August 27, 2012
Here is part four of my ultimate road trip for the 2012 college football season. Time to hit all 10 Big 12 stadiums. Enjoy.
9/1 - Skip this week - I normally give you a few bonus weeks where I can, but the opening week in the Big 12 is awful. There are four games with FCS schools, a bye week, a game at UTEP and these beauties: Tulsa @ Iowa State, SMU @ Baylor, Marshall @ WVU and Wyoming @ Texas.
9/8 - Miami @ Kansas State (bonus week) -It’s not every year that the U visits the land of Dorothy, Toto and Bill Snyder. Manhattan should be rocking.
9/15 - TCU @ Kansas -This will be the first Big 12 conference game ever for TCU. They were once league mates with Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas in the SWC, but this will be a new yearly match-up. It is also Charlie Weis’s first game as the Jayhawks head coach.
9/22 - Kansas State @ Oklahoma (bonus game) -The Wildcats are expected to be 3-0 entering this game (provided the U doesn’t ruin the party on September 8th). OU has its sights on Miami and the national title game. The Sooners have won five straight meetings by an average of 22 points per game. Other options for this week if expect another OU romp are Virginia @ TCU and Maryland @ WVU.
9/29 - Texas Tech @ Iowa State - The Cyclones shocked the world last year with their November upset of Oklahoma State. They parlayed that into their 2nd bowl bid in six years. If they want to go bowling again, they must win games like this. That is likely easier said than done here. Tech brings back 17 starters and wants to avenge a 41-7 loss to the Cyclones last season.
10/6 - Kansas @ Kansas State -I know it isn’t basketball, but it is still an in-state rivalry, and now that Kansas won’t be playing Missouri, this will be the biggest rivalry game they play.
10/13 - Texas vs. Oklahoma (bonus game) - This one is only listed as a bonus game because it is a neutral site game. However, this is a must in the Big 12. It is a midseason bowl game with a state fair outside. Get yourself a deep fried anything and enjoy a college football tradition.
10/20 - Texas Tech @ TCU - These two teams have played 54 times, but they have met only twice since the death of the SWC. With a loaded back end of the Horned Frogs schedule, this game will be huge for TCU. It will be TCU’s first league game against a Texas based school other than SMU in a long time.
10/27 - Notre Dame @ Oklahoma -The Sooners are 1-8 all-time against the Fighting Irish. This would be the kind of road win the critics of ND don’t believe is possible any more. Other than annual in-state rivalries on Thanksgiving weekend, you won’t find a better non-league game this late in the season.
11/3 - Texas @ Texas Tech - It may be solely based on the mental image I have of Michael Crabtree setting off pandemonium in Lubbock in 2008, but I would love to check out this atmosphere. It clearly means more to Tech than to the Horns, but the natives will be beyond hostile.
11/10 - West Virginia @ Oklahoma State - This game is between two teams that each won a BCS game last season. With these two offenses, this has a chance to turn into a track meet awfully quick.
11/17 - Oklahoma @ West Virginia - Plenty of people nationwide looked down on Big East football as a whole. WVU did garner some national respect by defeating Clemson, OU and Georgia in BCS games. One thing the Big 12 will learn quickly is that Morgantown is not friendly to outsiders. Visiting teams beware. This home field advantage is no joke, and this is the biggest game on the home slate this season. If WVU wins, hide your couch.
11/24 - TCU @ Texas - It is a series that has been dominated by the Longhorns. the excitement here will be rekindling old conference ties. TCU has a brutal schedule the last 6 weeks of the season. Texas may have a BCS game in their sights on Thanksgiving weekend.
12/1 - Oklahoma State @ Baylor - If recent history is any indication, OSU’s offense will put on a real show. They have averaged over 45 points per game in the last five meetings. Baylor will be looking to wrap up their third consecutive bowl bid.
This season comes down to just a couple of games in the Big 12. The annual Red River Rivalry will determine the league champ, and the Sooners visit to Morgantown should be the difference between going undefeated and playing for the BCS title and another Fiesta Bowl bid. I see the Sooners running the table with Texas getting an at-large bid to the BCS.
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