Thursday Night Big 12 Breakdown: 4 Key Takeaways

Even though week zero was a blast, I finally have the tingly feeling inside that football is officially back with a full slate of Big 12 games.

While there is plenty of action still left this weekend, we had several big-time matchups on Thursday as four Big 12 teams were in action. The conference ended up going and here are my thoughts from Thursday night.

Houston’s Defense Looks Ready

I know the focus for the Houston Cougars was on new quarterback Connor Weigman, but I couldn’t help but be impressed with the way Houston’s defense looked against Stephen F. Austin.

The Cougars held the Lumberjacks to just 144 yards on the evening and forced two turnovers. On top of that, they gave up just 1.6 yards per rush and allowed Stephen F. Austin to convert on less than 20% of their third down attempts. Even with a new defensive coordinator in Austin Armstrong, I thought the Cougars picked up right where they left off from last season.

If they can get some consistent play from Connor Weigman and the offense then I have no doubt about this team making a bowl game this season. Plus, they could play spoiler for some teams who are competing for a Big 12 title later in the year.

Is Hauss Henjy Ok?

Prior to him leaving the game with a lower body injury, Oklahoma State quarterback Hauss Henjy was playing fairly well. He was in control of the offense and showed off his athleticism several times with some nice runs.

Hauss led back-to-back scoring drives for the Cowboys offense to open up the game before exiting. Unfortunately, he didn’t come back as Zane Flores took over and did a decent job filling in. Luckily for the Cowboys, they wouldn’t need much offense against UT Martin because the defense completely shut them out. I know this was a cupcake game, but it was nice for Oklahoma State to pickup their first win on the football field in over 340 days after losing nine straight games to end their 2024 season.

Tayven Jackson Should Have Started

Between the ugly weather delay and the bad offense, I wasn’t sure if UCF could make it out alive against Jacksonville State. The Knights gave quarterback Cam Fancher the nod to start, and it resulted in them scoring zero points in the first half. In fact, the most offense I saw on the field happened before the game when a crazy fan ran onto the field during the weather delay.

But things changed once Tayven Jackson entered the game later in the first half because the offense showed some life. He led two scoring drives in the fourth quarterback after his team was down 10-3 late in the game. I just wished that he would have gotten a chance earlier in the game, but I still believe that he should be the guy moving forward for UCF.

Cincinnati’s Turnovers

The problem in this game was the turnovers. The Cincinnati Bearcats fumbled the ball late in the first half in their own territory which led to a touchdown before halftime. Then with the game on the line, Brendan Sorsby made a bad pass that was picked off with less than a minute left in the game. Even if they didn’t score a touchdown there, Cincinnati was in field goal range for a chance to tie the game up at 20.

Know they lost but I liked the fight I saw from Cincinnati’s defense against Nebraska. They did an excellent job stopping the run against a stout offensive line for the Huskers. The Godfather Dontay Corleone ate up blocks and really freed up the linebackers.

Despite this one being a home game for the Bearcats, the crowd was about 99% Nebraska fans in Arrowhead, so this was more like a road game. I thought Cincinnati put up a hell of a fight on Thursday night and if not for those two turnovers, they may have even won the game.