Week 2 is officially here for the Big 12! And there are plenty of interesting games happening today that might be unintentionally flying under the radar a little bit. To help track everything, I’ve broken out the schedule a bit.
We’ve got a grand total of *counts fingers and toes* 15 games involving the Big 12 happening today (which is a great amount of football that we absolutely have to watch) and it all starts at 11 a.m. as Texas Tech faces off against Kent State (and a couple other games happen as well).
Here’s what the schedule looks like today.
Early Saturday games
- Iowa vs. No. 16 Iowa State Cyclones - Ames, Iowa - 11 a.m.
- Baylor Bears vs. No. 17 SMU - Dallas, Texas - 11 a.m.
- Kent State vs. No. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders - 11 a.m.
Okay, I know we’re all going to focus on the Texas Tech football game. As we should.
However, can I recommend that we get a multiview setup going so all three of these games can be watched? Because I love rivalry matchups (and Iowa State is really positioned well to really beat up on Iowa this year) and regional matchups (we need to see Baylor and SMU play more often). This time block might have the most interesting slate of games all day.
Saturday afternoon games
- Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. No. 6 Oregon - Eugene, Oregon - 2:30 p.m.
- Kansas Jayhawks vs. Missouri - Columbia, Missouri - 2:30 p.m.
- Bowling Green vs. Cincinnati Bearcats - Cincinnati, Ohio - 2:30 p.m.
- Delaware vs. Colorado Buffaloes - Boulder, Colorado - 2:30 p.m.
- West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Ohio - Athens, Ohio - 3 p.m.
Okay, compared to the other parts of the day, this one might have the least interesting slate of games. I’m glad we’re getting to see Kansas and Missouri face each other again though. That rivalry should be played more regularly. Also, Oklahoma State’s trip to Oregon? Uh, we’re about to find out if the Cowboys have improved at all.
Saturday evening games
- Cal Poly vs. No. 25 Utah Utes - Salt Lake City, Utah - 5 p.m.
- Army vs. Kansas State Wildcats - Manhattan, Kansas - 6 p.m.
- Houston Cougars vs. Rice - Houston, Texas (Rice Stadium) - 6 p.m.
- North Carolina A&T vs. UCF Knights - Orlando, Florida - 6 p.m.
- No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Mississippi State - Starkville, Mississippi - 6:30 p.m.
And that’s a crop of games that, on the surface, likely doesn’t have a ton of intrigue outside of that Arizona State vs. Mississippi State game.
But Rice just hired a new head coach and they’re breaking in a pretty quirky (and fun) option-based offense that could potentially keep Houston on its toes. Oh, and Kansas State hasn’t looked all that sharp to start the season. How will they look against Army?
Saturday night games
Because the Big 12 expanded and now includes folks out west, we now get to witness some games later into the evening. RIP to Pac-12 After Dark football, but at least we get to watch some Big 12 games kickoff at *checks notes* nearly my bedtime.
- Weber State vs. Arizona Wildcats - Tucson, Arizona - 9 p.m.
- Stanford vs. BYU Cougars - Provo, Utah - 9:15 p.m.
And that’s the football we’ve got on the schedule for today (and there’s plenty of it). There’s also plenty of good and intriguing games happening today. I’m absolutely fascinated by that Arizona State trip to Starkville and it’ll be interesting to see if Dave Aranda can lead Baylor past SMU.