We might be just two weeks into the college football season, but a rough start to the season looks like many different things. Some teams who were projected to do well might have started out 0-2, or some teams may have performed well against their easier opponents, but when a tougher opponent came into town, they folded.
Luckily for Kansas State, they are not in this boat even though they have shown a few struggles, they are 2-0 this season have no need to panic yet.
However, there are a couple of teams in the Big 12 that have a right to start panicking a bit based on how their first two weeks have gone. So here are two teams that have their hands on the panic button heading into Week 3.
This is one Kansas State fans will be happy to see on this list with the in-state rivalry going stronger than ever right now. Now, yes the Jayhawks had a solid win in Week 1, but let's face it, that was against Lindenwood, that is a team they should have beaten as much as they did.
After Week 1, some people were still pretty high on the Jayhawks, with a few even picking them to win the Big 12. A lot of people were fairly certain the Jayhawks were going to go into Illinois and come away with a win, but the Fighting Illini had other plans.
The Jayhawks lost to Illinois 23-17, but what is causing this team to have their hand on the panic button was how they lost. Quarterback Jalon Daniels threw just one interception in the three games he played in 2023 before going down with a season-ending injury. In Week 2 against Illinois, he threw three interceptions to bring his total to four on the season.
The other troubling part for the Jayhawks was their defense in Week 2. Kansas was projected to have one of the best defenses in the Big 12 bringing back a lot of their key players, but when they needed to get a stop toward the end of the game in order to not have to score a touchdown to win the game. Instead, they let Illinois work their way down the field into field goal range where the Fighting Illini made it a six-point game, forcing the Jayhawks to score a touchdown to win.
There are things the Jayhawks need to figure out, especially ahead of playing UNLV in Week 3, a team that played the Jayhawks tough in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl back in December.
Texas Tech definitely has its hand on the panic button with how they played in the first two weeks. After having to go to double overtime to get the win against Abilene Christian, the Red Raiders probably had their hand on the panic button even before Week 2.
In Week 2, the Red Raiders got s stomped by Washington State losing 37-16. The team was without star running back Tahj Brooks due to an arm injury, but that is where the question asked at the beginning of the season comes into play.
Can Texas Tech do it without Tahj Brooks? With the way they looked without Brooks, it seems like they can't. They showed they did not have the depth on the offense in order to find a way to win without him.
Texas Tech will face North Texas this weekend back at home, but after that, they start out Big 12 play against a surprisingly hot Arizona State team. As of right now, the Red Raiders are set to face three ranked opponents in Big 12 play, so they need to figure out something and something fast, or else panic will set in.