UNDATED (AP) — Four Big 12 teams have started at least 4-0 for the first time since 2015. Eleventh-ranked Texas Tech or Houston will lose for the first time because the 4-0 teams play each other Saturday night. Houston won in overtime at Oregon State after trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter, but Texas Tech hasn't trailed while winning by an average margin of 41 points. Houston has already matched its win totals from both 2023 and 2024 after going 4-8 in each of its first two Big 12 seasons. Iowa State, 5-0 and ranked 14th, has trailed only 28 seconds this season going into a game at Cincinnati.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Deion Sanders and Colorado are going back to TCU for the first time since the coach's winning debut there in a much-hyped 2023 season opener. The 2-3 Buffaloes play the 3-1 Horned Frogs on Saturday night in Fort Worth. Things have changed for both teams since Colorado's 45-42 win when TCU was coming off a season when it made the national championship game. The Buffs are now Big 12 members again, though they didn’t face TCU last year in their first year back in the conference. Colorado also no longer has quarterback Shedeur Sanders or two-way standout Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner.
UNDATED (AP) — In college football, the focus has shifted from blowouts to parity, close games, and upsets. The average winning margin in Week 5 was 14.2 points, the narrowest since Week 7 in 2022. Losses by Penn State, LSU, and Georgia marked the first time since 2016 that three top-five teams lost in the same week. Top-five teams are 1-4 against opponents ranked 6 to 25, the worst record through a Week 5 since at least 2000. Penn State coach James Franklin used the recent upsets to motivate his players, emphasizing the importance of positioning for the playoffs.
UNDATED (AP) — College football heats up as October kicks off with conference races and the chase for playoff spots ramping up. Only two Top 25 matchups are on the schedule: Miami at Florida State and Vanderbilt at Alabama. Miami aims for its first win in Tallahassee since 2019 while Vanderbilt seeks a historic 6-0 start. In the Big 12, Houston faces Texas Tech and Iowa State visits Cincinnati. Heisman watch sees Oregon's Dante Moore leading after a strong performance against Penn State. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's coach Luke Fickell feels the pressure heading into its game at No. 20 Michigan.
UNDATED (AP) — Commissioners of Football Championship Subdivision conferences are exploring the possibility of bringing private equity investment into the FCS playoffs. Most of the 24 playoff teams either lose money or break even. Big Sky Conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill says this is why FCS commissioners are considering a proposal from Sequence Equity to make the playoffs profitable. Wistrcill said the FCS conferences would be majority owners and Sequence would hold a minority stake. The NCAA's current rules and TV contracts could complicate this shift. Some experts doubt the NCAA would allow an outside entity to run the playoffs.
