Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 2 of the College Football Season

It’s evident by the amount of games on major networks: the Big 12 has a lot of big games in Week 2.

Here is an Oklahoma State fan’s guide to Week 2 of the 2024 college football season.

Big 12 Schedule

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

Nationally, the Week 2 slate isn’t as juicy as Week 1 was, but don’t tell that to the Big 12. The Big 12 weekend features nine games that pit power conference foes against each other.

It starts Friday night when BYU travels down to Dallas to face SMU, with the Mustangs in their first season in the ACC. The Mustangs are already 2-0 this season with wins against Nevada and Houston Christian. The Cougars throttled Southern Illinois to start their season. The game will be big in terms of bragging rights, perhaps moreso than a typical Big 12-ACC matchup because of SMU’s proximity to the heart of the Big 12.

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

In a sign of the conference realignment times, Baylor and Utah will play in a nonconference game despite now sharing a conference. The game will provide an appetizer for the Utes before truly jumping into Big 12 play in Stillwater in Week 4. Baylor and Utah each handled business in Week 1, outscoring their opponents a combined 94-3.

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

Kansas will look to continue its dark horse status with a trip to Illinois to take on the Illini. Both teams were solid in Week 1, with Illinois beating Eastern Illinois 45-0 and Kansas besting Lindenwood 48-3.

With all the change happening around college football, fans can hop in a time machine and go back to the Big Eight days when Colorado heads to Lincoln for a game against the Cornhuskers on Saturday. The Buffaloes survived a game against a tough North Dakota State team in Week 1, while Nebraska and freshman sensation quarterback Dylan Raiola beat up on UTEP.

The new Big 12 has a shot at the old Big 12 when Houston heads up to Norman for a game against the Sooners. Houston is one of two Big 12 teams with a loss, though, as the Cougars started the Willie Fritz era with a 27-7 defeat to UNLV.

Another Big 12-SEC game will see Mississippi State playing after dark at Arizona State. The Sun Devils seem to have taken a step forward in Year 2 of Kenny Dillingham after throttling Wyoming 48-7 to start the season, but the Bulldogs should prove to be a better measuring stick.

Saturday Selections

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

Every national college football show under the sun on Saturday will be in Ann Arbor as Texas goes north to face the reigning national champs. The Wolverines have had to replace a ton from last season’s squad, but The Big House should be worth a few points for the Wolverines.

Tulsa got its season off to a promising start by beating Northwestern State 62-28. The Golden Hurricane match up with Arkansas State before Tulsa hosts the Cowboys next week.

Tennessee has College Football Playoff aspirations, and the Volunteers took care of business in Week 1 with a 66-point win against Chattanooga. But now Tennessee heads to Raleigh to see Grayson McCall and the Wolfpack.

The College Football Playoff has five spots reserved for conference champions. With only four major conferences, App State could be the Group of Five representative, and the Mountaineers are facing a 0-1 Clemson team. Clemson should win this game, but App State was picked first in the Sun Belt heading into the season.

Likewise, another team in line for that Group of Five spot could be Boise State. The Broncos head to Eugene to play a Duck squad that struggled to a 24-14 win against Idaho in Week 1. Boise State gave up 45 points to Georgia Southern, but Bronco running back Ashton Jeanty rumbled for a ridiculous 267 yards and six touchdowns in that game on only 20 carries (13.4 per carry). So, Oregon better figure out whatever it needs to figure out before Boise State comes to town.