The Big 12 earned its first slot in the College Football Playoff last year when Oklahoma went 11-2 including a league-best 8-1 record in conference play. The Sooners will look to pick up from where they left off with Baker Mayfield back to lead the way at the quarterback position and while they certainly have enough talent to repeat it won’t be easy with a strong cast of contenders looking to bump them out of that top spot. The lack of a Big 12 championship game will make taking care of business in non-conference games that much more important. Here is a look at the toughest non-conference game for the top Big 12 teams.
Oklahoma vs. Ohio State 9/17
It won’t take long for the Sooners to face one of their toughest challenges as they are scheduled to host Ohio State in their third game of the season. Oklahoma returns 14 starters from last year’s conference championship team including Mayfield but they will open the year against a dark horse playoff contender in Houston and then host the Buckeyes two weeks later. Those are two very difficult games for a team with high expectations this year so the Sooners will need to be focused and playing at a high level out of the gates in order to keep their playoff hopes from being derailed early on. If the Sooners want to convince everyone that they are a CFP contender next season, they will have to play well in this game and make a statement.
Oklahoma State – vs. Pittsburgh 9/17
The Cowboys opened last season with 10 straight wins before fading down the stretch with three consecutive losses but they will return 17 starters and the expectation is that they are ready to contend for a Big 12 title. Oklahoma State will play its first three games in Stillwater and that should help them out of the gate. The home field advantage will certainly be important for a week three showdown with Pittsburgh as the Panthers are coming off an 8-5 season with some talented players that will give the Cowboys a tough challenge.
Baylor – vs. SMU 9/10
Baylor has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons off the field this offseason but in terms of football talent, they will undoubtedly return a roster capable of contending for a Big 12 championship. That’s on paper, though, as we’ll have to see how things play out after all of the changes. Head coach Art Briles was fired on Thursday, which means a lot of things could be different on the sidelines. Remember that he rebuilt this program and made them relevant once again, so not having him is going to hurt. It’s unclear just how far this team might fall without him. Beyond that, the general moral of the team right now is pretty low. This might be something that this team never overcomes. However, it might be a rallying point for them as well.
Regardless, when you’re talking about what has to happen on the field, Seth Russell will need to stay healthy and perform at a high level. It should help that the Bears have one of the easier schedules among the top contenders in the conference. Baylor will certainly face some tough challenges in the Big 12 but they should be able to take care of business against Northwestern State, SMU and Rice to complete their non-conference slate. The Mustangs should be improved in Chad Morris’ second season so a meeting with SMU on September 10th should be the toughest non-conference game for the Bears.
TCU – vs. Arkansas 9/10
The Horned Frogs have certainly learned the importance of playing a tougher non-conference schedule after being left out of the inaugural College Football Playoff so they upgraded their slate with a September 10th meeting versus Arkansas as the toughest matchup. TCU loves to attack with the vertical passing game in the Air Raid offense while the Razorbacks love to pound the rock so it should make for an intriguing clash of styles in a key game for both programs.
