The Big 12 spent Week 1 piling up wins, and by the end of the weekend the league had a 13-2 record to show for it. The two losses came against an SEC opponent in Atlanta and, as the source puts it, another one that’s hard to remember.
Colorado opened Deion Sanders’ 2026 season with a late escape against Georgia Tech, getting a 20-yard touchdown from Julian Lewis to Charlie Williams with 37 seconds left in a 14-13 win. It was hardly clean, but the Buffaloes found the play they needed at the end.
Baylor’s night against Auburn turned into one of the most painful finishes of the weekend. The Bears scored with nine seconds left, but instead of kicking the PAT to tie it at 17, they went for 2 and the win.
They didn’t get it. Gavin Freeman, the former Oklahoma State player, was Baylor’s top weapon in the loss, hauling in 12 catches for 154 yards and that touchdown.
Florida transfer DJ Lagway made his Baylor debut and finished with 333 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception while completing 27 of 54 throws.
Cincinnati added another Big 12 result worth bragging about, beating Boston College 34-15 and giving the league another win over an ACC opponent. The Bearcats jumped out to a 24-0 lead before the Eagles finally scored late in the third quarter. Cincinnati did it with just 85 passing yards, leaning on a rushing attack that produced 254 yards at 5.5 yards per carry.
The rest of the league spent the weekend taking care of business, and in several cases doing it in lopsided fashion. Utah beat Idaho 66-14.
UCF rolled Bethune-Cookman 73-6. Kansas handled Long Island 51-6.
Texas Tech beat Abilene Christian 33-10. BYU cruised past Utah Tech 63-7.
Iowa State topped SEMO 38-10. Kansas State crushed Nicholls 71-3.
Arizona defeated Northern Arizona 35-7. Arizona State beat Morgan State 70-7.
Texas Tech’s 33-10 win over Abilene Christian ended up being the closest of the Big 12’s games against FCS opponents. Kansas State’s opener under Collin Klein was especially rough for Willie the Wildcat, who logged 394 total pushups in the 71-3 win over Nicholls. Arizona State’s rout of Morgan State was so one-sided that time was trimmed off the game, something even the Sun Devils source admitted they had never seen before.
The full Week 1 board also included Tulsa’s 24-10 win over Oklahoma State, Houston’s 33-20 victory over Oregon State, and West Virginia’s 31-24 win over Coastal Carolina. Auburn’s 17-16 win over Baylor rounded out the weekend’s other Big 12 loss.
Looking ahead, the league’s Week 2 slate is loaded with matchups across Friday and Saturday. Missouri visits Kansas on Friday night at 7 p.m. on FOX. Saturday brings Oregon at Oklahoma State at 11 a.m. on ESPN, Arizona State at Texas A&M at 11 a.m. on ABC, Washington State at Kansas State at 11 a.m. on TNT, UT-Martin at West Virginia at noon on ESPN+, Arizona at BYU at 2:30 p.m. on FOX, Weber State at Colorado at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+, UCF at Pitt at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2, Southern at Houston at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, Western Carolina at Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, Texas Tech at Oregon State at 6:30 p.m. on CBS, Iowa State at Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on NBC, Prairie View A&M at Baylor at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, Grambling at TCU at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, and Arkansas at Utah at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN.
In Other News...
Oregon State Could Catch Tulsa QB At The Worst Possible Time
Drew Mestemakers last outing was the kind of performance a quarterback wants to flush immediately. He called it the most embarrassing he has experienced, and the tape backed up the frustration: he completed 59% of his passes for 241 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, while earning a career-low Pro Football Focus grade of 50.9.
Oregon State now gets the version of Mestemaker that is trying to rebound, and the timing could hardly be trickier. The concern is less about the box score than the matchup ahead, with Oregons defensive front bringing heat and forcing a quarterback who has already shown vulnerability when the pocket starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Already Has One Problem Oregon State Could Expose
Texas Tech opened the season with a comfortable 33-10 win over Abilene Christian, building a 17-0 halftime lead and giving up little beyond a late kickoff return touchdown. The Red Raiders were solid enough to control the game, but their offense still left a little on the table in the red zone, where drives kept ending with field goals instead of touchdowns.
That matters for Oregon State because the Beavers are trying to clean up the kind of issues that showed up in their own 33-20 loss at Houston, where the run game and pass protection never really found traction. JaMarcus Shephard has already pointed to the need for improvement, and if the Beavers can force Texas Tech into longer, more demanding possessions, those stalled red-zone trips could be the opening they need to hang around. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Opens Shephard Era With Doubters Already Piling On
The second week of the 2026-27 college football season already brings a harsh welcome for JaMarcus Shephard, whose home debut as Oregon State coach comes against No. 12 Texas Tech at Reser Stadium. It is the kind of early-season measuring stick that can define the opening stretch of a new era, and the outside view of the matchup has not offered the Beavers much encouragement. Texas Tech has drawn the stronger backing from sportsbooks and analysts alike, with the Red Raiders seen as the more complete team entering the game.
For Oregon State, the challenge is not just opening Shephards tenure in front of a home crowd, but doing it against a program that statistical models and preseason expectations have already placed well ahead. The Beavers will have the benefit of a fresh start and the energy that comes with a new coach on the sideline, but the early consensus is clear enough: they will need to turn a heavily tilted matchup into something far more competitive than the projections suggest. [Read more 🡒]