Big 12 football: 3 must-watch games for week 1

By far the biggest Week 1 game for a Big 12 team, the Texas Longhorns may be on upset alert. Can the Ragin’ Cajuns take down Texas?

While the Texas Longhorns are heavy betting favorites in Week 1, Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns are a serious threat to spoil the debut of head coach Steve Sarkisian’s.

Louisiana enters 2021 ranked 23rd in the AP Top 25, a feat for any Group of 5 schools. The ranking comes after a 2020 season that saw Louisiana have a 10-1 record, a bowl win, and ranked 15th in the AP’s final poll.

Head coach Billy Napier has never had a losing season in Lafayette, and 2021 does not look to be the first such season. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ strong offensive line looks to protect quarterback Levi Lewis, who throws to an experienced receiving corps for Louisiana.

On the Texas side, they enter the season ranked 21st in the AP Top 25, following a 7-3 2020 season. The Longhorns, like the Ragin Cajuns’, earned a bowl win and ended the year 19th on the AP poll. Sarkisian comes to Austin following two years as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. Going from coaching Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama to freshman quarterback Hudson Card will have some growing pains, which may play into the Week 1 result.

The Longhorns’ offensive attack may lean heavily on sophomore running back Bijan Robinson. He averaged a staggering 8.2 yards per carry in 2020, and looks to continue his success against Louisiana, who fielded a mediocre run defense in 2020. The Texas offense vs. Ragin’ Cajun defense matchup will be key, as Louisiana returns 10 starters from 2020 and the Longhorns have a new quarterback and coaching staff at the helm.

The matchup is not terribly close according to predictions, but the possibility of Texas losing is too hard to ignore.

A Texas loss here would certainly put the program in a bad spot, especially after announcing their impending move to the SEC. If the Ragin’ Cajuns pull off the upset, that would make a lot of Big 12 fans happy and start more chatter across the college football landscape.