Some things to watch in Week 3 of the Big 12 Conference season:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Texas Tech at No. 16 N.C. State. The Red Raiders are off to a 2-0 start for new coach Joey McGuire after a double-overtime victory at home over then-No. 25 Houston. Tech closes its non-conference schedule looking to win back-to-back games over ranked opponents for the first time since 2008.
Even after Donovan Smith replaced injured Tyler Shough as the starting quarterback, the Red Raiders lead the nation in passing at 441.5 yards per game. The ACC Wolfpack (2-0) have a defense filled with returning starters that has allowed only 11.5 points and 266.5 total yards per game.
BEST MATCHUP
UTSA sixth-year senior quarterback Frank Harris vs. Texas defense. A week after going against Heisman Trophy QB Bryce Young, who made a couple of late plays to help Alabama escape with a 20-19 win in Austin, the Longhorns face the national leader with 394.5 total yards per game.
Harris passed for 359 yards and three TDs when the Roadrunners rallied from a 14-point deficit to win in overtime at Army. They also went past regulation in their opener, losing to then-No. 24 Houston in triple OT.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Big 12 is 14-0 against unranked non-conference opponents, and has three losses to ranked teams by an average of 4.7 points … Kansas is 2-0 for the first time since 2011, and is 3-0 in their its against future Big 12 rival Houston, where the Jayhawks play Saturday. Their 55-42 OT win at West Virginia was sealed by a pick-six that provided the first 13-point OT win since Central Florida in 1998. … Eighth-ranked Oklahoma State is going for its 11th consecutive home victory, which would be a new school record. Their 10 in a row matches streaks set nine decades apart, in 2003 and 1913. … Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn had a Big 12-best 271 yards rushing, and has eight consecutive 100-yard games. That is two short of Darren Sproles’ school record of 10 in a row set in 2002 and 2003. … Baylor is averaging 11 penalties a game, which is tied with Houston for the most among FBS teams.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Xavier Hutchinson’s four touchdown catches are the most ever for an Iowa State player in the first two games of as season. The senior receiver has 19 catches for 226 yards. The Cyclones play Ohio (1-1), which has allowed eight TD passes and 351 yards per game through the air.
AN OLD RIVAL
Sixth-ranked Oklahoma (2-0) will play in Lincoln for the first time since 2009, when Nebraska was still in the Big 12. The Sooners and Huskers won or shared Big Seven/Big Eight titles in 44 of the conferences’ 48 seasons (1948-95). Oklahoma had already won seven Big 12 titles and Nebraska two before the Cornhuskers left for the Big Ten.
The Sooners have won 28 of their last 32 true road games, and scored at least 30 points in 36 of the last 37. The Huskers (1-2) are playing the first game since coach and former QB Scott Frost was fired. This will be new Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables’ first road game.
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