The Big 12 Broadcast: Week 6

By Simon Carroll

The Big 12 is beginning to take shape, but Week 6 could confirm or tear up what we think we know about the conference. Unfancied Kansas gets its chance to prove its remarkable defensive numbers can travel, Arizona State make a change, and Iowa State heads to Provo with perhaps rather more belief than anybody expected when the season began. And then there is BYU, which suddenly has a very different problem to solve.

This is the Big 12 Broadcast. Let’s get into it.

Rock Solid Rock Chalk Defense

The easy headline coming out of Kansas’ 55-0 demolition of Middle Tennessee was the offense. And rightly so. The Jayhawks produced a program-record 706 yards of total offense, including 473 on the ground, with the Jayhawks going deep into their depth chart whilst simultaneously pulling apart a clearly overmatched Blue Raiders program. Considering the concerns about injuries on that side of the ball, Saturday could not have gone any better for KU. I don’t care who the opponent is; laying a fifty burger is always impressive.

But the more interesting story heading into Saturday is on the other side of the ball.

Are you sitting down? Kansas enters the game with the best total defense in the Big 12, allowing just 244.8 yards per game. The Jayhawks have surrendered only 979 yards through four games, with opponents averaging just 4.2 yards per play. They have also allowed only seven touchdowns. For a team expected to prop up the conference and currently 2-2 with no win over a Power 4 opponent, the stats are eyebrow raising.

Those numbers are not built entirely on playing poor opposition, either. Kansas has been particularly impressive through the air, giving up just 144.8 passing yards per game, while holding opposing quarterbacks to a 49.5 percent completion rate.

And that is what makes Saturday fascinating. Because if Kansas is going to have any chance of competing with a Utah team that enters Week 6 at 4-0 and ranked No. 12 nationally, it will probably be the defense that gives it that chance. The Utes have been even more impressive where points are concerned. Utah leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 10.3 points per game, meaning Saturday brings together the conference’s No. 1 total defense and No. 1 scoring defense.

We already know the Jayhawks can put points on the board. We’ve seen Dylan Edwards step into a bellcow role and the running back depth show it can overcome the injury to Yasin Willis. OC Andy Kotelnicki is doing his level best to put Isaiah Marshall in the best position to succeed, and whilst there is still inconsistency the upside is obvious. But is the defense the unit that can give Kansas a fighting chance against one of the best teams in the nation?

Not only that, but in an intense, hostile environment? More on that in the next section…

Icy Whites and a new era: Welcome to Rice-Eccles

There is something different about a night game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

On Saturday, Utah will turn the place into a sea of white for its annual White Out, with the Utes wearing their Icy Whites and specially designed helmets as No. 12 Utah welcomes Kansas to Salt Lake City. But this isn’t simply about the uniforms or the spectacle, as awesome as the uniforms look and the gameday environment is. It is a chance to see what Utah looks as the Morgan Scalley era truly gets going.

Scalley has spent years waiting for this opportunity. After serving as Utah’s defensive coordinator since 2016 and spending two decades inside the program, he finally has the head job. Four games into his first season, the early returns have been extremely encouraging.

The Utes are unbeaten, ranked inside the national Top 15 and playing the sort of physical, disciplined football that has become synonymous with Utah. They lead the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 10.3 points per game, while the offense has averaged more than 43 points.

And then there is Devon Dampier. The former New Mexico quarterback arrived in Salt Lake City with plenty to prove, but he has quickly become one of the most intriguing quarterbacks in the Big 12. His dual-threat ability gives Scalley’s offense a different dimension, one they have perfected over the past year – and the Utes have looked increasingly comfortable building their offense around him.

Scalley has inherited a program with enormous expectations. And a home game against a Kansas team whose own performances don’t seem to have been given the credit the stats suggest they deserve is an opportunity to lay down another marker in the conference. To do it in style, looking the business in their icy whites in a night game in front of a packed-out Rice-Eccles Stadium, would be a statement of intent.

Dillingham Cedes Control of the Offense

Arizona State’s 55-19 home loss to Baylor was bad enough. The response to it could be even more interesting.

Kenny Dillingham has decided to hand offensive play-calling duties back to offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, allowing himself to concentrate on being the head coach rather than continuing to call the offense himself. Arroyo previously handled the play-calling before Dillingham took over late last season.

It is an admission, of sorts, that the current arrangement wasn’t producing what Arizona State needed.

The Sun Devils were comprehensively beaten by Baylor, giving up nearly 600 yards while turning the ball over and struggling to generate any sustained offensive rhythm. The defeat dropped ASU to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play. In truth, the record is flattering; anyone who attended the Union Jack Classic at Wembley in September will tell you that they were second best in pretty much every category against Kansas, with the Jayhawks finding a way to lose rather than the Sun Devils earning the win.

But changing the play-caller doesn’t automatically fix the problems.

Cutter Boley has endured a mixed start to his time as the starting quarterback, but there is a legitimate argument that the sophomore has been asked to operate behind an offensive line that simply isn’t giving him enough time. Arizona State is allowing 8.75 pressures per game, tied for the third-highest figure in the Big 12. Only TCU and Kansas are allowing more.

