LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Lance Leipold saw enough of Missouri playing on television the night before his Jayhawks opened their own season with a romp over lower-level Long Island University that he could confidently deliver an obvious message to his team afterward.
“We know,” Leipold said, “it's going to be a lot different test Friday night.”
That's because the Tigers were just as impressive in rolling past Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their season opener.
Indeed, the latest edition of the Border War between former Big 12 rivals Kansas and Missouri is one of several high-profile matchups involving the league this weekend. And in almost every case, they are games that will represent a big step up in the level of competition after the majority of the Big 12 put up some gaudy Week 1 numbers in lopsided blowouts over inferior opponents.
The Jayhawks rolled to a 51-6 win over the Sharks. Down the road, Kansas State blew out Nicholls 71-3 in the debut of new coach Collin Klein. Arizona State and UCF also hit the 70-point mark in wins over Morgan State and Bethune-Cookman, respectively, giving the Big 12 three of the five Football Bowl Subdivision teams to reach that barrier last week.
Good luck coming close to that prolific offensive output this weekend.
The Jayhawks lost to the Tigers last season in lopsided fashion, and Missouri just might be even better this year. The Wildcats step up to play Washington State, which had Washington on the ropes. Arizona State plays Texas A&M while UCF has Pittsburgh.
Elsewhere, Utah moves on from its 66-14 blowout of Idaho to play Arkansas in another Big 12-SEC showdown. Iowa State, which put away Southeast Missouri State, prepares for its biggest rival in Iowa. Texas Tech goes from Abilene to Oregon State in the second week of the season, and Oklahoma State — still smarting from a loss to Tulsa — has to deal with Oregon now.
“It's really easy to lead when things are going well and good,” first-year Cowboys coach Eric Morris said. “It's hard to lead when things aren't going well, and you get punched in the mouth like that. It's on me to get us back collectively and regroup.”
It's critical not just for Oklahoma State but for the league in general.
The depth and strength of the Big Ten and SEC give those power conferences a big advantage when it comes to qualifying teams for the 12-team College Football Playoff. Of the seven at-large bids handed out by the selection committee last year, none went to the Big 12, leaving only conference champion Texas Tech to fly the flag on behalf of the league.
The SEC had four at-large picks, the Big Ten had two and the Atlantic Coast Conference had the remaining choice in Miami.
In other words, weekends like this coming one are of paramount importance for the Big 12, giving the league a chance to flex its own muscles with seven head-to-head matchups against its power conference brethren. And they are even more important given the Big 12 has already lost two such games: North Carolina beat TCU and Auburn beat Baylor.
The league's coaches know what's at stake, too. It's why Leipold was so quick to move from a lopsided win over Long Island right into Missouri, and UCF coach Scott Frost had a message for his team — with Pittsburgh on deck — after beating Bethune-Cookman.
“You know, I told the team after the game, we can’t go patting ourselves on the back for this. This is just what they're supposed to do,” Frost said. "We have a really big test next week.”
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