Big 12 Week 12: Texas Reaches 10 Wins, Oklahoma State Avoids Upset In Houston

This week in Big 12 football, the Texas Longhorns reached 10 wins for the first time since 2018.

Week 12 Winners:

Kansas State:

In the 121st Sunflower Showdown, the Kansas State Wildcats were able to come out on top over the Kansas Jayhawks.

In a 31-27 finish, the Wildcats advance to 8-3 for the season and stay within arms reach of a spot in the Big 12 Championship.

But first, the team will return to Manhattan to face Iowa State on Saturday.

Oklahoma:

The Sooners were able to come out with a win over BYU on Saturday, one of the few teams the OU has never beaten despite two previous matchups.

In what may prove to be a curse for OU quarterbacks while playing the Cougars, Dillon Gabriel went down with an unknown upper-body injury late in the second quarter, causing Sooners second-stringer Jackson Arnold to discard his redshirt to step in for the team.

Luckily for the Sooners, the team was able to pull away with a 31-24 win.

Next for the Sooners, a return to Norman to face TCU on Friday; one final Big 12 matchup for OU before leaving for the SEC.

Oklahoma State:

Despite recovering from a 14-point deficit, the Cowboys were down 19-23 against Houston headed into the second half.

The team was able to recover, but the blowout loss against UCF and poor performance against Houston do not bode well for the team's chances if they appear in the Big 12 Championship.

However, the team has one more chance to step up to the task when they face BYU, who is expected to fight for the one additional win needed to become bowl eligible.

TCU:

In the newly-rechristened Bluebonnet Battle, TCU dominated the Baylor Bears 42-17.

With the win, the Horned Frogs advance to 5-6, and are one win away from becoming bowl eligible.

To do that though, requires a win against the team's next opponent: the Oklahoma Sooners.

Texas:

Despite what the nay-sayers were, well, saying, Texas proved to be more than enough to defeat Iowa State over the weekend.

With the win, the Longhorns advance to 10 wins in a season for the first time since Tom Herman was head coach.

Hoping to advance to 11 wins, the team has a chance to do so against Texas Tech on Saturday.

Texas Tech:

Now bowl eligible after a 24-23 win against UCF, the Red Raiders are 6-5, and with wins in Week 13 and a possible bowl appearance, can go 8-5 for the second season in a row.

The fight against UCF was tough, and a missed kick from UCF was all that it took to decide the game in Tech's favor.

Next for Texas Tech, a trip to Austin on Saturday to face the Texas Longhorns.

West Virginia:

Our final winner from Week 12, the Mountaineers bested Cincinnati 42-21, with WVU quarterback Garrett Greene throwing for 210 yards in the process.

Running back Jahiem White also put on an impressive performance, rushing for 204 yards and a touchdown on the road to the teams win.

Next up for West Virginia, a trip to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears.

Week 12 Losers:

Baylor:

Now 3-8 after a loss to TCU in the Bluebonnet Battle, the Baylor Bears can, at best, finish 4-8 this season.

To do so, they would need to beat West Virginia, who is 7-4 and favored to win.

BYU:

Despite the loss to the Sooners, BYU gave it their all in the team's final; home game of the season.

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The team may have walked away with win were it not for an interception near the Sooner's goal line that ended in a pick-six for OU's Billy Bowman Jr.

BYU, now 5-6, has another chance to become bowl eligible if they beat Oklahoma State on Saturday.

UCF:

With a missed field goal in the fourth quarter, the UCF Knights fell 23-23 against Texas Tech, who became bowl eligible with the win.

UCF has a chance to also become bowl eligible though, with a win against Houston being enough to propel the team to 6-6.

Cincinnati:

Although quarterback Emory Jones threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns, it wasn't enough for the Cincinnati Bearcats to beat West Virginia.

Now 3-8 this season, the disappointing season for Cincinnati can be improved to 4-8 with a win over Kansas, who recently fell out ofn the AP TOp 25 following a loss to Kansas State.

Houston:

With an early lead over Oklahoma State, Houston seemed to have acquired the team's fifth win this season.

However, fate had other ideas, and Oklahoma State came back to win 43-20 over the Cougars.

With bowl eligibility out of the question now, Houston can advance to 5-7 with a win over UCF in Week 13.

Iowa State:

Iowa State kept it close against the No. 7 Texas Longhorns, but it wasn't enough to come out with a win.

Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns despite the loss, and Iowa State falls to 6-5

The Cyclones can get one more win this season, but they'll need to beat Kansas State in Manhattan on Saturday.