It’s nearly time for the 2024 college football season to get underway. Week 0 takes place this Saturday, while Week 1 for the Big 12, and the rest of college football starts the following week. For the Big 12, every game begins in Week 1, including some of the biggest non-conference games of the entire season.
With the Big 12 set to begin a new era with 16 teams, here are the Top 5 non-conference games to watch in the conference heading into the 2024 season.
1. West Virginia vs. Penn State (Aug. 31)
It’s Week 1 and it’s the Big Noon Kickoff game as the Big 12 begins a new era without its “blue bloods” in Oklahoma and Texas. The Big 12 will be looking to make a statement early, and there’s no better opportunity than in this West Virginia vs. Penn State game. West Virginia will be unranked, while Penn State sits in the Top 10. If West Virginia has a strong showing, and possibly pulls off the upset, it changes the narrative for the rest of the season across the Big 12, and possibly the rest of college football. The Mountaineers are coming off a nine-win campaign in 2023, but this team has been overlooked most of the offseason. A win in Week 1 would change that very quickly.
2. Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas (Sept. 7)
Frankly, this game comes in at No. 2 because the Cowboys just can’t lose it. Arkansas has a coach on the hot seat and is expected to finish near the bottom of the SEC. Meantime, Oklahoma State is one of the favorites to end up in Arlington for the Big 12 Championship. Mike Gundy has been notorious for some slow starts, but this year can’t be one of them. If Oklahoma State is competitive in the Big 12, it can’t be in a dog fight, or lose, to a likely SEC bottom feeder. I understand the “Any Given Saturday” mantra, but the Big 12 has a perception issue right now compared to the SEC and Big Ten, and it can’t give the haters a ton of ammunition to work with. A loss in this game by the Cowboys would do exactly that.
3. UCF vs. Florida (Oct. 5)
Meantime, UCF taking on Florida can be a game changer for the Big 12. UCF does not have the cache of a Florida, Miami or Florida State. And that’s fine and not yet deserved. But UCF might be one of the biggest sleeping giants in college football right now, and getting a win over an in-state rival like Florida would be an incredible way to start changing the narrative. Florida has one of the toughest schedules in the country (Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida State), but if UCF can catch the Gators trying to take a week off, the Knights have the ability to take care of business and put a feather in the Big 12 cap.
4. Iowa State vs. Iowa (Sept. 7)
For all of Matt Campbell’s success, this game has continued to be a thorn in his side. Campbell has beaten the Hawkeyes once during his time in Ames (2016). Paul Rhoads couldn’t win a Big 12 game to save his life, but beat Iowa three times in four seasons. Go figure. No one would trade Campbell’s track record for Rhoads’, but it’s still frustrating for Cyclone Nation. Iowa is ranked No. 25 in the preseason AP Poll, while Iowa State is receiving votes in the AP Poll. Expect another close game, but for the Big 12, getting the opportunities, and then beating teams from the perceived “Power 2” conferences in the SEC and Big Ten carry extra weight this season.
5. Colorado vs. Nebraska (Sept. 7)
It’s an early-season match up between two teams who hope to be the “surprise” team in their conference. Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes beat Nebraska last year, but Matt Rhule is a program-builder and will have his team better in Year 2 than it was in Year 1. For Deion, it could set the tone for his program early in the season. And for the Big 12 Conference, having one of your projected middle-of-the-pack teams beat a Big Ten middle-of-the-pack team will help build the Big 12’s case as a conference that may not be as top heavy as the Big Ten and SEC, but has the competitive depth from top to bottom.
