A weekly spotlight of must watch Big 12 teams and players heading into Week 2

Lincoln Riley and OU looked dominant. Harry How/Getty Images

The Big 12 did not disappoint in week 1, as six of its nine teams who hit the field were victorious. Not to mention, four of those victories concluded with the Big 12 representative scoring over 50 points. The title of most impressive team from Week 1 would have to go to the University of Oklahoma, as they dominated Florida Atlantic 63-14. For the second straight season, the University of Texas lost to a non-descript Maryland team, starting of Year 2 of the Tom Herman era with an unfortunate setback. Now that Week 1 has come and gone, lets take a look at what is in store for Week 2.

Must watch games Week 2

Oklahoma vs. UCLA: The first must watch game of this coming weekend of college football is Oklahoma vs UCLA. As I mentioned earlier, Oklahoma played a nearly perfect game on their way to lighting up the scoreboard and making an early statement to the nation and all their sceptics. First year starting quarterback Kyler Murray lived up to expectations and flashed his next level, playmaking ability, which had been sidelined for the last two seasons. Also, running back Rodney Anderson picked up right where he left off in 2017 with an unbelievably efficient performance of 100 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 5 carries. UCLA on the other hand fell short in a tough loss to a talented Cincinnati team, but I would expect that outcome to only raise their intensity as they head into what is all or nothing game for the Bruins if they want to hold onto any hope of a championship run. This matchup will be another good test for a talented Oklahoma team that will most likely be fighting all season to prove themselves worthy of comparison to powerhouse teams and title contenders like Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia.

Iowa State vs. Iowa: The second game I recommend keeping an eye on will be Iowa State vs. Iowa. The Cyclones will have a tough test in front of them this coming week, not only because of Hawkeye team they will be lining up against, but also because their first game of the season was canceled due to inclement weather not even halfway into the first quarter. While the University of Iowa will have the advantage of entering into this Week 2 showdown with a solid victory over Northern Illinois under their belt, the Iowa State players will be experiencing their first significant amount of game action, which could be a very big difference maker. With that said, Iowa State is known to be a team that plays up to its competition and does not shy away from a challenge, which was evident in 2017 when they upset three top 25 ranked opponents. Also, you can always count on both teams bringing their best to the field during an in-state rivalry game such as this one.

Tulsa at Texas: The Longhorns should bounce back from their opening loss with a get-right game against Tulsa. The next four games are USC, TCU, Kansas State and Oklahoma, so this is an important game for Texas to work out their Game 1 issues on both sides of the ball.

Big 12 players to watch Week 2

Iowa State RB David Montgomery: My No.1 Big 12 player to watch going into week 2, is Iowa State standout running back David Montgomery. The talented back ran for almost 900 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2017 while only playing in nine games for the Cyclones. Montgomery will play a key role this coming week when his team will have to face the always stout Iowa hawkeyes defense. If Montgomery is able to consistently move the down markers and draw the defenses focus, it will go a long way in helping his team get a big win against their in-state rivals.

TCU QB Shawn Robinson: Another exciting player to have your eye on in week 2 is TCU's dual threat quarterback. Robinson lit up the stat sheet last week with 5 total touchdowns, 3 of which came through the air and 2 on the ground. Robinson will have a chance to have another eye opening performance in Week 2, as TCU will face off against an SMU defense that gave up 46 points to the University of North Texas and quarterback Mason Fine. Robinson looks to be a star on the rise in 2018, and could begin to draw national attention if he continues his hot start.

Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown

My final spotlight player heading into Week 2 is Oklahoma deep threat receiver Marquise Brown. While a lot of attention has been given to Murray and Anderson, Brown reminded everyone of his scary playmaking ability after averaging 22 yards per-reception in Week 1. Brown is an obvious favorite target for Murray and will look to take the top off of the UCLA defense next week. While the defense will be forced to respect the dangerous Oklahoma running attack, Brown could make easy work of whoever has the unfortunate responsibility of trying to contain the dangerous playmaker.

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Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.

For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.

“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”

Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”

Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.

“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”

Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.

“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”

The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.

Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”

Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.

“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”

Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.

Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.

Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.

“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.