The Big 12 spent Week 2 doing what it does best: producing chaos, noise and just enough evidence to let everybody talk themselves into a wild conclusion. A few of those takes are already begging to be walked back. Others at least have some early receipts.
Start with Oklahoma State, because that one is impossible to ignore. Going from the worst team in the Big 12 to a national title contender would be the kind of leap that borders on absurd, and that’s exactly why the Cowboys’ 39-31 win over No.
6 Oregon turned so many heads. The early-season ugliness from Week 1 wasn’t the real version of this team, and most sane observers knew that.
Still, few expected Oklahoma State to walk into its first home game of the season and absolutely control a national title contender from start to finish. The final score made it look tighter than it really was.
With that win, the Cowboys are no longer stuck in the basement of the Big 12 power picture, and now the conversation shifts to bigger things: a conference title push and maybe even a path toward the College Football Playoff.
Kansas State is making noise on the other side of the ball, too, and maybe even louder. Last week’s buzz was about the Wildcats having the best offense in the Big 12.
This week, the case got even stronger because they backed it up by putting 34 points on a Washington State defense that was supposed to be sturdy. But the defense may be the more eye-opening part.
Kansas State held the Cougars to seven points on offense, and through two games the Wildcats have given up only 10 total points. The early schedule could be flattering them a bit, sure, but right now this looks like a team that can claim the best offense and the best defense in the league.
That’s a dangerous combination if it holds up.
Iowa State, meanwhile, doesn’t quite fit the same overreaction mold. The Cyclones nearly took down Iowa in the Cy-Hawk game, but rivalry games have a way of flattening out expectations.
Records and projections tend to go out the window in those spots. Iowa State lost on a last-second field goal to a Top 25 Iowa team, and that result felt like one that could have gone either way regardless of how good people think this roster is.
The Cyclones should handle Bowling Green, which comes in 0-2 with a loss to Tarleton State and a blowout defeat at Nebraska. But the Big 12 is where the real test lies, and wins there figure to be hard to find for Iowa State.
So no, this one doesn’t really sell me on the idea that the Cyclones are better than expected.
Now the league turns to Week 3, and there are a few games with real weight attached.
No. 22 Houston at No.
13 Texas Tech has the feel of something that could grow into a real Big 12 rivalry if both programs keep living in the Top 25. For now, it’s just a massive early-season conference matchup with plenty on the line.
By late Friday night, we should know a lot more about where both teams actually stand before the Saturday slate begins.
Arizona State and Kansas are taking their conference matchup overseas, and that alone makes it stand out. The game will be played in London at Wembley Stadium, the first college football game ever held there.
Both teams are coming off losses to SEC opponents last weekend, with Arizona State falling at Texas A&M and Kansas dropping its rivalry game at home to Missouri. This is a clean chance for one of them to reset and open Big 12 play at 1-0.
It also has the look of a game that could get up and down quickly. Kickoff is set for 11:00 AM on FS1.
Then there’s West Virginia at No. 25 Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Classic, a matchup that has plenty of intrigue with both teams sitting at 2-0.
Virginia has looked dominant in both of its games so far, while West Virginia showed its best early in the first half against Coastal before letting things tighten up late. The Mountaineers then handled UT Martin last weekend to get ready for this one.
The line has moved from Virginia being a 10.5-point favorite when books opened to 8.5 points by midweek. If West Virginia pulls the upset on the road in a rivalry game, the Mountaineers could be knocking on the Top 25 next week.
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has A Quarterback Problem At The Worst Time
Kansas States early-season momentum has come with an unwelcome complication under center. Blake Barnett was hurt in the opener and is expected to miss more time, while backup Dillon Duff is also banged up and listed day-to-day, leaving Collin Klein with a quarterback room that suddenly looks a lot thinner than it did a week ago. Even with the Wildcats sitting at 2-0, the timing is less than ideal with Tulane and Cincinnati coming up next.
Klein said both quarterbacks are progressing and that the staff has plans to manage the position moving forward, which at least gives Kansas State some stability on paper. Still, the Wildcats now have to navigate a stretch that could shape their season without much certainty at the most important spot on the field, and the next few days will matter a lot as they try to sort out who can go and how much help they might need around him. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Gets One More Test Before Big 12 Play Starts
Kansas State gets one last dress rehearsal before the Big 12 grind begins, and Tulane is the opponent waiting at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Sept. 19. The Wildcats have given themselves a sturdy early foundation, leaning on a defense that has been disruptive and a rushing attack that has done much of the heavy lifting while the non-conference schedule still offers a little room to settle in.
Tulane brings a different kind of test, even with the personnel changes and other challenges the Green Wave have dealt with this season. For Kansas State, the value of this game is bigger than the record column, because it offers one more chance to sharpen the things that have worked before league play turns every mistake into a bigger problem, and the matchup still tilts the Wildcats' way on paper. [Read more 🡒]