Big 12 football never disappoints, and Week 5 was no exception. A look back at the week is full of big plays made, shocking messages sent, and incredible performances. Shots at the College Football Playoff appear squashed
But who stood out? In the Big 12, which featured seven conference games last weekend, who had the best Week 5? The worst? The most memorable?
Most Outstanding Performance: Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State Wildcats
Quarterback Avery Johnson was a true dual-threat on Saturday in Kansas State’s big win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Johnson was 19/31 passing for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
He was able to add in five rushes for 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well. Johnson’s efforts helped propel KSU to a 42-20 win over No. 20 OSU.
Coach on the Hottest Seat: Dave Aranda, Baylor Bears
Truthfully, Baylor Bears’ head coach Dave Aranda would be in this position every week for over a year. Baylor followed 2021’s 12-2 campaign with a combined 11-19 over three years, and it looks like that number will only get worse over the course of this season.
While both Big 12 losses (to the Colorado Buffaloes and BYU Cougars) were one-score games, Aranda’s team has yet to play an entire game of good football. They blew the lead late to fall to Colorado in overtime after completely botching Hail Mary defense and they let BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff scorch them to open their first home Big 12 game of the year. None of that is good unless you like a very effective seat warmer.
Biggest Surprise: Arizona Wildcats
It’s not that there was no world where Arizona would ever beat Utah, especially after they won last year in Tucson. But to win like that, in Salt Lake City, was not something people saw coming
Even with Cam Rising out with injury, quarterback Isaac Wilson had a game just a week ago where he led the Utes to victory in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He didn’t excel like Rising, but with Oklahoma State being a highly-ranked team that seemed to make sense. Further, Arizona looked bad in their win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, and worse in their loss at Kansas State. While this might not have been as surprising in August, it was certainly not the result anyone had going into the weekend.
Best Play of the Week: Travis Hunter, Colorado Buffaloes
I’m not sure what position he plays in the NFL, because he may have options, but the do-it-all weapon for the Colorado Buffaloes continues to shine. Coach Deion Sanders is putting something together in Colorado that you just can’t look away from. No one could.
Biggest Question Mark: Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks entered the season ranked in the AP Top 25. Coach Lance Leipold was a “hot name” in college football coaching. They had an expected victory over FCS Lindenwood Lions and moved up.
Since then, KU has had a steep fall. To date, Kansas has still not beaten an FBS school this season. Last weekend’s loss to a floundering TCU Horned Frogs team would have been baffling to a fan in August and continues to add question marks to the program we expected quarterback Jalon Daniels to lead to the next level.