Big 12 has two significant Top 25 matchups: BYU hosts Notre Dame and Oklahoma State is at Houston

Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

No. 2 Notre Dame (6-0) at No. 8 BYU (5-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

It won’t count in the Big 12 standings, but this midseason matchup of undefeated teams, and the first two teams left out of the College Football Playoff last season, could have huge implications when this year’s 12-team CFP field is set in December.

BYU is hosting a top-10 game at LaVell Edwards Stadium for the first time. The Cougars are again without standout running back LJ Martin because of a lower-body injury. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for 329 yards and ran for 109 last week to beat Iowa State.

The Cougars were the Big 12 runner-up last season, when both their losses were to Texas Tech. Notre Dame has a 16-game winning streak and wants to leave no doubt about making the playoff this season. The Fighting Irish won 10 in a row last year after an 0-2 start with losses to top-16 teams by a combined four points.

The undercard

No. 18 Oklahoma State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) at No. 20 Houston (5-1, 2-1), Saturday, 7:30 p.,m. ET (FOX)

The Cowboys didn’t win a Big 12 game in each of the past two seasons. They are now the league’s biggest surprise in coach Eric Morris’ debut. With Drew Mestemaker, the Big 12 passing leader after coming with his coach from North Texas, they have a four-game winning streak and scored at least 40 points in three consecutive games for the first time since 2018.

Houston, which has won three in a row, is hosting its first Top 25 matchup since 2015. A 10-win team last year, the Cougars have only 19 transfers for coach Willie Fritz in his third season.

Impact players

— Utah quarterback Devon Dampier has completed 71.8% of his passes (94 of 131) for 1,134 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is 14-2 as the starter for the No. 11 Utes (5-0, 2-0), who have an FBS-best streak of 11 games with at least 30 points. They play at Colorado (2-3, 0-2).

— Houston tight end Patrick Overmyer tied an NCAA single-game record for TD catches by a TE with four at Kansas State last week. The 6-foot-5 Texas native’s six TDs are the most nationally by a TE, and his 399 yards receiving rank second.

These instate rivals have been around for a long, long time

Two of the Big 12’s four protected annual rivalry games will be played Saturday.

Baylor (4-1, 2-0) hosts TCU (2-3, 0-3) in the 122nd edition of Revivalry, the most-played game in Texas and a series that began with a scoreless tie in 1899. The Sunflower Showdown between Kansas State (3-2, 0-2) and Kansas (2-3, 0-2) is being played for the 116th year in a row.

The other protected rivalry games are Arizona-Arizona State and BYU-Utah.

Inside the numbers

The Big 12 has five teams ranked in the top 20 in October for the first time since 2014. … West Virginia (3-3, 0-3) has played three consecutive games in which the teams combined for 1,000 yards of offense. The Mountaineers lead all non-service academy schools in rushing at 295.5 yards per game, but have the P4’s worst pass defense allowing 297 a game. They host Cincinnati (4-1, 1-1) … No. 10 Texas Tech (5-0, 2-0) and Arizona State (3-2, 2-1), who play Saturday in Lubbock, have split their two Big 12 meetings. The home team won both, but the loser went on to win the conference championship, the Red Raiders last year after the Sun Devils in 2024.

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