Around the Big 12: Week 5

After one of the most interesting cycles of conference realignment ever the Big 12 has turned its league into one of the most fun and interesting conferences in college football. This week showed off its unpredictability and high-scoring brand of football the conference is known for.

Going into the season many believed that West Virginia head coach Neal Brown was gonna be the first coach in the country fired this season. After opening with a loss to Penn State which affirmed the beliefs of many, West Virginia has completely flipped the script and is currently sitting on a four-game win streak after a win against TCU 24-21.

With a win over their rival Pitt a few weeks ago and TCU who was last year's National Runner Up; Neal Brown and his team have been galvanized.

On the other end of the spectrum sits TCU who is reeling after already having their second loss of the season after an undefeated regular season last year.

The most anticipated Big 12 game of Week 4 was a matchup of two undefeated teams, No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas. Two years ago Kansas shocked the country by beating Texas in Austin.

Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns knew they couldn't overlook their opponent and ran all over Kansas in a 40-14 rout. Jonathon Brooks ran for 218 yards on 21 carries for 2 touchdowns. The win moves Texas to 5-0 going into the Red River Rivalry.

No. 12 Oklahoma remains unbeaten with a 50-20 win over Iowa State. They have shown tremendous turnaround after only winning six games last year but their first true test of the season will be In the Red River Rivalry this weekend.

Iowa State continues to struggle sitting at 2-3 on the season with an embarrassing Week 3 loss to Ohio. Many are questioning the coaching of Matt Campbell who a few years back was looked at as one of the best coaching candidates in the country, but instead of taking a bigger job elected to stay at Iowa State.

In a battle of Big 12 newcomers, BYU beat Cincinnati 35-27 which adds to their 4-1 start to the season. BYU Quarterback Kedon Slovis threw for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win.

Cincinnati sits at 2-3 with a current three-game losing streak, showing the effects of losing Luke Fickell to Wisconsin.

Texas Tech threw up 7 touchdowns in a win over Houston 49-28. Leaving both teams at 2-3 and neither fanbases happy after both teams carried hype into the season believing that they were premier brands in the state of Texas.

One of the more crazy games of Week 5 had Baylor mount a comeback to win 36-35 over UCF after being down 35-7 with four minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Baylor head coach Dave Aranda needed this win after three losses through the first four games. This game pushes Baylor to 2-3 and Central Florida to 3-2 on the year.

Brendan McNichol is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bxm5740@psu.edu