Predicting the Big 12 Season: Week 2

A perfect week one leads to a very tumultuous week two with massive challenges across the league.

Previous Weeks: Week 1

Week 2

Alabama 41 at Texas 30

The offensive firepower in this game is going to be on another level. Quinn Ewers and company will be looking to make a statement early and they do. Ewers comes out red hot with two touchdown passes in the first quarter, one to Xavier Worthy and the other to Jordan Whittington, as the Longhorns go up 14-6. Things start to unravel a little after that though as Bama adjusts and Will Anderson feasts with three sacks and a strip sack. The Alabama offense gets the run game rolling as Jahmyr Gibbs roll for 150 yards and two scores. Bryce Young throws for 315 yards and three touchdowns, one to Jermaine Burton and one to JoJo Earle. Ewers finishes with 330 yards passing and three touchdowns but turns it over three times. Bijan Robinson has more than 100 yards of total offense but isn’t able to take over the game. Bama rolls after a slow start.

Missouri 20 at Kansas State 34

This is a young Missouri defense that has a lot of talent as they have taken a ton of transfers over the off-season. They could be good eventually but that likely won’t happen early enough, especially on the defensive line. Then on offense, the quarterback position is still up in the air but there is talent on the OL, WR, and RB. The Wildcats run the ball well as Deuce Vaughn rushes for 150 yards and scores twice. Adrian Martinez also chips in 80 yards and a score as his physical running style is a game changer in this matchup. Mizzou’s talent flashes but inconsistency at QB dooms this SEC team in Manhattan.

Houston 47 at Texas Tech 38

Fireworks in Lubbock! This is going to be a good old fashion shootout. I am going to roll with Tyler Shough for now at QB even though I think Behren Morton will be the guy by the end of the year. Shough throws for 350 yards and four touchdowns with two of those going to Loic Fouonji. But he is intercepted twice by Houston’s active secondary, Gervarrius Owens gets one of those. Houston QB Clayton Tune throws for 300 yards and three scores as well, and the Cougars' rushing attack gets going with Texas Tech transfer Ta’Zhawn Henry and USC transfer Brandon Campbell. The balanced offense and lack of turnovers allows Houston to steal this one on the road in a very entertaining week two game.

Iowa State 12 at Iowa 20

Death, Taxes, and Iowa beating Iowa State in football. The Hawkeyes have won seven of the last eight in this matchup including six in a row. This will be a defensive battle and I expect it to be very sloppy at times as these teams try to grind out long drives. Both teams turn the ball over twice and both quarterbacks struggle mightily. There are two guys who play well in this one, Iowa tight end Sam La Porta and Iowa State wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, as both go for over 100 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, Hunter Dekkers is not as ready for this type of game with his inaccuracy showing up far too often. He completes less than 50% of his passes. Iowa QB Spencer Petras makes enough throws and keeps the Hawkeyes in more manageable third-down situations. The Hawkeyes lead from start to finish but can never pull away due to great Cyclone defense and a lack of explosive plays.

Kansas 20 at West Virginia 34

Last week was a defensive battle for WVU but in this one, the Big 12 world finally gets a feel for what JT Daniels can bring to this Mountaineers offense. He throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers. Bryce Ford-Wheaton goes off as he pops for 150 yards and two scores. Kansas stumbles offensively in this one as Jalon Daniels struggles to throw the ball and the run game runs into a wall more times than not as Dante Stills and Jared Bartlett wreck havoc in the backfield. Kansas’ inefficiency and lack of talent on the offensive side impact their ability to sustain drives today. The final score is closer than the game is in this one.

Kent State 20 at Oklahoma 48

Kent State can put up points and they are going to challenge the Sooners' new defense a ton in this matchup. A few names who make an impact in this one: WR Dante Cephas, RB Marques Cooper, and RB Xavier Williams. These guys will make their presence known in flashes but it won’t be consistent as the Sooners take a 23-13 lead at halftime before making adjustments and turning it up a notch. The defense forces three second-half turnovers thanks to Danny Stutsman, Jalen Redmond, and DaShaun White. Dillon Gabriel throws for 330 yards and four touchdowns as Theo Wease and Marvin Mims make their presence felt. The Sooners pull away.

Arizona State 17 at Oklahoma State 34

The Sun Devils lost 17 players to the transfer portal this past off-season so they are breaking in a bunch of new faces, especially on offense and specifically on the offensive line. If you have major issues on the offensive line, the Cowboys will feast. Collin Oliver and Trace Ford each have two sacks as the team finishes with eight in the game to go along with the defense forcing three turnovers as well. ASU QB Emory Jones tries to run around a make plays which works at times but overall leads to trouble in this one. Spencer Sanders totals 300 yards of offense and three scores as he leads them to a solid day, but the offense is propelled by an elite defensive performance in this one. 

Tarleton 8 at TCU 48

This will be a route. TCU’s offense hums in this one as Chandler Morris finds Quentin Johnston for two touchdowns. Kendre Miller and the Frogs' rushing attack go for 250 yards and three scores while the defense forces four turnovers. This is a blowout from start to finish.

Baylor 33 at BYU 27

Last year's game was not as close as the scoreboard said with the Cougars scoring a garbage-time touchdown to make the final score 38-24. The Bears ran for 303 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry. That area is going to be an advantage for the Bears once again plus this offense has a more dynamic passer this year with Blake Shapen instead of Gerry Bohanon. On the flip side, BYU threw for 342 yards a year ago so I expect Jaren Hall to link up with Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney a ton. The issue is, they couldn’t run the ball at all (24 carries for 67 yards) and that was with Tyler Allgier. Overall, I expect both offenses to move the football but Baylor’s ability to consistently run the football and grind out yardage will be the difference in this one. BYU scores with four minutes left in the game to cut the lead to six but they aren’t able to get the ball back to try to win the game.

Big 12 Standings

1. West Virginia — 2-0 (1-0)

2. Baylor — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Kansas State — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Oklahoma — 2-0 (0-0)

2. Oklahoma State — 2-0 (0-0)

2. TCU — 2-0 (0-0)

7. Iowa State — 1-1 (0-0)

7. Texas — 1-1 (0-0)

7. Texas Tech — 1-1 (0-0)

10. Kansas — 1-1 (0-1)