How Big 12 football could bounce back in Week 2

What is the Big 12 football Week 2 slate looking like?

Each of the 14 teams’ Week 2 opponents will provide them with a shot at redemption through one or more of the following factors: winning, winning by more than they did in Week 1, and/or beating someone larger than whom they faced in Week 1.

The conference’s Week 2 slate is made up of the following games:

• Illinois at Kansas: Beating the Fighting Illini would mean a bit more than beating Missouri State.
• Utah at Baylor: The Bears could use this win more than anyone.
• Troy at Kansas State: A Sun Belt team, but the Trojans are coming off of a 12-win year and are obviously tougher than Southeast Missouri State.
• Southern Utah at BYU: I’d really like to believe that BYU can beat the Thunderbirds by more than 14.
• Iowa at Iowa State: A win over a rival from the Big Ten will always mean more than shutting down Northern Iowa.
• SMU at Oklahoma: Especially with their convincing Week 1 win, I’d have to assume that the Mustangs are tougher than the Arkansas State squad Oklahoma just blanked 73-0.
• Duquesne at West Virginia: The Dukes on the road are a bit below the pay grade of a ranked Penn State at home, so I’d bet that the Mountaineers could get this one done.
• Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: Unlike hosting Eastern Kentucky, downing the Panthers in Pittsburgh is a true test for what is now a Power 5 team.
• Texas at Alabama: I don’t think I have to walk anyone through why beating Bama on the road is more telling of a team’s abilities than rolling over Rice at home.
• Oregon at Texas Tech: I can think of no better way to turn Texas Tech’s image around than by beating a ranked Oregon that just dropped 81 points on Portland State.
• UCF at Boise State: Even coming off of their blowout loss at Washington, the Broncos at home are a bigger threat than a visiting Kent State.
• Houston at Rice: If Houston can’t beat the Owls by more than they beat UTSA, it’s going to be a rough year for the Cougs.
• Nicholls State at TCU: It doesn’t matter how many points the Horned Frogs gave up in Week 1, nor does it matter that their offense suffered from multiple turnovers, there should be no losing this time around.
• Oklahoma State at Arizona State: The Sun Devils may stink, but they should nonetheless be expected to give the Cowboys a better fight at home than Central Arkansas ever could on the road.

I understand that some may see the number of high-profile matchups in that lineup as doing more harm than good to an already struggling Big 12, but the conference is in a rather ugly hole no matter what; the least we can do is pray on the chances that it holds its own better than its Week 1 performance imply it will.