The Big 12 will be on display on Thursday night with the West Virginia Mountaineers taking on the Houston Cougars. There is no shortage of storylines for this matchup given that Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen ran the Mountaineers program for eight years.
The team picked to finish dead last in the conference has been a pleasant surprise and they could really complicate things in Houston for Holgorsen with a victory on the road.
Let’s take a look at how the standings look roughly midway through the season.
| Team | Conference | Overall |
| Oklahoma | 3-0 | 6-0 |
| West Virginia | 2-0 | 4-1 |
| Texas | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| Kansas | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| Iowa State | 2-1 | 3-3 |
| Texas Tech | 2-1 | 3-3 |
| BYU | 1-1 | 4-1 |
| Oklahoma State | 1-1 | 3-2 |
| Kansas State | 1-1 | 3-2 |
| TCU | 1-2 | 3-3 |
| Baylor | 1-2 | 2-4 |
| Cincinnati | 0-2 | 2-3 |
| Houston | 0-2 | 2-3 |
| UCF | 0-3 | 3-3 |
Of the four new teams that joined the conference ahead of the 2023 season, only the BYU Cougars have seen any success beyond the nonconference schedule. The four teams are a combined 1-8 in Big 12 play. The departing members are 5-1 in conference play, Texas’ only loss came to Oklahoma in Week 6.
In 2022, the Big 12 championship game featured the Kansas State Wildcats and TCU Horned Frogs. Kansas State is 1-1 in conference play while TCU is 1-2 and coming off a loss to Iowa State in Ames.
If the season ended today the Oklahoma Sooners and West Virginia Mountaineers would battle it out for the Big 12 title. An OU-WVU is on the docket before the postseason as the Mountaineers come to Norman on Nov. 11.
According to the Football Power Index, the Texas Longhorns still have the inside track to head to the conference title game. However, since they don’t play WVU this season, they will need some help to bypass the Mountaineers.
The Big 12 race is certainly setting up to be entertaining as the 2023 season continues.