Unheralded Big 12 quarterbacks made names for themselves in Week 8 .
JC French IV guided Cincinnati to a 37-24 win over No. 8 Texas Tech, a shocking result given the differences in reported spending on the two rosters. The win is the Bearcats' second ranked victory under Scott Satterfield.
Hours later, Keyone Jenkins and UCF stunned No. 2 BYU 39-31 in the Acrisure Bounce House. Jenkins' production has steadily increased over the last five weeks; he took over for an injured Alonza Barnett III against Georgia State back in Week 3.
No. 14 Houston and No. 10 Utah appeared to boast a fun quarterback duel between Conner Weigman and Devon Dampier, but points were at a premium for most of the Utes' 21-13 win. Weigman threw a season-high 16 incompletions and Dampier threw two interceptions for the second week in a row.
Quarterback injuries were a key storyline in Arizona State's 28-17 win against Kansas State. The Wildcats started Jacob Knuth in place of Avery Johnson, and Mikey Keene, who took over for Cutter Boley in the second half of the Sun Devils' loss at Texas Tech, left the game with an injury in the second half.
A temporary benching took place when Jaylen Raynor was pulled for Connor Moberly in Iowa State's 39-3 blowout loss at Arizona. Head coach Jimmy Rogers confirmed Raynor will start against No. 24 Oklahoma State in Week 9.
The Big 12 gets a standalone matchup on Friday night between Baylor and UCF. The Knights are sticking with Keyone Jenkins as Alonza Barnett III still isn't fully healthy, and the Bears will ride with DJ Lagway following their firing of head coach Dave Aranda .
Saturday kicks off with a matchup between No. 22 Arizona and No. 13 Texas Tech, which should present Wildcats' quarterback Noah Fifita with one of his toughest challenges of the season. Later in the day, JC French IV and Cincinnati have a chance to ride the high of the Texas Tech win against No. 6 Utah, who is also coming off a ranked win.
Below, we rank the eight best quarterbacks in the Big 12 entering Week 9 of the 2026 college football season.
Jenkins' confidence has steadily improved in the five games he's started for UCF. The Florida International transfer threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in the Knights' win over No. 2 BYU, guiding them to their first ranked win in almost three seasons.
UCF hosts Baylor on Friday night (7:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN). The Bears field one of the better defenses in the Big 12 but are coming off their worst performance of the season in a loss at Kansas, one that cost them their head coach.
Oct 24, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback JC French IV (4) reacts to the touchdown scored by running back Cole Tabb (3) during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the second half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
French IV joins our rankings after guiding Cincinnati to an upset win over Texas Tech. He threw four touchdown passes in the middle two quarters of the game and added 46 yards on the ground thanks to his ability as a runner. His only mistakes were a pair of interceptions, one of which was caught off a carom by a defender behind the play.
No. 6 Utah is the next challenge for Cincinnati (3:45 p.m. EDT, ESPN). The Utes haven't seen many of the better quarterbacks in the Big 12, but they held Conner Weigman and the Houston offense to 13 points last week.
A week after a 464-yard passing performance against Cincinnati, Hawkins Jr. was held to just 79 yards in the air in West Virginia's 24-20 win at TCU. He still made the Horned Frogs pay with his legs, rushing for 87 yards and two of the Mountaineers' three touchdowns .
West Virginia is off to end the month of October. The first game out of the bye week is at Texas Tech, which fields a defense that just allowed Cincinnati to run for 255 yards against it.
Oct 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman (1) throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Houston's loss at Utah marked the first game this season where Weigman wasn't responsible for a Cougar touchdown. He provided Houston its longest run play and threw for 282 yards, but he finished an inconsistent 19-of-35 passing and lost a fumble in what became a costly strip sack in the final two minutes.
The Cougars are on their bye week to end October. Through eight games, Weigman has thrown for 2,053 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions to go along with 249 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
Bachmeier found Kyler Kasper and Legend Glasker for touchdowns passes in his 257-yard effort in the air, and he ran for the second of BYU's four touchdowns. He finished the game with a season-high 16 incompletions in the loss, three of which were within the 4-yard line in the second overtime.
BYU returns to Provo to host Arizona State in Week 9. The Sun Devils faced backup quarterback Jacob Knuth in their win over Kansas State last week.
Oct 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) looks to pass during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Dampier threw two interceptions against Houston: the first on a play where he got hit on a corner blitz, and the second on an underthrown pass intended for Wayshawn Parker. He put Utah on his back with his efforts on the ground, rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns, the last of which iced the game in the final two minutes.
A trip to Cincinnati is the next order of business for Utah. The Bearcats allowed Michael Hawkins Jr. to account for 541 aggregate yards the last time they faced a true dual-threat quarterback.
Mestemaker's 386 yards and four touchdown passes in Oklahoma State's 57-24 win at Colorado is one of his best showings of the season. That total was aided somewhat by yards after catch, but Justin Bowick, Wyatt Young and Miles Coleman were recipients of deep passes.
The Cowboys travel to Iowa State to end their October schedule. The Cyclone defense allowed Bear Bachmeier and Noah Fifita to throw for 300 yards in their last two games.
Oct 24, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (1) looks to pass during the first quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones at Casino Del Sol Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Fifita finished 27-of-34 passing for 308 yards and two touchdowns in Arizona's rout of Iowa State. He hit Isaiah Mizell for a 71-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game and found tight end Henry Gabalis on a 40-yard shot to the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Texas Tech is the first ranked test in over a month for Fifita and the Wildcats. Despite winning both games, the Red Raiders' secondary struggled against Braden Atkinson and Conner Weigman in September.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq as Big 12 QB Rankings Week 9: Jenkins, French IV Join Top 8 Following Upset Wins .
