Drew Mestemaker Rising, Will Hammond Drops Out Ahead Of Week 5

10 Big 12 quarterbacks received their first taste of conference play in Week 4.

The most impressive performance came from Drew Mestemaker, who outdueled Michael Hawkins Jr. down the stretch in Oklahoma State’s 41-24 win at West Virginia. Other noteworthy performances included a 23-13 win for DJ Lagway in his return from injury and impressive game management from UCF backup Keyone Jenkins in the Knights’ 21-13 win against TCU.

The non-conference games in Week 4 featured a bit of everything from Big 12 quarterbacks. Conner Weigman put together a fantastic outing at Georgia Southern despite some of Houston’s defensive issues while Will Hammond threw interceptions on three consecutive possessions in Texas Tech’s 49-14 win over Sam Houston State.

Week 4 also saw the first benching of a starting Big 12 quarterback this season. Deion Sanders benched Julian Lewis in favor of Isaac Wilson at halftime in Colorado’s game at Baylor, and Sanders later announced his plan to start Wilson going forward.

Week 5 begins with matchups between Keyone Jenkins and Conner Weigman in Houston and Michael Hawkins Jr. and Jaylen Raynor at Iowa State. The late night window offers two intriguing matchups: one between a pair of former SEC starters at Arizona State and the other between polar opposite offenses at Arizona.

Below, we power rank the eight best Big 12 quarterbacks entering Week 5 of the 2026 college football season.

8. Michael Hawkins Jr.

Hawkins Jr. once again pieced together a prolific performance on the ground last week, finishing with 103 yards and three touchdowns. However, West Virginia couldn’t count on him for a big throw as Oklahoma State mounted its lead in the fourth quarter, exploiting a potential limitation for its offense.

Iowa State is the first Big 12 road environment Hawkins Jr. plays in this season (Noon EDT, TNT). The good news for Hawkins Jr. is the Cyclones were poor at defending the run against Utah, which plays directly into what the Mountaineer offense wants to do.

7. DJ Lagway

Lagway is back in the periphery of our rankings following his triumphant return in Baylor’s win against Colorado. He finished an inconsistent 19-of-39 through the air but was responsible for both of the Bears’ touchdowns, once on a contested pass in the corner of the end zone and again on a 33-yard deep shot.

The first Big 12 road game for Lagway is at Arizona State (10:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN). The Sun Devils already encountered two inconsistent quarterbacks in Marcel Reed and Isaiah Marshall earlier this year.

6. Avery Johnson

Johnson’s legs were a non-factor in Kansas State’s 31-26 loss at Cincinnati; he picked up a first down on a 10-yard run on the Wildcats’ first possession, but that was his longest run all night. Most of his passes were on shorter attempts, though he did find Derrick Salley Jr. for a deep 39-yard completion earlier in the game.

Kansas State is among the Big 12 programs on their bye this week. The Wildcats host Houston in Week 6.

5. Conner Weigman

Houston needed Weigman’s efficiency in its 42-28 win at Georgia Southern in Week 4. He finished the afternoon 17-of-22 passing for 239 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for the other two touchdowns the Cougars scored in the game.

UCF marks the first Big 12 home game for Weigman and the Cougars (Noon EDT, ESPN2). Oddly, the offense that did the most damage to the Knights in September was Georgia State; they held both Pittsburgh and TCU under 14 points, although they did so against the former largely because of wet conditions.

4. Bear Bachmeier

Week 4 was a bye week for BYU. Through three games, Bachmeier has thrown for 642 yards, six touchdowns and an interception and run for 64 yards and two more scores.

The Cougars travel to TCU for their Week 5 matchup (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN). Billy Edwards and Keyone Jenkins were the first two quarterbacks the Horned Frogs faced, both of which played more like game managers than Bachmeier will.

3. Drew Mestemaker

Mestemaker continues to climb in our rankings after his impressive showing in Oklahoma State’s win at West Virginia. The only mistake was an interception thrown in the direction of a receiver with four defenders in the area; he connected with Wyatt Young on multiple deep passes in the second half en route to his 20-of-27, 389-yard performance.

The Cowboys are one of the Big 12 teams with a bye in Week 5. UCF will be the first conference home test for Mestemaker coming off the bye.

2. Noah Fifita

Fifita made a critical mistake early in the 34-24 win over Washington State: he threw a pick six to a safety that crept into the play from behind his intended target. Fifita’s deep passes lifted the Wildcats past the Cougars; Tre Spivey, Caleb Smith and Chris Hunter III all caught long passes from Fifita over the course of the game.

Cincinnati is the first Big 12 team that ventures to Casino Del Sol Stadium this year (11 p.m. EDT, FOX). The Bearcats outlasted dual-threat quarterbacks in Mason McKenzie and Avery Johnson in September, but Fifita presents them with their greatest challenge in the air to date.

1. Devon Dampier

Utah didn’t require many heroics from Dampier in its 31-17 win at Iowa State. He completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Braden Pegan through traffic in the first quarter, but he mostly completed shorter passes while the Utes leaned on Wayshawn Parker and the rushing attack.

The Utes coast into the bye week at 4-0 to start 2026. Kansas is the first defense Dampier faces out of the bye week on Oct. 10.