Rich Rodriguez back in Backyard Brawl with WVU and Colorado has used 3 QBs before Big 12 opener

By Canadian Press on September 11, 2025.

Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

West Virginia (1-1) vs. Pittsburgh (2-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Rich Rodriguez is part of the Backyard Brawl again for the first time since 2007, and the last one was a bitter outcome at home for the Mountaineers and the coach who left two weeks after that 13-9 loss to underdog Pitt that cost them a chance to advance to the BCS championship game. This meeting, with 80 newcomers on West Virginia’s roster and coming off a 17-10 loss at Ohio, is the last scheduled game between the former Big East foes until 2029.

Rodriguez went 4-3 against the Panthers during his first stint at WVU from 2001-07. The Mountaineers are also 4-3 in the seven games played since then, a span that included an 11-year hiatus before the series resumed in 2022.

The undercard

Colorado (1-1) at Houston (2-0), Friday 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Colorado goes its Big 12 opener with coach Deion Sanders having already used three QBs in his first two games. Third-stringer Ryan Staub took the majority of snaps in practice this week over transfer Kaidon Salter, who started the first two games, and touted freshman Julian Lewis. Texas A&M transfer Connor Weigman has completed 30 of 46 passes for 347 yards with four TDs and no interceptions in his first two games with the Cougars.

Impact players

— Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson has 859 yards passing and seven touchdowns without an interception and was the AP’s player of the week. He did that against Power Four teams Auburn and SMU before the Bears wrap up nonconference play Saturday at home against FCS team Samford.

— Cincinnati LB Jake Golday already has 26 tackles in two games. He is coming off a career-high 14 against Bowling Green and could be a bigger factor for the Bearcats against Northwestern State since standout nose tackle Dontay Corleone is out (lower-body injury).

— Rocco Becht has made 30 consecutive starts for 14th-ranked Iowa State, the longest active streak for a Big 12 QB. His school-record streak of 21 games in a row with a TD pass is the longest in FBS.

Inside the numbers

No. 21 Texas Tech is the only team nationally to open this season scoring 60 points in each of its first two games. The Red Raiders host Oregon State (0-2) and try to get to 3-0 for the first time since 2021. … No. 20 Utah has a nation’s-best 76.7% success rate on third-down conversions, and has scored touchdowns on all 11 of its drives inside the 20. … Kansas State (1-2) had the ball for only 3 minutes, 16 seconds in the second half of its 24-21 loss to Army. … TCU (1-0) has won its last 18 games against FCS teams since an overtime loss to Northwestern State in 2001. The Horned Frogs play their home opener Saturday against instate FCS team Abilene Christian.

Not counting (in Big 12 race)

The matchup of Wildcats — Kansas State and Arizona — won’t count in the Big 12 standings for the second year in a row. This is the return game of a home-and-home series scheduled in January 2016. Kansas State won 31-7 at home last year, which was Arizona’s first season in the Big 12 after moving from the Pac-12.

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Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press