is going relatively under the radar entering this season despite the fact that the Utes bring back Devon Dampier, who threw for 2,490 yards and ran for 835 yards last season while going 11-2 as a team.

Sure, Utah has a new guy in charge for the first time since 2005, but new head coach Morgan Scalley has been with the program since he was a graduate assistant in 2007. So, things should be relatively business as usual.

Week 9

Contenders: 
Baylor at UCF
Arizona at Texas Tech
Arizona State at BYU

Another tough call, but I lean the Wildcats’ trip to Lubbock.

Tech will likely be a big favorite, but Arizona will likely have the game’s better quarterback. This could be a spot for some Fifita magic on Halloween. Or it’ll be a big blowout.

Week 10

Contenders: 
TCU at Arizona
BYU at Utah
Oklahoma State at Kansas State

The Cowboys’ trip to Manhattan will be a fun matchup of two young offensive minds, but give me The Holy War.

Any game that has previously featured an athletic director taking to the podium and running down the officials after the game is must-see.

This, to me, is the league’s premier rivalry since Bedlam croaked, and with both teams expected to be good again this season, I’ll stay up however late to watch this one.

Week 11

Contenders:
Arizona State at UCF
Baylor at BYU
Kansas State at TCU
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State
Utah at Arizona

My head is saying Utah-Arizona, but I’m going to go with my heart on this one and pick the Red Raiders’ trip to Stillwater.

In order to get to this game undefeated in Big 12 play, OSU would have to beat: West Virginia, UCF, Houston, Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas State. That would be tough, obviously, but it isn’t necessarily the league’s murders’ row.

If this game has any sort of stakes behind it, Boone Pickens Stadium will be as electric as its been in some time. An absolute hornet’s nest.

And that’s not even to mention the Morris storyline of him playing his alma mater.

Week 12

Contenders: 
Arizona at Kansas State
Oklahoma State at Arizona State
Texas Tech at Baylor
Utah at TCU

I’m taking the battle of the Wildcats here mainly because I think this game has the potential to look like a Big 12 game circa 2012.

One team has the Preseason All-Big 12 quarterback and the other has an eclectic, dual-threat guy who has a smart young offensive mind calling plays for him. I hope it ends 49-45.

Week 13

Contenders: 
Arizona State at Arizona
Baylor at Houston

Not the greatest of slates to close the year on (watch all of these games have supreme meaning come late November), but I’ll take the Arizona schools going at it.

Although Arizona State has had the more top-ended success in recent seasons, the Wildcats have won three of four against their in-state rival. Although I’m not necessarily predicting either of these teams to make it to Arlington, this could see two solid teams playing for something that used to be a lot more meaningful in this sport: bragging rights.