Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 3 of the College Football Season

The Big 12 brings some interesting matchups into Week 3, with the conference’s first league game of the season taking place to go along with a pair of Big 12-SEC tilts.

Here is an Oklahoma State fan’s guide to Week 3 of the 2023 college football season.

Big 12 Schedule

No. 15 Kansas State at Missouri — 11 a.m. Saturday on SEC Network
Baylor vs. Long Island University — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Iowa State at Ohio — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPNU
No. 19 Oklahoma at Tulsa — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
UCF vs. Villanova — 5:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Cincinnati vs. Miami (OH) — 6 p.m. on ESPN+
Oklahoma State vs. South Alabama — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Texas Tech vs. Tarleton State — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
BYU at Arkansas — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 4 Texas vs. Wyoming — 7 p.m. Saturday on Longhorn Network
TCU at Houston — 7 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Kansas at Nevada — 9:30 p.m. Saturday on CBSSN

Big 12 play officially kicks off this weekend as reigning national runner-up TCU heads to Big 12 newcomer Houston at 7 p.m. Saturday on FOX. Both teams enter at 1-1 with TCU falling to Colorado and Houston falling in double-OT to Rice last week.

Elsewhere, Kansas State travels to former Big 12 foe Missouri. Chris Kleiman’s Wildcats have beaten their first two opponents by an average of 37 points. Missouri is also 2-0 but survived a close scare against Middle Tennessee State last week.

Oklahoma traveling to Tulsa ought to be a fun watch for the Okies. This is the first OU-Tulsa matchup in Tulsa since 2014. It also marks just the third time since renovations in 2008 that H.A. Chapman Stadium is sold out.

The Backyard Bowl between West Virginia and Pitt starts shortly after Oklahoma State kicks off in Stillwater, but this could be a big one for Neal Brown and Co. Both teams enter the Backyard Bowl at 1-1 after West Virginia fell to Penn State and Pitt fell to Cincy.

BYU and Arkansas also could be fun. The Cougars’ 14-0 win against Sam Houston in Week 1 wasn’t overly convincing, but BYU handled Southern Utah 41-16 last weekend. Meanwhile, Arkansas beat Kent State 28-6 last week, the same Kent State team that UCF beat 56-6 in Week 1. It could be a big win for the Big 12 should the Cougars knock off the Razorbacks.

Saturday Selections

No. 14 LSU at Mississippi State — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN
Minnesota at No. 20 North Carolina — 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
No. 8 Washington at Michigan State — 4 p.m. on Peacock
No. 11 Tennessee at Florida — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
Colorado State at No. 18 Colorado — 9 p.m. on ESPN

Honestly, there aren’t a ton of overly hyped games this weekend, so my TV will probably be locked onto Big 12 action. But I tried to find a game in each timeslot outside of the Big 12 worth discussing.

Coming off a disappointing Week 1 loss to Florida State, LSU throttled Grambling 72-10 this past week. Meanwhile, Mississippi State is 2-0 entering this early season SEC West matchup. Should LSU stumble in Stark Vegas, it’s going to get loud in Baton Rouge.

North Carolina has a projected Top 5 pick at quarterback, but the Tar Heels struggled with an always-stingy Appalachian State team last week, going to two overtimes before winning 40-34. UNC will be tested with a 2-0 Minnesota team that the Tar Heels should beat, but if they fool around like last week, it could get interesting.

Washington has looked like a Pac-12 contender through two weeks, winning by an average of 35 points a game, but the Huskies hit the road for the first time in 2023 this week. And the vibes in East Lansing are … unusual right now with coach Mel Tucker suspended following a sexual harassment claim. And the Spartans are 2-0, winning by an average of 27.5 points a game. Can Sparty rally? Will things crumble? I have no clue, but I’m interested.

Tennessee appears to be a team on the rise in the SEC while the Gators have been on the decline over the past few years, but the Volunteers will have to prove their bonafides. Tennessee hasn’t won in Gainesville since 2003 (!!). Since the turn of the century, Tennessee is just 5-18 against Florida, but the Vols won last season’s meeting in Knoxville.

Lastly, the Prime show at Colorado has been must-see TV through two weeks. Colorado State might not have the brand power of TCU or Nebraska, but there are going to be a ton of eyes on the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Shedeur Sanders is an early Heisman favorite, and I’m interested to see whether the Buffaloes can keep answering the bell of this hype train.