It’s shaping up to be a November to remember for the Big 12.
While the conference’s strange, somewhat confusing scheduling matrix for 2024 and beyond is eating up all the recent headlines, there’s still plenty of intrigue for the remaining 2023 slate.
The final four weeks of the regular season are upon us. Holding true to its “conference of chaos” identity, the Big 12 currently features a five-way tie for first place, with four of the stalemated squads facing off against each other this weekend. Buckle up.
Heavyweights Texas and Oklahoma lead the charge, hoping to end these final pre-SEC days with a bang. The reigning champs at Kansas State are attempting to defend their 2022 crown. Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State squad has rallied back from an embarrassing early start, while Iowa State has emerged from obscurity to the thick of the fight.
Seriously, did anyone think the Cyclones would hold a share of first place at any point this year, let alone in November? Well done, Matt Campbell.
With the Wildcats visiting Austin and Oklahoma State hosting the Sooners, this will likely be the Big 12’s most important weekend of the season. It’s do-or-die time. Taking a loss would essentially end all hope for a trip to Jerryworld on Dec. 2.
Texas will be without Quinn Ewers once again this week, but while Maalik Murphy performed well against BYU, Kansas State’s defense is pretty fantastic. The Wildcats are peaking at the right time, having surrendered just eight points per game in their last three contests.
Oklahoma State has ripped off four wins in a row, while Oklahoma is reeling from its first loss of the year at Kansas. This could be the final edition of the “Bedlam” rivalry series, so emotions will be running at an all-time high. Gundy would clearly love the chance to spoil the Sooners’ season one last time. Who wouldn’t?
As for Iowa State, the Cyclones will play host to the upstart Jayhawks Saturday and then end the year at BYU, against Texas at home and then at Kansas State. No one else will face a more challenging road to the conference title game, but conversely, no one has a defense as excellent as Iowa State’s. The Cyclones are capable of stopping anyone in the league, and should they escape Kansas this week, the winner of Kansas State/Texas should be ready to rumble.
It’s a long shot for the Big 12 to send anyone to the College Football Playoff this year, but that doesn’t make this conference race any less compelling. Everyone wins when a league is this wide open, and such parity will grow even stronger next year and beyond as expansion rolls forward. We’re just getting a preview of it now.