Baylor opens critical season for Dave Aranda when it faces Auburn in Big 12’s game of the week

Things to watch this weekend in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

Baylor (0-0) vs. Auburn (0-0) in Atlanta; Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

This is a make-or-break season for Baylor seventh-year coach Dave Aranda, whose program is coming off its third losing in four years since winning the Big 12 in 2021. Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway, whose father was a running back at Baylor from 1997-2001, takes over for Sawyer Robertson and will be throwing to a receiving corps that had a major makeover.

First-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman is rebuilding a unit that ranked among the worst in the Big 12. The Bears face a big test against quarterback Byrum Brown, who followed coach Alex Golesh from USF to Auburn. Brown threw for nearly 7,700 yards and 61 TDs and ran for nearly 2,300 yards and 31 more scores in four years with the Bulls. A bunch of his USF receivers also are at Auburn now.

The undercard

Oklahoma State (0-0) at Tulsa (0-0), Saturday, 3:45 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

First-year Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris brought in 91 newcomers to help him resuscitate a program that has lost 11 straight and is 4-20 overall and 0-18 in conference games since it played for the Big 12 title in 2023.

Drew Mestemaker is one of the transfers who followed Morris from North Texas, and one of the reasons hopes are high for a quick turnaround in Stillwater. The American Conference offensive player of the year led the FBS in passing yards, yards per game, total offense and yards per pass attempt.

Boston College (0-0) at Cincinnati (0-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

This is a matchup of programs trying to regain some traction. Cincinnati was 7-1 and ranked 16th in the AP poll before losing its final five games last year. Boston College won one game against an FBS opponent last season, and that was against Syracuse to end a 10-game losing streak.

Georgia Southern transfer QB JC French IV replaces Brendan Sorsby. Cincinnati is 164–8 (.953) all-time when scoring at least 30 points; BC gave up that many in eight games last year.

Impact players

— QB Bear Bachmeier and RB LJ Martin are a formidable 1-2 punch for BYU, which opens against Utah Tech. Bachemeier threw for 3,033 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 527 yards and 11 more touchdowns as a true freshman last season. Martin was 2025 offensive player of the year after running for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns.

— Texas Tech, which opens against Abilene Christian, features one of the highest-rated returning defensive linemen in the country in A.J. Holmes Jr. He’s the Big 12 preseason defensive player of the year after making nine tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks, for a defense that gave up the fewest rushing yards per game in the nation and ranked sixth in sacks.

Inside the numbers

Arizona State has allowed just 28 plays over 50 yards since 2018 (94 games). The FBS average over that span is 51.27 such plays. … Arizona QB Noah Fifita has thrown 73 career touchdown passes, most among all active FBS quarterbacks. … Houston RB Makhi Hughes’ 2,894 career rushing yards are second most among active running backs. … Iowa State enters its opener against Southeast Missouri State with at least 150 yards rushing in seven straight games, its longest streak since 2020. … Kansas has played at least one Friday game in each of the last five seasons. The Jayhawks play two in a row at home, this week against LIU and next week against Missouri. … Kansas State enters Collin Klein’s first game as head coach, against Nicholls, with 11 straight wins over Championship Subdivision opponents. … West Virginia looks to improve its running game with the addition of Cam Cook, who led the nation with 1,659 yards for Jacksonville State.

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