By james art
STEPHEN HAWKINS Associated Press
Game of the week
Cincinnati (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) vs. Colorado (5-2, 3-1), Saturday, 10:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The Bearcats have already won more games than they did in their Big 12 debut last season. Now they travel more than 1,200 miles for their longest trip of the year to play league newcomer Colorado in a matchup of teams that are part of a four-way tie just a game behind the undefeated Big 12 co-leaders No. 10 in the state Iowa and No. 12. 11 BYU. After going 3-9 in coach Scott Satterfield’s first season, Cincinnati has transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby among 47 new scholarship players and its only losses are by one point to unbeaten Pittsburgh and 44-41 to Texas Tech after missing a field goal in the final game. Colorado’s Shader Sanders threw for 324 yards per game with a league-high 19 TDs and completed 72.2% of his passes. Buffalo’s defense has had 16 sacks in the last three games.
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The undercard
The furthest distance between Big 12 schools is more than 2,300 miles from BYU to UCF. The 11th-ranked Cougars (7-0, 4-0), coming off an open date, make the trip to play Saturday. The Knights (3-4, 1-3) have lost their last four games since opening the conference with a 35-34 win at TCU. Sophomore transfer Jaqury Brown is now the starter ahead of sixth-year senior Kay Jefferson, the Arkansas transfer and preseason Big 12 Rookie of the Year who threw for 1,012 yards while starting the first five games.
Impact players
Big 12 rushing leader Tahj Brooks (134 ypg) of Texas Tech has rushed for 95 yards or more in 17 straight games, going over 100 yards in 14 of them. Only one other FBS player since 1996 has had such a streak, with Minnesota’s Muhammad Ibrahim having 19 straight games of at least 95 yards from 2020-22. The Red Raiders play Saturday at TCU, which is 13th in Big 12, allowing 164.1 rushing yards per game.
Inside the numbers
No. 16 Kansas State (6-1, 3-1) will go for its 16th straight victory over in-state rival Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown. The 15-game streak is the longest in a streak that dates back to 1902 and is held by the Jayhawks 65-51-5. … Oklahoma State (3-4, 0-4) heads to Baylor on a four-game losing streak. The Cowboys haven’t lost five in a row since 2014. They have 13 winning streaks of at least four games since then and have lost three in a row just twice before their current streak. … Big 12 quarterbacks have 114 interceptions, the most of any FBS conference. … No. 10 Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) and Arizona State (5-2, 2-2) this week become the first Big 12 teams to have their second open dates this season. … Utah and Houston meet Saturday for the first time since 1978. … West Virginia and Arizona play for the first time.
Hometown record runner
Kansas senior Devin Neal’s 40 career rushing touchdowns are the most nationally among active players and two shy of his hometown record. His 3,869 career rushing yards are 82 behind Tech’s Taj Brooks for the most by a Power Four running back and 73 away from breaking June Henley’s school record that stood since 1996. Neal rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns against K-State last year.