Everyone plays everyone in the Big 12, thanks to the conference’s round-robin football philosophy.
Not all schedules are created equal, though, as the 2020 schedule released Tuesday illustrated.
Consider TCU, which has its conference schedule basically reduced to one testing four-game stretch. From Oct. 24 to Nov. 14, the Horned Frogs play at Baylor, host Oklahoma and Iowa State and travel to Texas — the four top teams in the conference right now.
Here are some other takeaways from the schedule reveal:
The Red River Showdown gets an Oct. 10 date from the Cotton Bowl. Question: who will be Oklahoma’s quarterback following Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts? And is that person on the current roster?
The Texas Tech-Baylor series, which exited AT&T Stadium after the 2018 season, will be a Thursday game in Lubbock on Oct. 15. Texas Tech also hosts Texas (Oct. 24) and Oklahoma (Nov. 28) and will have seven home games overall, its most since 2009.
The Bedlam Series, which had been a late-season staple in November or December, will be played in October for the first time since 2004. Oklahoma State travels to Oklahoma on Oct. 24.
The flip of the schedule isn’t kind to Baylor, which has to travel to Oklahoma, Texas and Iowa State next season after hosting the three this season. The Bears and Kansas will open conference play early, with a Sept. 12 meeting in Waco, the first of three consecutive home games for the Bears.
Looking for some closing drama? The closing schedule on Saturday, Nov. 28 includes West Virginia at Iowa State, Oklahoma at Texas Tech, K-State at Baylor, Texas at Oklahoma State and TCU at Kansas. Two of those games will be moved to Friday, Nov. 27.
Texas
(For schedule analysis from college contributor Alex Briseno, click here)
Sept. 5 – vs South Florida
Sept. 12 – at LSU
Sept. 19 – vs UTEP
Sept. 26 – Bye Week
Oct. 3 – at Kansas State
Oct. 10 – vs. Oklahoma (Cotton Bowl – Dallas, TX)
Oct. 17 – vs West Virginia
Oct. 24 – at Texas Tech
Oct. 31 – vs Baylor
Nov. 7 – at Kansas
Nov. 14 – vs TCU
Nov. 21 – vs Iowa State
Nov. 28 – at Oklahoma State
Dec. 5 – Big 12 Championship (AT&T Stadium –– Arlington, TX)
Texas Tech
(For schedule analysis from college contributor Brice Paterik, click here)
Sept. 5 – at UTEP
Sept. 19 – Arizona
Sept. 26 – at Iowa State
Oct. 3 – West Virginia
Oct. 15 – Baylor
Oct. 24 – Texas
Oct. 31 – at Oklahoma State
Nov. 7 – at Kansas State
Nov. 14 – Kansas
Nov. 21 – at TCU
Nov. 28 – Oklahoma
Oklahoma
(For schedule analysis from college contributor Spenser Davis, click here)
Sept. 5: Missouri State
Sept. 12: Tennessee
Sept. 19: BYE
Sept. 26: at Army
Oct. 3: Baylor
Oct. 10: Texas (Neutral site)
Oct. 17: at Iowa State
Oct. 24: Oklahoma State
Oct. 31: at TCU
Nov. 7: at West Virginia
Nov. 14: Kansas State
Nov. 21: Kansas
Nov. 28: at Texas Tech
Baylor
(For schedule analysis from college contributor Selby Lopez, click here)
Sept. 5: Ole Miss (NRG Stadium – Houston)
Sept. 12: Kansas
Sept. 19: Incarnate Word
Sept. 26: Louisiana Tech
Oct. 3: at Oklahoma
Oct. 10: BYE
Oct. 15: at Texas Tech
Oct. 24: TCU
Oct. 31: at Texas
Nov. 7: Oklahoma State
Nov. 14: at Iowa State
Nov. 21: at West Virginia
Nov. 28: Kansas State
TCU
(For schedule analysis from college contributor Grant McGalliard, click here)
Sept. 5 – at California
Sept. 12 – Prairie View A&M
Sept. 26 – at SMU
Oct. 3 – Oklahoma State
Oct. 10 – at West Virginia
Oct. 17 – Kansas State
Oct. 24 – at Baylor
Oct. 31 – Oklahoma
Nov. 7 – Iowa State
Nov. 14 – at Texas
Nov. 21 – Texas Tech
Nov. 28 – at Kansas