- Week 4 of college football marks the start of Big 12 conference play.
- Iowa State, Utah, Texas Tech and TCU are top contenders for the championship.
- Utah and Texas Tech face off at Rice-Eccles Stadium with FOX broadcasting live.
SALT LAKE CITY — Week 4 of the college football year, thankfully, is here, meaning the real season is about to start this week.
Aside from a few exceptions, conference play begins in earnest as teams in the four power leagues strive to earn the automatic berth into the 12-team playoffs. With eight of the 16 teams in the Big 12 still undefeated, it's not too early to separate the true contenders from the false hopefuls.
Dividing the conference into four groups, at this point in the season, the best candidates to meet for the championship in December include Iowa State, Texas Tech, Utah and TCU. These four comprise half of the undefeated teams, with the Cyclones leading the way at 4-0.
The next four possible contenders are BYU, Kansas, Arizona State and Baylor. The bottom half starts with Houston, Arizona, Cincinnati and West Virginia. The last four are UCF, Colorado, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.
Iowa State, which lost to Arizona State in last season's championship game, is the highest ranked team in the conference at No. 12, according to the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. The Cyclones got a leg up on the other teams by beating conference foe Kansas State three weeks ago in Ireland.
In addition, they also have the best win in the three nonconference games each Big 12 team plays. Kyle Konrardy's 54-yard field goal in the final two minutes provided the winning margin against in-state rival Iowa.
Utah demolished UCLA in the Rose Bowl to create the biggest buzz in the conference during the first full weekend of the season. But the shine came off quickly as the Bruins, who fired coach DeShaun Foster two days ago after starting 0-3, already have proven to be one of the worst power teams.
Still, a lightweight nonconference schedule hasn't kept Utah from climbing the national rankings. Based on a strong reputation and the goodwill coach Kyle Whittingham has created among media members, the Utes entered the top 25 after the first week and are now No. 16.
The skeptics may have needed to see Utah's offense before legitimizing the team's championship aspirations this season, but daily followers already know the Utes possess plenty of firepower on both sides of the ball to contend.
Texas Tech, which has scored the most points in the conference at 174, is ranked one spot behind Utah. The Red Raiders also have mirrored the Utes in blowing out three grossly outmatched opponents.
Senior quarterback Behren Morton already has thrown for 923 yards and 11 touchdowns. The offense is averaging 602.7 yards per game, which ranks second among all FBS teams.
"Phenomenal numbers on offense right now," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
The good news for anyone seeking real competition is both teams play each other in a Saturday morning affair at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The 10 a.m. local start will include the FOX "Big Noon Kickoff" pregame crew broadcasting its preview show from the Utah campus for the first time.
TCU is more of a mystery, having played only two games but did look good in spoiling Bill Bellichek's debut as a college coach at North Carolina. Coming off a season in which he passed for 3,949 yards and 27 touchdowns, junior quarterback Josh Hoover is again off to an excellent start.
BYU belongs in the next group of four possible contenders and not at the top for only one reason — freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier is the big unknown in the conference. For all the great aspects the Cougars have — namely a strong running game and defense — at some point this season Bachmeier will have to win a game in the closing minutes.
Bachmeier has a bright future, but BYU is built to contend now. As he grows into his role, so does the team's chances.
Without much a recent history of success, it took only one stumble for Arizona State to fall out of grace. Beyond themselves, the defending champions don't have many believing a repeat is in store.
Skeptics claim last season was all about running back Cam Skattebo, who's now with the New York Giants. The Sun Devils already have had two replacements rush for more than 100 yards in games this season, but Skattebo brought the leadership and intensity that might be too difficult to replace.
Kansas and Baylor may not win the championship, but both have quarterbacks good enough to ruin any opponent's weekend.
