Week 1 of the college football season is in the books, with all 16 teams from the Big 12 Conference in action.
The Sporting News went 15-1 on its picks in the first week, only missing on the Colorado-North Dakota State game, where we predicted an upset by the Bison.
Here’s some quick (and hot) takes from every game:
No. 12 Utah 49, Southern Utah 0: We will be able to tell a lot more about what kind of team Utah has with a visit from Baylor to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Week 2. Two players who sat out all of 2023 starred for Utah in a rout; quarterback Cam Rising went 10-of-15 passing for 254 yards, 5 touchdowns and no interceptions and tight end Brant Kuithe had 4 receptions for 69 yards and 3 touchdowns.
No. 17 Oklahoma State 44, South Dakota State 20: Oklahoma State made short work of the two-time defending FCS national champions and FCS preseason No. 1 team. Now it’s a huge home game against Arkansas in Week 2. Stat that popped out to us for OSU? Preseason All-American linebackers Nick Martin and Collin Oliver each had a sack.
No. 18 Kansas State 41, Tennesee-Martin 6: Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards now his six touchdowns in the last two seasons openers after scoring 2 touchdowns in his Kansas State debut. Edwards, quarterback Avery Johnson and running back D.J. Giddens (13 carries, 124 rushing yards) could be scary if this is the look.
No. 21 Arizona 61, New Mexico 39: Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan came 10 yards from breaking the Big 12 single-game record with 10 receptions for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns … in his first Big 12 game. McMillian reminds us of Calvin Johnson when he was in college. What a player.
No. 22 Kansas 48, Lindenwood 3: Kansas opened the season at an MLS stadium — Children’s Mercy Park — and it was rocking. If they go on the road this week and beat Illinois they’ll come back to CMP for a better-than-expected-when-scheduled game against UNLV.
No. 8 Penn State 34, West Virginia 12: West Virginia needs to look in the mirror after this one. Two drives in the first quarter summed up the game for the Mountaineers — a turnover on the very first play after recovering a fumble deep in Penn State territory and a 13-play, 65-yard drive that ate up 7:40 and ended with West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene stopped on a 4th-and-1 from the Penn State 16-yard line. The game is 0-0 at that point. Take the points. Bad coaching 101. Doesn’t bode well.
UCF 57, New Hampshire 3: Opening the season with back-to-back games against New Hampshire and Sam Houston State doesn’t really get the pulse going, but the Knights rushed for 454 yards and 5 touchdowns in the season opener. That’s impressive no matter who you’re playing.
Colorado 31, North Dakota State 26: Could care less if people are harping on the Buffs barely beating North Dakota State. The key is that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was only sacked once. If the Colorado offensive line can keep defenders off Sanders, then the Buffs are going to improve on last season's 4-8 record.
Iowa State 21, North Dakota 3: Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 2 touchdowns and rushed for another touchdown, but only scoring 21 points is kind of concerning. Now it’s go time for the Cyclones with a game at Iowa in Week 2.
TCU 34, Stanford 27: TCU’s defense had three personal fouls and 45 yards in penalties on the first drive of the season and struggled with the ACC's worst team. Horned Frogs don’t look any better than last season, when they went 5-7.
Cincinnati 38, Towson 20: The Bearcats are one of the worst teams in the Big 12 and play one of the worst teams in the ACC next week when Pittsburgh comes to town. With Miami (Ohio) and Houston after that could Cincinnati start the season 4-0?
UNLV 27, Houston 7: Brutal start for the Willie Fritz era in Houston. UNLV is a lot better, sure, but the Cougars weren’t even competitive. Houston travels to No. 16 Oklahoma in Week 2. The Cougars don’t have a bye until Week 7 and it’s hard to see them not being either 1-5 or 0-6 at that point.
BYU 41, Southern Illinois 13: Quarterback Jake Retzlaff did something in the 2024 season opener he didn’t do in four starts in 2023 — win. Retzlaff was sharp, going 20-of-30 for 348 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions against the Salukis. BYU gets a real test in Week 2 on the road at newly-minted ACC member SMU.
Arizona State 48, Wyoming 7: We picked Arizona State to beat Wyoming, one of the worst teams in the Mountain West, but didn’t think they had a blowout in them right out of the gate. With Mississippi State coming to town in Week 2 … who knows how this could go?
Texas Tech 52, Abilene Christian 51 (OT): A win is a win but my goodness Texas Tech avoided disaster right here. Losing to Abilene Christian in the season opener — at home — would have cast a pall over the whole season. One thing that stood out was five-star freshman wide receiver Micah Hudson didn’t catch a pass.