Big 12 Storylines Week Two

Week two in the Big 12 brought upsets to teams that are looking to turn around their once prominent programs and challenge for a spot in a Bowl game this season. It also showed us a team that is just not ready for prime time yet.

Colorado, Iowa State, and Kansas State are all looking to get back to where their programs were at the beginning of this decade. There were Bowl games, spots in the Big 12 championship game and solid recruiting classes. Now they are all just looking for a chance at a Bowl invitation. The good news for all three teams is they play in the Big 12 North division and not the loaded South.

Colorado suffered another loss, this time at Toledo where the Buffaloes were never really in the game, losing 54-38. The Buffs have now started the season 0-2, which is not where Buffs coach Dan Hawkins wants to be with his job said to be on the line. Heading into the Big 12 season that means Colorado needs to finish over .500 in league play to receive a Bowl bid. Starting the season with two losses is bad enough, but what is worse for Hawkins and his team is that there will be a cloud over the program the rest of the season as the losses mount and the call for Hawkins job become louder.

Iowa State went into their rivalry game hoping to knock off Iowa and head into the Big 12 schedule with some confidence. Instead they were blown out at home 35-3 to an Iowa team that struggled to beat Northern Iowa last week at home. The expectations were not that great when the season started for the Cyclones, and after a loss like this at home the expectations will be even less heading into their Big 12 schedule.

Kansas State hoped that by hiring Dan Snyder they would be bringing back the glory days. Well after two games the results are less than what they expected. The Wildcats barely squeaked by UMass at home last week, and followed that up this week by being upset by Louisiana-Lafayette 17-15. What is worse is that they have only scored five touchdowns in there first two games against these two teams. What is going to happen when they face the defenses in the Big 12?

Missouri followed their impressive win over rival Illinois with a shaky performance against Bowling Green at home. The Tigers fell behind 20-3 before scoring the last 24 points of the game to win 27-20. There will be games like this for the Tigers after losing so much talent and leadership from last season.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys went into this season with national title and Big 12 title hopes. Well the Big 12 title is still out there, but if the Cowboys play like they did in their home loss to Houston 45-35, then they will not even sniff the Big 12 South Division title. After playing a solid game at home last week against Georgia, Oklahoma State could not stop the high powered offense of the Cougars. Houston jumped out to a 24-7 lead, fell behind in the fourth quarter, but scored the last two touchdowns of the game for the victory. This season was going to come down to new coordinator Bill Young’s defense. If they played well the Cowboys would finally have a chance to play for championships, if not it would be another Holiday Bowl appearance. Well after last weeks performance Young will have to get it turned around in a hurry or San Diego will be calling Oklahoma State again this season.

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By Robert Konis
Big 12 Fans Texas Longhorns Correspondent

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