RR Ralphie Report: Big 12 Recap: Week one’s biggest winners and loser

[RSSBot]

Photo by Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

How did Colorado’s new conference-mates fair this week?

Colorado’s first week back in the Big 12 has finally concluded, and it had its ups and downs. The Buffs managed to escape a close North Dakota State by a score of 31-21, which is a little too close for comfort.

You probably already knew that though. How did Colorado’s new conference opponents fair during week one? Let’s break down the Big 12’s biggest winners and losers!

Winner: Utah (49-0 win over Southern Utah)

The Utes are back to full strength and they looked scary. Cam Rising torched the Thunderbirds for 254 yards and FIVE (!!!) touchdowns in one half before getting pulled in the second quarter. Utah Tight End Brant Kuithe finished the game with three touchdowns, including one of the crazier plays from week one when he bulldozed three grown men to find the endzone.

Try to tackle Brant Kuithe challenge (impossible) pic.twitter.com/B9Ut4Iffjw

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) August 30, 2024​

Loser: Texas Tech (52-51 OT win over Abilene Christian)

Uhhhhhh Texas Tech? You guys alright? How the hell do you allow a middle-of-the-pack FCS team to drop 51 points on your head?

Playing ATROCIOUS pass defense is how, as Abilene Christian quarterback Maverick McIvor threw for 503 yards and three touchdowns against the Red Raiders. The only reason ACU lost this game is because they went for two to win the game in OT and didn’t convert.

If week one is any indication, it’s gonna be a LONG season in Lubbock. If an FCS quarterback can beat the TTU secondary this bad, imagine what Shedeur Sanders will do when the Buffs head to northern Texas in November.

Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images

Winner: Kansas (49-3 win over Lindenwood)

Kansas got a ton of hype before the season and proved they’re the real deal against Lindenwood last Thursday. The Jayhawks’ run game trampled over Lindenwood, as three separate running backs found the endzone for KU, including two touchdowns from star RB Devin Neal. Kansas’ highly-touted secondary also made their presence known when cornerback Mello Dotson undercut a route for a 33-yard pick-six.

What's more electric than a @MelloDotson pick six pic.twitter.com/bPKCtKl70m

— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) August 30, 2024​

Loser: West Virginia (32-12 loss to Penn State at home)

Morgantown showed out for the Mountaineers this weekend. Pat McAfee and Big Noon Kickoff invaded the WVU campus and students packed the crowd at both shows. What was their reward? Watching their team roll over and die against the Nittany Lions.

This team was 9-4 last season. Many media members had them picked as their Big 12 sleeper team. Now, WVU fans are calling for head coach Neal Brown’s job and begging for Dana Holgersen to come back. It’s looking like “The Climb” shtick that Brown’s been selling is starting to lose its luster.

Not many people expected the Mountaineers to beat PSU, but scoring only one touchdown in garbage time? C’mon guys, you’ve gotta do better than that...

Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Winner: Oklahoma State (42-20 win over South Dakota State)

Mike Gundy and company rolled the dice and brought the FCS powerhouse Jackrabbits down to Stillwater to open their season, and the Cowboys barely even broke a sweat. Superstar running back Ollie Gordon balled out, rushing for 104 yards on 27 carries and three total touchdowns. Alan Bowman also threw for 287 yards and three tuddies.

This Jackrabbits team is very good. The fact that the Pokes won by such a convincing margin makes them look scary, especially after the Buffs had trouble putting away NDSU on Thursday.

Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Loser: Houston (7-27 loss to UNLV)

The Big 12 officially has its bottom-dweller for 2024.

Willie Fritz is in his first season coaching the Coogs and they got ravaged by the portal this offseason, so this outcome isn’t that shocking. Houston was never going to be good this year, but getting blown out by UNLV is a bad look.

I know UNLV was “good” last season, but we are still talking about a relatively mediocre Mountain West school here. Unfortunately, the Buffs and Coogs don’t play each other this season. What a shame.

Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Winner: Arizona State (48-7 win over Wyoming)

Wyoming has a brand new head coach and offensive coordinator, but the Sun Devils’ 41-point beatdown on the Cowboys was pretty damn impressive. ASU had five running backs with six or more carries and ran over Wyoming, finishing with 241 yards on the ground. Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt looked promising at quarterback, and the Sun Devils came away with two picks.

Perhaps Arizona State’s rebuild under Kenny Dillingham is progressing faster than we anticipated. Who knows, maybe the Sun Devils can make some noise in the Big 12 this season?

Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Loser: Iowa State (21-3 win over North Dakota)

This was supposed to be a big year for Matt Campbell and the Cyclones, but only scoring 21 points against North Dakota is concerning. North Dakota is not good and you’ve gotta be able to score more than three touchdowns against a bad FCS team. ISU got a bunch of preseason hype and this performance isn’t super encouraging.

Maybe Iowa’s offensive ineptitude traveled 136 miles west to Ames after the Hawkeyes finally fired Brian Ferentz.

Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images

Winner: Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona Wildcats)

Ten catches, 304 yards, and four touchdowns for the Arizona Wildcats wide receiver and preseason All-American. My lord, now THAT’s a stat line.

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

Loser: Everyone on Arizona other than McMillan (61-39 win over New Mexico)

Hear me out on this one. I know that putting a team that dropped a 60-piece in the “big loser” category sounds pretty rich, but I know what I saw out of Arizona this week.

You allowed New Mexico, who lost to FCS Montana State last week, to put up 39 points against your “elite” defense? That’s a problem! The score at halftime was 24-27 in U of A’s favor, so those weren’t garbage time points either.

Noah Fifita threw a pretty bad pick and essentially refused to throw receivers who aren’t named Tetairoa McMillan the ball. Arizona’s second-leading receiver had only three catches for 29 yards.

I know this was Brent Brennan’s first game as head coach with the Wildcats, but throwing to TMac every single play isn’t a recipe for success. Their very one-dimensional offense is going to get exploited fast if they can’t figure it out.

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

---

Honorable Mentions:

• UCF beats New Hampshire 57-3

The Knights rushed for 454 yards and five touchdowns, which is very impressive, but this game wasn’t that great for UCF. Transfer QB KJ Jefferson struggled while reading UNH’s secondary and looked questionable at best, hence why the Knights aren’t listed as one of this week’s big winners.

• TCU beats Stanford 34-27

Nice win for the Frogs here. Quarterback Josh Hoover looked promising and three receivers had more than 85 yards. TCU seems like they’re back on track after a tough 2023.

• Kansas State beats UT Martin 41-6

Kansas State is as advertised; very good at football. Quarterback Avery Johnson looked a little rusty, but he shaped up as the game went on. Running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards (urg, wish he would’ve stayed in Boulder) played well. The Wildcats should rival Utah for the Big 12 title this season.

by RylandScholes
Continue reading...