Big 12 slate has Cincinnati going for 5-0 start vs. Arizona after 5 losses in a row to end 2025

Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

Cincinnati (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at Arizona (3-1, 0-1), Saturday, 11 p.m. ET (Fox)

The Bearcats have gone from a five-game losing streak to finish last season to a chance to start 5-0 for the first time since 2021, when while still in the American they became the only non-major conference team to make the four-team version of the College Football Playoff.

Cincinnati's Big 12 road opener comes a week after rallying to win 31-26 against previously unbeaten Kansas State. Cole Tabb ran for three touchdowns after halftime.

Arizona won 30-24 last year at then-No. 22 Cincinnati, their only previous meeting. Noah Fifita threw for 294 yards and a touchdown to become the Wildcats' career leader for TD passes last November. That was the second of the Bearcats' five losses in a row.

Fifita's 11 TD passes this season match the league high. His 84 career TDs are the most among active FBS quarterbacks, and his 10,314 yards passing rank second. Since a 28-17 loss at No. 10 BYU, the Wildcats have come back from early deficits of 10-0 to Northern Illinois and 14-0 at Washington State to win both games by double digits.

The undercard

Baylor (3-1, 1-0) at Arizona State (2-1, 1-0), Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

A three-game winning streak by the Bears has pushed embattled seventh-year coach Dave Aranda's overall record to 39-38. Those came since they failed on a 2-point conversion attempt with 9 seconds left in a 17-16 loss to Auburn.

Arizona State is coming off an open date. The Sun Devils won 27-24 in Waco last year when their fourth field goal was a 43-yarder on the game's final play. They have a different kicker and a new starting quarterback: Cutter Boley, who has nine TDs passing and one rushing.

Impact players

— Houston quarterback Conner Weigman threw four TDs and ran for two in a win last week at Georgia Southern. The No. 20 Cougars (3-1, 0-1) host UCF (3-1, 1-0) in their Big 12 home opener. Weigman has thrown for 947 yards with 11 TDs and one interception.

— West Virginia running back Cam Cook, a transfer from Jacksonville State who also played at TCU, has an FBS-high 99 rushing attempts and is the Big 12 leader at 127.5 yards rushing per game. The Mountaineers (3-1, 0-1) go to Iowa State (2-2, 0-1). The Cyclones' 21-game streak with at least 100 yards rushing is the longest by a Power Four team, but they are 15th in the Big 12 allowing 144.3 yards per game on the ground.

Inside the numbers

TCU (2-2, 0-1) tries to avoid being 0-2 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2013. The Horned Frogs host No. 10 BYU (3-0, 1-0), the first top 10 team to visit Fort Worth since No. 7 Texas won 29-26 there in 2023. ... Fifth-year Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire (39-18) can become the first coach in school history to reach 40 wins in 58 games or fewer. The No. 12 Red Raiders (4-0, 1-0) are at Colorado (2-2, 0-1). ... Kansas (1-2), 23-22 against non-conference opponents since 2012, hosts C-USA team Middle Tennessee (2-2). ... No. 13 Utah (4-0, 1-0), No. 19 Oklahoma State (3-1, 1-0) and Kansas State (3-1, 0-1) have open dates.

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