How Big 12 football could bounce back in Week 2

Week 1 of the 2023 season is in the books, and no one is happier about that than Big 12 football.

One may have assumed that the Big 12, of all leagues, was predestined to start this year on an overwhelmingly positive note, as Week 1 included all four of its new schools (BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Houston) making manageable debuts. But for what it’s worth, the problems did not fall as much on them as they did on the veteran members.

Sure, none of the four new guys’ opening wins amounted to much worth bragging about, as BYU only beat Sam Houston State 14-0, UCF skunked Kent State, Cincinnati dropped 66 on Eastern Kentucky, and Houston skated past UTSA by three. But nonetheless, they won, and that’s more than you can say for some of the others; the “others” in question are TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia, and Baylor.

The Horned Frogs really got the disappointment meter hitting high early last Saturday, as they gave up 45 points in what was ultimately a historic road win for the Colorado Buffaloes (who went 1-11 last year). That’s not exactly the result that defending runner-ups want to see from a game they were favored in by three touchdowns.

As for the Red Raiders and Mountaineers, they lost while visiting their out-of-conference foes, with the former losing to an average Wyoming in double-overtime and the latter losing by 23 to a top-10 Penn State.

Now those losses suck, but were they the worst losses of the weekend? No. In fact, neither of them was even the worst loss in the Big 12 — that title goes to Baylor’s.

I made a point of saving the Bears for last, as they had what I feel is the worst, most heinous Week 1 loss of any team in not just the Big 12, but in the entire Power Five. They, on their own turf, lost by 11 points to Texas State. For context, the Bobcats are a Sun Belt squad coming off of a 4-8 run that had never beaten a Power Five team. That is downright nauseating.

Beyond that, it was just more of what the newbies gave us: unimpressive wins that told next to nothing (or at least nothing good) about the victors. That can especially be said for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, as they only beat FCS-level Central Arkansas 27-13.

A parade as pitiful as the one we just witnessed likely has a lot of Big 12 fans bracing themselves for what they think will be a long season — and hey, it might be. However, there is one glimmer of hope to keep in mind, and that is the league’s Week 2 slate.