The season is upon us and the Big 12 Conference begins with all 16 teams in action: four games on Thursday, August 29, one game on Friday, August 30, and the remaining teams playing on Saturday, August 31.
It is the first season for the Big 12 after longtime members Oklahoma and Texas moved to the SEC. As replacements, four teams from the Pac-12 Conference will join the Big 12 in 2024 – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. That’s after four more teams joined in 2023: UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston.
Here’s a look at all 16 games of Week 1 with picks for each individual game (all times EST):
Thursday, August 29
New Hampshire at UCF (7 p.m., ESPN+): This is the first time we’ve seen former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson in a UCF uniform after playing for the Razorbacks for the past three seasons.
Lindenwood at No. 22 Kansas (8 p.m., ESPN+): Serious question – considering how many injuries he’s suffered over the past two seasons, do you think the Jayhawks should even let starting quarterback Jadon Daniels play against Lindenwood? Would it be wiser to let Daniels make his season debut at Illinois on September 7th 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: quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. Still, something seems off. The Buffs aren’t taking North Dakota State seriously, despite the Bison being ranked No. 2 in the FCS preseason top 25 and stumbling in Week 1. Final score: 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 tall order. Just like with the Kansas vs. Lindenwood game, we ask the question… should Utah quarterback Cam Rising even play in this game or should he wait and make his debut on Sept. 7 against Baylor? Why risk the injury? Final score: Utah 51, Southern Utah 10
Friday, August 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, although Stanford is expected to finish last in its first season in the ACC. However, we’re not sure TCU is much better than the team that went 5-7 in 2023. Final score: TCU 30, Stanford 20
Saturday, August 31
No. 8 Penn State at West Virginia (12 p.m., Fox, PSU -8.5, O/U 51.5): Could be the best game of week one and the biggest upset if West Virginia pulls it off. Either way…take the over! Final score: 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 against South Dakota State, the two-time defending FCS champion and No. 1 team in the preseason FCS Top 25. Final score: 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 whether they will win a game in the Big 12 this year. Final score: Cincinnati 30, Towson 3
North Dakota at Iowa State (3:30 p.m., FS1, ISU -27.5): North Dakota, one of many teams ranked in the FCS preseason Top 25 that will face Big 12 opponents in the season opener, has one of the toughest games ahead. Iowa State returns all but two of last season’s starters and probably should have been ranked in the preseason. Final score: 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 the game worth watching. Expect Johnson, DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards to put in a great performance early on. Hopefully Johnson gets a few chances to prove himself and show off his arm. Final score: Kansas State 40, Tennessee-Martin 10
Tarleton State at Baylor (7:00 p.m., ESPN+, Baylor -26.5): Baylor will face a tougher test than expected from Tarleton State, which is ranked 21st in the preseason FCS Top 25 rankings. We want to see new Baylor quarterback Dequan Finn clean up in his Power Four debut after three seasons of dominating the competition for Toledo in the MAC. Final score: 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 is projected 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 score: UNLV 28, Houston 20
Abilene Christian at Texas Tech (7:30 p.m., ESPN+, Texas Tech -33.5): This is your introduction to the United Athletic Conference, a mix of teams left over from the Atlantic Sun and WAC that includes Abilene Christian. Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, check out Texas Tech to see how they’re integrating freshman wide receiver Micah Hudson from the start. He’s something special. Final score: Texas Tech 43, Abilene Christian 10
Southern Illinois at BYU (8 p.m., ESPN+, BYU -14.5): Another preseason top-25 FCS team travels to a Big 12 team – Southern Illinois is ranked 11th. It’s pretty odd that BYU is only favored by 14.5 points. That tells us the bookies probably don’t think the Cougars will be very good this season. Final score: 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 big lead in a 35-31 home loss to FCS Montana State. Now they’ll have a tough time against Arizona, one of the Big 12 favorites. Final score: Arizona 50, New Mexico 14
Wyoming at Arizona State (10:30 p.m., FS1, ASU -6.5, O/U 48.5): That’s hard to predict. Arizona State is expected to finish at the bottom of the Big 12. Wyoming is expected to finish in the middle of the Mountain West. Final score: Arizona State 28, Wyoming 24
