There are some conferences in college football that are filled with league pride. That's not part of the Big 12 culture, though.
After this tumultuous offseason, Texas Tech football fans certainly know that the Big 12 is full of infighting, jealousy, and division. However, it is in the Red Raiders' best interest for their conference bunkmates to perform above expectations so that the perception of the league will improve. Unfortunately, in 2026, Big 12 teams have gotten off to a terrible start when facing Power-4 opponents.
Thus far, the conference is just 2-3 against the SEC, Big Ten, and the ACC, and as we will see in a moment, the two wins are not impressive at all. If that doesn't change, then the conference will struggle to get the respect needed to place two teams in the College Football Playoff, something that has not happened since the field expanded to 12 teams two seasons ago.
In the first game of the college football season, TCU looked awful in a 15-10 loss to North Carolina. Since TCU was expected to be a dark-horse Big 12 contender this year and North Carolina was coming off a 4-8 season, that result was a horrible look for the conference.
Then, a week ago, Baylor went toe-to-toe with Auburn in Atlanta but came up an inch short of winning the game thanks to a failed two-point conversion in the final seconds. That 17-16 defeat was a golden opportunity for the Big 12 to notch a win over an SEC program in SEC country, but the Bears couldn't quite get it done despite outgaining the Tigers and winning the turnover battle.
Last night, Kansas kicked off week two by being humbled by its hated rival, Missouri, another SEC team. Despite playing the game at home, KU was outclassed 38-21 after being outscored 24-7 in the second half.
On top of those losses to Power-4 programs, the Big 12 suffered another humiliation in week one when Oklahoma State started the Eric Morris era by losing at Tulsa 24-10. It was the second year in a row that the Cowboys have lost to the Golden Hurricane.
The only Big 12 wins over Power-4 teams this year have been either ugly or over a doormat from another league. Last week, Colorado managed to escape Atlanta with a 14-13 win over Georgia Tech thanks to a last-second field goal block. The Buffs were lucky to survive that one and did so only because the Yellow Jackets missed two makeable field goals.
Meanwhile, no one is going to give the conference any flowers for Cincinnati's 34-15 home victory over a Boston College team that went just 2-10 in 2025. Yeah, it's been a terrible start for the Big 12, but there are still chances for the narrative to change.
The Big 12 can still turn it around in 2026
The good news for the conference is that the season is young. That means there are still some chances for the conference to impress.
That begins this week. Utah hosts Arkansas in a matchup of teams with new head coaches. It will be imperative that the Utes, widely considered a conference contender, find a way to come out on top against a team that is an SEC afterthought.
Meanwhile, Arizona State travels to College Station today to face A&M. If the Sun Devils can upset the No. 10 team in the nation on the road, it would be a huge boost for the conference.
Also this week, UCF and Pitt meet in a matchup of Power-4 conference pretenders, Iowa State will be at No. 21 Iowa with a chance to score an important win for the Big 12, and Oklahoma State hosts No. 6 Oregon (though no one expects the Cowboys to keep that one close, even at home).
Next week, West Virginia travels to No. 25 Virginia, and Colorado travels to Northwestern of the Big 10. After that, there is really only one other chance for the Big 12 to make a statement. That comes on October 17 when BYU hosts No. 3 Notre Dame.
If the Cougars win that game and run the table, they will have a great shot at finally reaching the playoffs after coming painfully close the past two seasons. What's more, if another Big 12 team, hopefully Texas Tech, also runs the table this year, the Big 12 title game could feature two undefeated teams. That would give the conference its best shot at having a pair of playoff participants.
For that to happen, though, there is plenty of work to be done. What's more, there is even more work ahead in the conference's struggle to be taken as seriously as the other Power-4 conferences are on the gridiron. So even though Texas Tech fans may not want to pull for our Big 12 rivals, seeing them win would probably be in everyone's best interest.
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