The Really Big Week 2 Thing Was …
The Big 12 newbies were certainly fired up – and they played like it.
Maybe the Big 12 knew what it was doing when it announced last week that BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF were coming aboard in the near future.
The hope is for all four to join by the 2023 season – BYU will, but the other three still have to work it out with the American Athletic Conference to leave before 2024 – but that didn’t stop all four schools to be jacked about the call up to the show.
They were the press releases these schools have waited years to send out, and they’re about to bring a renewed energy from the fans, alumni, and student body to a conference that was all but left for dead after Texas and Oklahoma decided to bolt for the SEC.
Normally, Iowa State losing at home to Iowa and Texas getting rocked by Arkansas would be a horrible look for the league – and it would get all of the my-conference-is-better-than-your-conference focus and chatter. The new guys helped carry the load for their new home.
Of course it was no big deal that UCF beat Bethune-Cookman, but it took out Boise State the week before.
Houston might have started out the season with a loss to future conference brother Texas Tech, but it came back to roll Rice 44-7.
Cincinnati keeps on moving up in the top ten after starting the season 2-0 by a total score of 91-21 – okay, so it took a while to wake up against Murray State – and now it’s fun time with Indiana and Notre Dame up next.
The big one was in Provo where BYU took down arch-rival Utah after starting the season with a win over Arizona.
Yeah, it was just one week and those four were supposed to go 3-1 at worst, but it was still a strong look for a conference that just turned a big corner.
– Army passing, Arkansas Winners & Losers
– Ohio State’s big loss: Most Overrated Thing
– Big Ten rises: Most Underrated Thing
– You wanted change? What It All Means, Week 2