The Big 12 spent Week 1 piling up wins, but the betting market still isn’t eager to hand out much credit.
That’s the message from the opening numbers for Week 2, where several conference teams are lined up as sizable underdogs in games that carry plenty of attention. And this isn’t just the league’s usual suspects taking heat. Some of the Big 12’s better early showings still didn’t move the needle much with oddsmakers.
Kansas, fresh off a 51-6 win over LIU, opened as a 6.5-point home underdog to Missouri in Friday night’s Border Showdown. Missouri, for its part, beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 54-14.
Arizona State got the same cold reception. The Sun Devils blasted Morgan State 70-7 in their opener, then opened as a 14.5-point underdog at Texas A&M.
Iowa State is in a similar spot after beating Southeast Missouri 38-10. The Cyclones opened as a 13.5-point road underdog against Iowa in the Cy-Hawk game.
And then there’s Oklahoma State, where the number is especially loud. After the Cowboys’ 24-10 loss to Tulsa in Eric Morris’ debut, the opening line for their home date with Oregon landed around Oregon -20.5, roughly a three-touchdown spread. That number has already started to move even further toward the Ducks.
UCF also drew a tough number on the road, opening as more than a touchdown underdog at Pitt after a 73-6 win over Bethune-Cookman.
The full Week 2 opening board reflects the same theme across the league: Missouri at Kansas, Missouri -6.5;
Oregon at Oklahoma State, Oregon -20.5; Arizona State at Texas A&M, Texas A&M -14.5;
Washington State at Kansas State, Kansas State -16.5; UT Martin at West Virginia, No Line;
Arizona at BYU, BYU -7; UCF at Pitt, Pitt -8.5;
Weber State at Colorado, No Line; Western Carolina at Cincinnati, No Line;
Southern at Houston, No Line; Iowa State at Iowa, Iowa -13.5;
Texas Tech at Oregon State, Texas Tech -27.5; Prairie View A&M at Baylor, No Line;
Grambling State at TCU, No Line; Arkansas at Utah, Utah -11.5.
There are a few Big 12 teams that got better treatment. Utah opened as a double-digit favorite at home against Arkansas after its 66-14 win over Idaho. Texas Tech is a huge favorite at Oregon State, and BYU is favored by about a touchdown over Arizona in the first Big 12 conference game of the season.
Still, the bigger picture is clear: the league now has a chance to back up that 13-2 Week 1 mark with something more convincing. Kansas against Missouri, Arizona State against Texas A&M, and Iowa State against Iowa all stand out as the kind of non-conference tests that can change how the Big 12 is viewed when résumés are being stacked up later in the season.
If those teams come through, the conference gets real ammunition. If not, Week 1’s hot start won’t carry nearly as much weight.
Vegas has made its first call. Now the Big 12 has to answer.
In Other News...
UCFs Blowout Showed Off A Lot More Than Just The Score
UCFs season opener against Bethune-Cookman turned into the kind of runaway win that can make a September afternoon feel more like a spring showcase, with the Knights piling up score after score in a 73-6 rout. What stood out beyond the final margin was how many different players helped fuel it, from Will Stone and Rocco Marriott to Landen Chambers, Alonza Barnett and Jonathan Bibbs, giving the staff plenty of tape to sort through after a game that never really stopped tilting one direction.
Taevion Swint was among the names that added a little extra texture to the performance, especially after the long wait to get back on the field. The scoring plays came in such a steady stream that ranking them became part of the story, and for UCF the bigger takeaway was not just the total but the way the offense spread the work around while putting together one of the programs most lopsided openers. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Fans Have A 2027 Defensive Line Piece To Watch Closely
Dontallis Render is a name UCF fans should keep tucked away for the 2027 recruiting cycle. The Vero Beach High School defensive end has already put himself on the radar as a 3-star prospect, and early in the season he has flashed the kind of disruption that programs want on the edge. For a Knights staff trying to identify future pieces for the defensive line, Render fits the profile of a player worth tracking closely as his junior year unfolds.
His early production has come with the sort of versatility that makes evaluators lean in, because he is not just living in the backfield on run plays. Render has also shown he can make a play on the ball, adding another layer to a resume that already suggests a steady rise in value. UCF is looking to build out its 2027 class with players who can help shape the front seven, and Render appears to be pushing himself into that conversation before the recruiting race really takes off. [Read more 🡒]
UCF May Have Found A Dangerous New Weapon In Duke Watson
UCFs rout of Bethune-Cookman was lopsided enough on the scoreboard, but the performance that may linger longest came from Duke Watson, the transfer running back who gave the Knights a glimpse of a potentially dangerous new piece in the backfield. Watson arrived in Orlando after previously leading the nation in yards per carry as a freshman at Louisville, and he wasted little time showing why the staff was intrigued, providing the kind of burst that can change the feel of an offense in one snap.
Watson was the engine of the ground game in the 73-6 win, finishing with seven carries for 110 yards and a touchdown as UCF controlled the afternoon from the start. For a team still sorting out how much of its offense can run through him, the bigger question now is how much more there is to come once the Knights ask him to do more than just flash in a blowout. [Read more 🡒]