Colorado head coach Deion Sanders directs his team during the first half of an NCAA spring college football game, Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) — It’s over in the Big 12. The hype about the preseason started and then died down again.
Now it’s time for the realigned conference, which saw longtime members Oklahoma and Texas replaced by Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and Colorado in the latest round of college football’s “Musical Chairs” competition, to prove its worth on the field.
The newcomers don’t have it easy right from the start.
Let’s start with the Sun Devils, who face Wyoming on Saturday, which makes an annual bowl appearance and won nine games last year. The Cowboys’ season ended with a win over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl, the home of the No. 21 Wildcats.
Arizona, on the other hand, has an easier opener against New Mexico and plays Northern Arizona the following week, but then things get tough quickly as they move on to a non-conference game against a new conference rival, No. 18 Kansas State.
No. 12 Utah will first play Southern Utah before, like Arizona, getting a non-conference game against a Big 12 opponent. In the Utes’ case, it’s Baylor, which is trying to rebound from a three-win season but won 12 games a few years ago.
Then there’s Colorado, which may draw the most attention of all the newcomers not only because of its play – the Buffaloes won four games in their last season in the Pac-12 – but also because of its high-caliber coach. Deion Sanders is confident they will improve significantly this season, and they’ll have a chance to prove it right away against North Dakota State.
Although the Bison play at the Football Championship Subdivision level, they have won fewer than 11 games just once in the last 12 years, during which time they have beaten Big 12 schools Kansas State and Iowa State, as well as No. 13 Iowa of the Big Ten.
“They’re good. They’re really damn good,” Sanders said recently, “and I’m mad at (athletic director) Rick (George) right now because he put them on the schedule to play with them. Like, can you give me a layup or something? Those guys are wonderful.”
The Bison played in five of the last six FCS title games before losing in the semifinals last season.
“Their team has always been one of the best. A lot of guys on that team have qualified for higher leagues. These guys play their asses off. They play hard. They don’t make many mistakes. They’re used to winning,” Sanders said. “They don’t care if they’re at home or on the road. It doesn’t bother them at all.”
The quartet of freshmen — though Colorado is actually returning to the league after 13 years in the Pac 12 — aren’t the only ones facing a challenge right away. TCU hits the road to face Stanford, now a member of the ACC, while West Virginia may have the toughest task when it hosts No. 8 Penn State in town on Saturday night.
“I think the game against Penn State is huge for us,” said Mountaineers coach Neal Brown, whose job was already in question before they won nine games last season.
Additionally, it’s a great opportunity for the Big 12 to beat one of the best programs in the expanded Big Ten.
“You’re right,” Brown said, “it’s a big game for our league and this new Big 12 without a few schools that have been part of the Big 12 for a long time being able to show on a big stage this first weekend what kind of football we play in this league.”
Of course, there are other chances for standout wins outside of the conference. Take next week, for example: Iowa State plays No. 25 Iowa, No. 22 Kansas travels to Illinois and Colorado visits Nebraska in games against Big Ten opponents; Arkansas visits No. 17 Oklahoma State and Mississippi State visits Arizona State in Big 12-SEC showdowns; and Cincinnati plays ACC rival Pittsburgh.
Still, a win in Week 1 is significant for both West Virginia and the Big 12 as a conference.
“Whether West Virginia or another program in the Big 12 gets those kinds of top wins, our brand is going to continue to grow,” Brown said, “and we need to make a splash in the playoffs. I think Commissioner (Brett) Yormark talked about this: We’re the most competitive league. I would say we’re the football league with the strongest team in the country. But we have to keep going. TCU had a good run (in 2022), but once we’re in, we need to get more wins in the playoffs.”
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FILE – Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan lines up for a play during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak, File)
FILE – Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham speaks during the Big 12 NCAA College Football Media Days in Las Vegas, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier, File)
FILE – Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham speaks during the Big 12 NCAA College Football Media Days in Las Vegas, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier, File)
FILE – West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene runs past North Carolina defensive back Kaleb Cost during the first half of an NCAA college football game at Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 27, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
