The Big 12 did the Cougars zero favors with the back end of the schedule and, in particular, with this week’s assignment: They hit the road to face one of the best teams in the conference, Iowa State, which is coming off a bye.

The Sun Devils are playing the most significant conference game this week, but there are others that have meaning as well.

The Red Raiders lost their stranglehold on the conference when they lost a nail-biter against the Sun Devils. But they might still have the best roster in the league. BYU is the lone undefeated team left standing. Cincinnati has won six in a row. And Arizona State continues to own the rest of the Big 12 when Sam Leavitt is starting at quarterback.

Cincinnati coach Wes Miller is excited about the future of freshman star Shon Abaev. Oklahoma State counterpart Steve Lutz is just as happy with his team's ability to play on the road, where the Cowboys struggled so mightily last season.

Arizona State shocked frontrunner Texas Tech and BYU won the Holy War. Those outcomes caused a shakeup in the new Big 12 power rankings.

Additional cash seems like a great idea for college athletic departments these days. Schools have to manage the impact of paying players through the House settlement, which allows them to share revenue directly with athletes with an initial cap of $20.5 million per school.

Defending Big 12 champion Arizona State has won 10 home games in a row, and looks to extend that against Houston in a matchup of teams with one conference loss.

Basketball season is almost here! And Kansas State fans can finally gear up for another action-packed year of Big 12 excitement. The Wildcats are preparing to h