Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State fan’s guide to the second week of the college football season

This is evident from the number of games on the major networks: There are many important games in the Big 12 in Week 2.

Here’s a guide for Oklahoma State fans to the second week of the 2024 college football season.

Big 12 Schedule

BYU at SMU – Friday, 6 p.m. on ESPN2
Arkansas at No. 16 State of Oklahoma — Saturday, 11 a.m. on ABC
No. 17 Kansas State in Tulane – Saturday, 11 a.m. on ESPN
Pitt at Cincinnati — Saturday 11am on ESPN2
Baylor at No. 11 Utah — Saturday 2:30 p.m. on FOX
State of Iowa at No. 21 Iowa — 2:30 p.m. on CBS
Albany at West Virginia — Saturday, 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+
Sam Houston at UCF — Saturday, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+
No. 19 Kansas in Illinois — Saturday, 6 p.m. on FS1
Colorado in Nebraska – Saturday, 6:30 p.m. on NBC
Houston at No. 15 Oklahoma — 6:45 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network
Long Island at TCU — Saturday, 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Northern Arizona at No. 20 Arizona — Saturday, 9 p.m. on ESPN+
Texas Tech in Washington State – Saturday, 9 p.m. on FOX
Mississippi State at State of Arizona — Saturday, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN

On a national level, the second week’s schedule isn’t quite as exciting as the first week’s, but don’t tell that to the Big 12. Big 12 weekend features nine games pitting strong conference opponents against each other.

It starts Friday night when BYU travels to Dallas to face SMU, the Mustangs in their first season in the ACC. The Mustangs are already 2-0 this season, with wins over Nevada and Houston Christian. The Cougars beat Southern Illinois earlier in their season. The game will be important in terms of bragging rights, perhaps even more so than a typical Big 12-ACC matchup, since SMU is so close to the heart of the Big 12.

Another Big 12 ACC game is at Cincinnati for Pitt. Both teams are 1-0, but Pitt’s 55-24 win over Kent State last week was perhaps even more impressive. However, new Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby was impressive in his Bearcat debut, throwing for 383 yards and two touchdowns.

In a sign of conference realignment, Baylor and Utah will play in a non-conference game, even though they now share a conference. The game will be a taster for the Utes before they properly get into Big 12 play in Week 4 in Stillwater. Baylor and Utah both performed well in Week 1, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 94-3.

The Cy-Hawk series has historically gone in favor of the Hawkeyes, but the last time the game was played in Iowa City, the Cyclones came out on top. Both teams have high aspirations this season, with Iowa already ranked and Iowa State just outside the top 25. The last time this rivalry was decided by more than 10 points was in 2016, so expect another battle.

Kansas will look to further its underdog status by taking on the Illini in Illinois. Both teams were solid in Week 1, with Illinois beating Eastern Illinois 45-0 and Kansas defeating Lindenwood 48-3.

With so much change in college football, fans can hop in a time machine and travel back to the Big Eight days when Colorado heads to Lincoln to play the Cornhuskers on Saturday. The Buffaloes survived a game against a tough North Dakota State team in Week 1, while Nebraska and its sensational freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola trounced UTEP.

The new Big 12 has a chance against the old Big 12 when Houston travels to Norman to play the Sooners. Houston is one of two Big 12 teams with a loss, however, as the Cougars began the Willie Fritz era with a 27-7 loss to UNLV.

In another Big 12-SEC game, Mississippi State will play at Arizona State after dark. The Sun Devils appear to have taken a step forward in Kenny Dillingham’s second year after crushing Wyoming 48-7 earlier in the season, but the Bulldogs may prove to be a better benchmark.

Saturday selection

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 10 Michigan – Saturday 11 a.m. on FOX
Tulsa at Arkansas State – Saturday, 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+
No. 14 Tennessee at No. 24 NC State — Saturday 6:30 p.m. on ABC
App State at No. 25 Clemson – 7 p.m. on ACC Network
Boise State at No. 7 Oregon – Saturday, 9 p.m. on Peacock

Every national college football showcase under the sun will be in Ann Arbor on Saturday as Texas heads north to face the defending national champions. The Wolverines had to replace a ton of players from last season’s squad, but The Big House should be worth a few points to the Wolverines.

Tulsa started the season promisingly with a 62-28 win over Northwestern State. The Golden Hurricanes play Arkansas State before Tulsa hosts the Cowboys next week.

Tennessee has College Football Playoff aspirations and the Volunteers gave it their all in Week 1 with a 66-point win over Chattanooga. But now Tennessee heads to Raleigh to see Grayson McCall and the Wolfpack.

In the College Football Playoff, five spots are reserved for conference champions. With only four major conferences, App State could be the Group of Five representative, and the Mountaineers face an 0-1 Clemson team. Clemson should win this game, but App State had been picked to finish first in the Sun Belt earlier in the season.

Another team that could challenge for a spot in the Group of Five is Boise State. The Broncos head to Eugene to play a Duck team that struggled to a 24-14 win over Idaho in Week 1. Boise State allowed 45 points to Georgia Southern, but Bronco running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for an incredible 267 yards and six touchdowns on just 20 carries (13.4 per carry) in that game. So Oregon had better figure out what it needs to figure out before Boise State comes to town.