By Jacob Seliga
College Football Writer
Week 2 of the college football season has finished and with it comes more questions than answers. Particularly in what is considered the most entertaining conference in college football, the Big 12.
We saw upsets, surprising results, and quality football throughout the conference, this is the Big 12 week in review.
Who is the true number one team in the conference?
To say the top of the conference this week showed struggles would be an understatement.
Utah lost Cameron Rising early in what turned out to be a tough matchup against Baylor. Kansas State was in a battle until the final play of the game at Tulane. Northern Arizona led Arizona deep into the third quarter in Tucson. Kansas shot itself in the foot multiple times in a road loss to Illinois. And Oklahoma State needed double overtime to beat a down Arkansas team in Stillwater.
Those five teams are considered the cream of the crop in the Big 12, but each have shown their flaws in different ways. Arizona cannot generate much offense outside of Tetairoa McMillan. Utah’s offense without Rising couldn’t handle the constant pressure generated by the Baylor pass rush. Kansas’ offense completely sputtered against an elite defense. Kansas State’s secondary showed flaws against intermediate passes. And Oklahoma State’s defense gave up close to 700 yards of offense.
I still believe that Kansas is the team to beat with its flaws and issues being the most correctable. But the gap between 1-5 is small and any of these teams can win the conference.
The depth of the conference may be the best of the “Power 4”
The most improved team in the country through two weeks has been Arizona State, which defeated Wyoming and Mississippi State in convincing fashion and has shown that it has the chance to compete in the conference this season.
Baylor’s defense stepped up big in a tight contest against Utah and showed it has the ability to compete week in and week out. BYU went to Dallas and knocked off a good SMU team, UCF’s balance on both sides of the ball make it a sneaky contender. TCU looks to have bounced back from its national championship game hangover, and Iowa State went to Iowa City and knocked off the Hawkeyes to elevate itself into contender status in the conference.
Has the Prime hype died in Boulder?
Saturday night was a great night for everyone in Lincoln, Nebraska ... except Colorado.
The Buffaloes were absolutely rolled by the Cornhuskers in the ultimate 'get back' game from last year's matchup in Boulder. Sheduer Sanders had his worst game at quarterback and proceeded to throw his not-so-improved offensive line under the bus postgame.
Colorado needed every second to knock off North Dakota State and was down by as much as 28 against the Cornhuskers. Now the Buffaloes will travel to in-state rival Colorado State, which almost knocked them off at home last year. With how brutal the end of the year stretch is, there’s a world where the Buffaloes are in “must win” mode this week.
If they can’t win this week, Colorado seems to be staring down the barrel of another four win season. If that’s the case, with Sheduer Sanders and Travis Hunter likely off to the NFL after the year, one has to wonder if Deion would stay at Colorado with an even higher challenge ahead of him for a potential year three in Boulder.
Game of the Week: No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State - Friday Night, 5PM, Fox
This matchup is a non-conference game due to it being scheduled prior to conference realignment but it’s the perfect test for both sides.
Arizona was banged up in Week 2 but most of its injured players, in particular on the offensive line, should be available this week which will help get the offense into a rhythm. Jacoby Croskey-Merritt was held out in week two due to a potential eligibility issue and Quail Conley more than handled the rushing load for the ‘Cats.
Kansas State’s defense had a challenge against Tulane, as the Green Wave's balanced attack gashed the Wildcats for close to 500 yards. However, the most concerning part was the Green Wave’s ability to pick on their secondary.
This should be a high scoring affair in Manhattan and both sides will be able to take advantage of soft defensive play by both
Comments