It was opening weekend in the Big 12 Conference as the league kicked off the 2024 season on Thursday night. From there we saw two more days of Big 12 action as the conference piled up a 14-2 record over the weekend. There was plenty of excitement with so many new teams and faces. Here is the good, bad, and ugly from Week 1 in the Big 12.
The Good
Rushing Attacks
We saw two teams rush for over 300 yards during opening weekend. UCF ran for a whopping 454 yards against New Hampshire while Kansas racked up 331 yards on the ground against Lindenwood. UCF’s RJ Harvey (142 yds & 2 TDs) and Kansas’ Devin Neal (112 yds and 2 TDS) were the guys who led the way. It was a good thing that both of these offenses ran the football so well because KJ Jefferson (UCF) and Jalon Daniels (Kansas) didn’t have their best games. Also, Cincinnati ran for 275 yards against Towson as Evan Pryor led the team with 105 yards on just four carries.
The New Guys
There are some new quarterbacks in the conference that really impressed me this weekend. Utah’s Cam Rising threw five touchdown passes in the first half against Southern Utah, which was a career high, while only having five incompletions in the game.
Another guy who really caught my eye was Baylor’s Dequan Finn. The former MAC player of the year from Toledo showed some flashes against Tarleton State not only with his arm but his legs as well.
No Sweating
While there were a few teams who took care of business on Saturday, I wanted to give a shout out to Oklahoma State, Kansas State, BYU, Arizona State, and Iowa State. All four of them won fairly easily. The Cowboys offense looked fantastic about a good South Dakota State team while Avery Johnson and company took care of UT Martin.
BYU’s Jake Retzlaff threw for 348 yards and three scores against Southern Illinois and Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel had a career day against North Dakota. As for Arizona State, they pounded Wyoming. They started the game with a pick six and never looked back as they won 48-7.
Of course, none of these teams were perfect. In fact, they all had their moments, but for the most part they were in total control of their games. Well, except for Arizona State because they dominated from the very beginning.
Tetairoa McMillan’s Historic Day
Late Saturday night, Arizona hosted New Mexico for their season opener. Now I have seen some great performances in my day, but I am not sure if I have ever seen a wide receiver take over a game like Tetairoa McMillan did. He finished his career day with 10 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Forget about being the best receiver in the Big 12, he may be the best receiver in the entire country.
The Bad
Colorado’s Clock Management
Don’t get me wrong, I thought Colorado’s offense looked good with Sanders, Hunter, and Jimmy Horn Jr., and even their defense buckled down in the second half. But what in the world was Deion Sanders thinking on Colorado’s final drive? All he had to do was kneel the ball three times and walk out of there a winner. Instead, he tried throwing it and ended up giving the ball back to North Dakota State who nearly won the game with a Hail Mary.
TCU’s Penalties
Despite winning the game 34-27, the Horned Frogs made a bunch of costly mistakes vs. Stanford. On the very first drive of the game, TCU had three third down penalties which helped Stanford score. And things didn’t get much better after that as the Horned Frogs racked up 100 yards in penalties on Friday night.
The Ugly
West Virginia
I had to throw the entire team here after watching the game against Penn State. I understand that the Nittany Lions are a legitimate Top 10 team, but the Mountaineers showed me very little on Saturday. Garrett Greene didn’t play well at all, and the offense struggled to run the football as they averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. While the defense held up for a quarter, they eventually broke down as Penn State got more comfortable as the game went on. To me, the game plan was bland, and the play was sloppy.
Texas Tech’s Defense
What year is it? I know it’s not 2014, but what I saw on Saturday night reminded me of those Tech teams that played no defense. The Red Raiders gave up a over 600 yards of offense against Abilene Christian and allowed them to convert over 60% of their third down attempts. ACU quarterback (and former Tech quarterback) Maverick McIvor threw for over 500 yards and was one play away from winning the game in overtime.
Houston
I know Houston is in Year 1 of the Willie Fritz era, but they didn’t even put up a fight against UNLV. Donovan Smith completed just 50% of his passes and threw two picks while the rest of the offense ran for 38 yards on 26 carries. The defense kept the Cougars in the game for as long as they could, but the offense was pathetic.
