The season is upon us, and the Big 12 Conference opens up with all 16 teams in action with four games on Thursday, Aug. 29, one game on Friday, Aug. 30 and the rest of the teams playing on Saturday, Aug. 31.
It’s the first season for the Big 12 after longtime members Oklahoma and Texas left for the SEC. To replace them, four teams join the Big 12 from the Pac-12 Conference in 2024 — Arizona, Arizona State Colorado and Utah. That’s after four more teams joined in 2023 with UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston.
Here’s a look at all 16 games from Week 1 with picks for every single game (all times EST):
Thursday, Aug. 29
New Hampshire at UCF (7 p.m., ESPN+): We get our first look at former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson in a UCF uniform after he started the last three seasons for the Razorbacks. Final: UCF 50, New Hampshire 7
Lindenwood at No. 22 Kansas (8 p.m., ESPN+): Serious question here — knowing the injuries he’s sustained the last two seasons do you think the Jayhawks should even play starting quarterback Jadon Daniels against Lindenwood? Would it be smarter to have Daniels make his season debut at Illinois on Sept. 7 and not risk injury in a meaningless game you could win without him? Final Score: Kansas 45, Lindenwood 12
North Dakota State at Colorado (8 p.m., ESPN, Colorado -9.5, O/U 59.5): Second-year head coach Deion Sanders enters the season with two potential Top 10 picks in the 2025 NFL draft in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. Still, something seems off. The Buffs don’t take North Dakota State seriously despite the Bison being No. 2 in the FCS preseason Top 25 and stumble in Week 1. Final: North Dakota State 28, Colorado 14
Southern Utah at No. 12 Utah (6 p.m., ESPN+): Utah is a Big 12 favorite in its first season in the conference, which seems like a big ask. Just like with Kansas playing Lindenwood, we ask the question … should Utah quarterback Cam Rising even play in this game or should he wait and make his debut against Baylor on Sept. 7? Why risk the injury? Final: Utah 51, Southern Utah 10
Friday, Aug. 30
TCU at Stanford (7:30 p.m., ESPN, TCU -9.5, O/U 58.5): The most challenging road game for any Big 12 team in Week 1 belongs to TCU, even though Stanford has been picked to finish last place in its first season in the ACC. We’re not sure if TCU is much better than the team that went 5-7 in 2023, though. Final: TCU 30, Stanford 20
Saturday, Aug. 31
No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia (12 p.m., Fox, PSU -8.5, O/U 51.5): Could end up being the best game of Week 1 and the biggest upset if West Virginia can pull it off. Either way … take the over! Final: Penn State 31, West Virginia 25
South Dakota State at No. 17 Oklahoma State (2 p.m., ESPN+, OSU -10, O/U 53.5): A surprisingly tough test for Oklahoma State with South Dakota State, the two-time defending FCS national champions and No. 1 team in the FCS preseason Top 25. Final: Oklahoma State 40, South Dakota State 20
Towson at Cincinnati (2:30 p.m., ESPN+, Cincinnati -36.5): Cincinnati will win this game. The real question is if they’ll win a game in the Big 12 this year. Final: Cincinnati 30, Towson 3
North Dakota at Iowa State (3:30 p.m., FS1, ISU -27.5): One of many teams ranked in the FCS preseason Top 25 facing Big 12 opponents in the season opener, No. 22 North Dakota gets one of the toughest games. Iowa State returns all but two starters from last season and probably should have been ranked in the preseason. Final: Iowa State 42, North Dakota 14
Tennessee-Martin at No. 18 Kansas State (7 p.m., ESPN+): The home debut as starting quarterback for Kansas State’s Avery Johnson makes this worth watching. Expect Johnson, DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards to put on a show running the ball early. Hopefully Johnson gets a few chances to air it out and show off his arm. Final: Kansas State 40, Tennessee-Martin 10
Tarleton State at Baylor (7 p.m., ESPN+, Baylor -26.5): Baylor gets a tougher-than expected test from Tarleton State, who are ranked No. 21 in the FCS preseason Top 25 rankings. What we want to see is new Baylor quarterback Dequan Finn go off in his Power Four debut after three seasons of dominating competition for Toledo in the MAC. Final: Baylor 35, Tarleton State 7
UNLV at Houston (7 p.m., FS1, Houston -1, O/U 54.5): UNLV is a much-improved team and picked to finish second in the Mountain West Conference. Houston is coming off a terrible first year in the Big 12 in 2023 and has a new head coach in Willie Fritz. Final: UNLV 28, Houston 20
Abilene Christian at Texas Tech (7:30 p.m., ESPN+, Texas Tech -33.5): Let this be your introduction to the United Athletic Conference, which is a mishmash of teams left over from the Atlantic Sun and WAC and includes Abilene Christian. Now that we’re past all that, watch Texas Tech to see how they incorporate freshman wide receiver Micah Hudson from the jump. He’s special. Final: Texas Tech 43, Abilene Christian 10
Southern Illinois at BYU (8 p.m., ESPN+, BYU -14.5): Another preseason Top 25 team from the FCS traveling to play a Big 12 program — Southern Illinois is ranked No. 11. It’s pretty curious that BYU is only favored by 14.5 points. That tells us oddsmakers probably don’t think the Cougars are going to be very good this season. Final: BYU 21, Southern Illinois 7
New Mexico (0-1) at No. 21 Arizona (10:30 p.m., ESPN, Arizona -30.5, O/U 58.5): New Mexico fell flat on its face in Week 0, blowing a huge lead in a 35-31 home loss to FCS Montana State. Now they get to get tuned up by Arizona, one of the Big 12 favorites. Final: Arizona 50, New Mexico 14
Wyoming at Arizona State (10:30 p.m., FS1, ASU -6.5, O/U 48.5): This is a hard one to call. Arizona State is picked to finish toward the bottom of the Big 12. Wyoming is picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Mountain West. Final: Arizona State 28, Wyoming 24