Tuesday Takes: Big 12 Shifts You Didn’t See Coming

Welcome to Tuesday Takes, where I give you five takes from the Big 12. It was a jam-packed week full of action, but here were several things that caught my attention from this past weekend.

Jalon Daniels is Back

There are plenty of storylines coming out of the Big 12, but one of the biggest ones that nobody is talking about is Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels. Through his first two games of the season, Daniels has thrown for seven touchdown passes to just 1 interception. He has completed 80% of his passes so far this year and has looked like the Jalon Daniels we saw a few years ago. I know Kansas hasn’t played the toughest schedule so far, but we will find out a lot more about Jalon when he faces Missouri this weekend.

Baylor Isn’t Ready

Just when I start buying Baylor stock, they let me down. I had the Bears finishing in my top four this season in the conference, and last week, they completely let me down against Auburn. While I still feel good about Sawyer Robertson at quarterback, that defense of theirs is very concerning. They gave up over 300 rushing yards against Auburn and had no answer for Jackson Arnold. The Bears are going to face some athletic quarterbacks this season, and if they continue to play defense like that, then they will be in big trouble, and Dave Aranda will be gone.

Utah is For Real

Some people were high on Utah this season, and I must admit that I was not one of those people. I had concerns about their defense replacing several key contributors from last season, but most of my concerns were at the quarterback position.

On Saturday against UCLA, those concerns were answered. The defense gave up just ten points and two third-down attempts all game long. Plus, quarterback Devon Dampier looked really good, leading the way through the air and with his legs. Devon looked like he was in total control at all times, and the offensive line absolutely bullied UCLA all game long. It was a very impressive win for Utah, and now I can see why some people were so high on them coming into the year.

Rocco Becht is The Best Quarterback in the Big 12

There have been plenty of debates this offseason about who the best quarterback in the Big 12 is, and it would be extremely hard to leave Rocco Becht out of that conversation. In week zero against Kansas State, he had a phenomenal second half to lead Iowa State to a win, and on Saturday against South Dakota, he was near perfect.

Becht completed 19 of his 20 pass attempts and led the offense to a scoring drive every single time he was on the field. Despite losing two key receivers from last season, this offense hasn’t skipped a beat, and that is in large part due to Rocco Becht, who may just be the best quarterback in the Big 12.

Watch Out For TCU

Everyone loves to talk about Arizona State, Iowa State, Utah, and whoever else, but my dark horse pick to win the Big 12 was TCU, primarily because they boast one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12, Josh Hoover.

Their defense needs some work, but against North Carolina, they put on an absolute clinic and even scored twice. When TCU can play defense like that and have Josh Hoover rolling, then they can make some noise in the Big 12. I know their schedule is brutal, but they are a team that can hang with anyone.