This Week in the Big 12
Friday, September 6 Time
BYU at SMU (ESPN2) 6 p.m. CT/5 p.m. MDT
Saturday, September 7 Time
(No. 17/16) Kansas State at Tulane (ESPN) 11 a.m. CT
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (ESPN2) 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT
Arkansas at (No. 16/17) Oklahoma State (ABC) 11 a.m. CT
Baylor at (No. 11/11) Utah (FOX) 2:30 p.m. CT/1:30 p.m. MDT
Iowa State at (No. 21/21) Iowa (CBS) 2:30 p.m. CT
Albany at West Virginia (ESPN+) 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT
Sam Houston at UCF (ESPN+) 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT
(No. 19/20) Kansas at Illinois (FS1) 6 p.m. CT
Colorado at Nebraska (NBC) 6:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. MDT
Houston at (No. 15/13) Oklahoma (SECN) 6:45 p.m. CT
LIU at TCU (ESPN+) 7 p.m. CT
Texas Tech at Washington State (FOX) 9 p.m. CT
Northern Arizona at (No. 20/18) Arizona (ESPN+) 9 p.m. CT/ 7 p.m. MST
Mississippi State at Arizona State (ESPN) 9:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. MST
Conference News & Notes
• The Big 12 Conference posted a record of 14-2 in week one, which marked the second-highest winning percentage of any conference.
• The 87.5 winning percentage posted by the Big 12 in week one was higher than its all-time week one winning percentage (78.2%).
• Big 12 quarterbacks averaged 290.4 passing yards per game, which led all FBS conferences.
• The Big 12 had 13 of the 45 largest on-campus attendance figures last week.
• The Big 12 led all conferences with 11 players with 100+ receiving yards last week with Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan recording a nation-leading 304 yards vs. New Mexico, the second-most in Big 12 history.
• Colorado’s ESPN broadcast of the win over NDSU averaged 4.8 million viewers, peaking at 5.6 million. It was ESPN’s highest-rated Thursday opener in seven years and a 49% increase from last season.
• The Conference also hosted Big Noon Kickoff on FOX at West Virginia on Saturday after visiting Big 12 campuses four times during the 2023 season.
• Through week one of the season, seven of the nation’s top 10 leaders in receiving yards per game were from Big 12 institutions.
• Saturday’s Utah-Baylor matchup will not count as a conference game, due to it being originally scheduled as a non-conference game prior to Utah becoming a member of the Big 12 Conference. The non-conference game status will also apply to next week’s game between Arizona and Kansas State for identical reasons.
• The 2024 season will be the Big 12 Conference’s first as a 16-team league after the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah this summer. The Big 12 footprint now spans 10 states, four time zones and 90 million people as it begins its 29th football season.
• The Conference partnered with TuneIn, the world’s leader in live audio, to launch Big 12 Radio prior to week one. The new 24/7 Conference-branded audio station is now streaming to fans across the United States. The station includes Big 12 weekday sports talk, extensive Saturday game-day coverage, Big 12 school content and music programming. Additionally, listeners can access a ‘Game of The Week’ featuring gameday coverage from their Big 12 school’s local play-by-play broadcast team.
• The Big 12 Conference placed five teams in The Associated Press Preseason Top 25, which marked the first season with five ranked teams in the AP’s preseason poll since 2017. All five of those programs moved up into the top 20 in week two of the AP poll.
• The Big 12 boasts eight running backs who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, leading all conferences nationally. The group of running backs includes the reigning Doak Walker Award winner in Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II as well as three other backs who were in the top 10 in the nation in rushing in 2023.
• Big 12 Football was featured heavily in the nation’s preeminent Preseason All-American lists with Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State), Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) and Travis Hunter (Colorado) all receiving first team nods from multiple outlets. Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech), Brant Kuithe (Utah), Luke Kandra (Cincinnati), Joe Michalski (Oklahoma State), Tacario Davis (Arizona) and LaJohntay Wester (Colorado)earned Second Team Preseason All-American honors from national media.
• The national preseason award watchlists recognized dozens of student-athletes from the Big 12’s 16 schools as the league were among the leaders in a number of prestigious awards. Eight Big 12 quarterbacks were named to the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List, which tied for the most of any conference.
• Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy and Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham are both entering their 20th season at their respective institutions. The duo is tied for the second-longest active tenured coaches in the nation, trailing only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz who begins his 25th season with the Hawkeyes.
