Tulsa at Iowa State
Kickoff: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (FSN)
Spread: Tulsa by 1.5
Watchability: This game opened as a pick'em and is the best that the Big 12 has to offer in the opening weekend. All of the Hurricane's losses other than their bowl-game loss to Brigham Young came against ranked teams in 2011, so it's not shocking they're the favorite. Iowa State is expected to finish in the lower-half of the Big 12 but is one of those teams that could sneak into the top-half and it wouldn't be a shocker. Last time Tulsa's new QB Cody Green played Iowa State, he led Nebraska to a 31-30 OT win in 2010.
Shining stars: Tulsa: H-back Willie Carter became a star in 2011 -- 868 receiving yards and seven touchdowns -- and he is expected to take another step in 2012. "You better know where he's at," ISU coach Paul Rhoads said. Iowa State: LB A.J. Klein was the co-defensive player of the year in the Big 12 last year and will need to cover a lot of space against Tulsa's balanced offense.
Who could steal the show: Tulsa: Safety Dexter McCoil has a school-record 13 interceptions in his career and six in each of the last two seasons. Iowa State quarterbacks threw 17 interceptions in 2011. Iowa State: QB Steele Jantz won the starting job and now it's time to show why. The senior quarterback had his best performance early in 2011, tossing four touchdowns in an upset win over Iowa.
Magic number for Iowa State: 24. The Cyclones are 15-1 under Rhoads when holding opponents under 24 points and 3-19 when allowing 24 or more.
Magic number for Tulsa: 30. Tulsa was 8-1 last season when holding opponents to less than 30 points.
This game comes down to: Points. A low-scoring game would favor the Cyclones. Tulsa would prefer to get into a shootout. If it's close, give the edge to the Cyclones, who were 2-0 in overtime games last year and five of their six wins came by less than a touchdown.
Prediction: Iowa State 27, Tulsa 24
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big 12 bloggers C.J. Moore and Patrick Southern, follow @CBSSportsBig12 on Twitter.