That is a problem which no playbook can completely solve.

Arroyo’s return should allow Dillingham to spend more time looking at the entire team, and perhaps that is exactly what Arizona State needs after the Baylor disaster. But the Sun Devils need more than different voices in the headset. They need Boley protected. They need to stop turning the ball over. They need the offense to find some consistency.

The good news is that the season isn’t remotely lost yet for Arizona State. Dillingham has identified a problem and been quick and honest enough to address it. Will it spark a turnaround in fortunes in Tempe?

Cyclones Defying Expectations in Year 1

When Matt Campbell left Ames and took a significant chunk of his roster and coaching staff with him, there was every reason to expect Iowa State to take a step backwards.

In fact, the Cyclones entered 2026 having lost every offensive starter from the previous season, with the exception of one player who had been a reserve. They were not exactly being pencilled in as one of the Big 12’s most dangerous teams.

Maybe they still aren’t. But the ‘Clones are certainly not here just to make up the numbers.

Iowa State is 3-2 and heading into Friday night’s meeting with #8 BYU after one of the most entertaining performances of the Big 12 season so far; a 45-42 win over West Virginia, in which the Cyclones produced 577 yards of offense.

The star was Aiden Flora. The redshirt sophomore ran for 212 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing two touchdown passes. That made him the first Big 12 player since 1996 to record at least 200 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in the same game.

Perhaps more importantly, Flora is giving Iowa State an identity. He is averaging 8.1 yards per carry, the best mark in the Big 12, and his 594 rushing yards rank second in the conference.

There are obviously concerns. Giving up 42 points isn’t exactly the blueprint for sustained success, and West Virginia’s 518 yards exposed some weaknesses. But this is a team that was expected to be rebuilding and instead looks increasingly capable of competing. Running Utah close a couple of weeks ago was a warning we all should have heeded, and a performance the Mountaineers are regretting not respecting more.

Now comes the biggest test yet; a trip to Provo. BYU is 4-0, ranked in the top ten and playing at home. The Cougars won the last meeting 41-27 in Ames, but Iowa State owns a 5-1 record in the all-time series.

A shock win would change the conversation completely. Suddenly, Iowa State wouldn’t just be a pleasant surprise; It would be a contender. And with Flora in the backfield and Raynor under center, the ‘Clones might just have a chance. Especially considering their opponents have questions to answer of their own ahead of Friday night.

A Month Without Martin

BYU is 4-0. It is ranked #8 nationally. It has already beaten conference foes Arizona at LaVell Edwards Stadium and TCU on the road. It looks every inch like a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.

And now its most important offensive player is gone.

LJ Martin will miss four to six weeks after suffering a lower-body injury against the Horned Frogs, meaning the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year will miss Friday night’s meeting with Iowa State and the huge October 17 clash with Notre Dame.

BYU are more than just one player, but Martin’s numbers explain why this matters. He has rushed for 344 yards and three touchdowns on just 44 carries this season, averaging an exceptional 7.8 yards per attempt. Since arriving in Provo in 2023, he has accumulated 2,885 rushing yards, sixth-most in BYU history.

Any team suffering a loss of this magnitude will be concerned. But perhaps there is one reason for optimism; the Cougars have not been entirely dependent on Martin.

Their other running backs have combined for 598 yards on 111 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per attempt, while those non-Martin carries have produced 10 touchdowns. Preston Rex, Journee Tonga and DeVaughn Eka will now be asked to carry a much greater share of the workload, with quarterback Bear Bachmeier also likely to contribute more on the ground.

That doesn’t mean replacing Martin is straightforward; It isn’t. The issue is less about finding somebody who can reproduce his exact numbers and more about whether BYU can maintain the balance that has made it so difficult to defend. If defenses no longer have to respect the same threat from the backfield, more pressure inevitably falls on Bachmeier and the passing game. And despite the excitement and promise surrounding the Cougars’ sophomore QB, the team has never truly been put on his shoulders.

Iowa State looks like a banana skin. After that, BYU has the huge matchup with Notre Dame before games against UCF and Arizona State. They’ll be desperately hoping Martin returns for Week 10 when they make the short trip to Salt Lake City for the Holy War against Utah. If they can negotiate that tricky schedule without sustaining too much damage to their Big 12 and playoff aspirations, we could be looking at a program battle tested and truly ready to test the elite. Without Martin, that is no easy task.

It’s gut-check time in Provo.

Big 12: Week 6 Schedule (Times BST)

Friday:

3:15am: Iowa State (3-2) @ #8 BYU (4-0)

Saturday:

5pm: UCF (3-2) @ #18 Oklahoma State (3-1)

5pm: Arizona (4-1) @ West Virginia (3-2)

8:30pm: #22 Houston (4-1) @ Kansas State (3-1)

3:15am: Kansas (2-2) @ #12 Utah (4-0)

3:30am: Hawaii (1-4) @ Arizona State (2-2)

Bye Week:

#11 Texas Tech (5-0), Baylor (4-1), Cincinnati (4-1), Colorado (2-3), TCU (2-3)

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

Lead Writer, Head of Content

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST, COVERS THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOR SB NATION and is a college football writer for dazn.

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