The Big 12’s Ultimate Road Trip
Nov 17, 2012; Stillwater OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys team celebrate after the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Rowe-USA TODAY Sports
Destination: Boone Pickens Stadium. Fifteen weeks of Big 12 football is just days away and it is time to plan your road trip — at least, the road trip of your dreams.
The Big 12 has some enticing match-ups and tough choices to make for those intrepid enough to venture around the conference every week this autumn. Saturdays this season are prime for tailgating, yelling your throat sore and taking in some of the conference’s best games.
This guide has been created to bring you to most of the homes of the conference. Pack those bags and hit the road.
Only true home games — outside of Weeks One and Seven — were used to create your schedule.
Trip Notes:
The places you missed: West Virginia, Kansas and Iowa State. As much as I’d like to send you to Morgantown — considered a top destination in some circles of college football — the match-ups are just too tough to schedule a week of travel to West Virginia. Speaking from experience, Kansas and Iowa State do not offer much. But, you do at least get to see Iowa State play Kansas State following this itinerary.
Stillwater, Okla. isn’t the greatest place in the world but learn to love it: you will visit Boone Pickens Stadium more than any other venue on this trip. Oklahoma State could be in the top 10 a few weeks into the season and the Cowboys have some great games at home.
Visits by the numbers:
Oklahoma State – 4
Oklahoma – 2
TCU – 2
Texas – 2
Baylor – 1
Kansas State – 1
Texas Tech – 1 *Neutral – 2
Week 1:
TCU – LSU (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas)
Between this tasty game and Oklahoma State taking on Mississippi State in Houston, there just wasn’t much competition. AT&T Stadium is located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Arlington and makes for a great way to kick off your road trip.
Both teams enter ranked in the preseason polls and have a lot to prove in Week 1. TCU is returning its starting quarterback from a year ago and LSU’s Zach Mettenberger hopes to show more consistency than he did a year ago. Defense may reign supreme here, but ‘Jerry World’ will make a great host to get things going.
Week 2:
West Virginia at Oklahoma
The first of two trips to Norman, Okla. see the opening of conference play for both the Mountaineers and the Sooners.
WVU may not have Geno Smith at the helm, but the Mountaineers have something to prove after last year’s one-point loss in Morgantown. Can Blake Bell, the anticipated starting QB for OU, complete the necessary passes to help push the offense down the field against a West Virginia defense that struggled mightily last season?
Week 3:
TCU at Texas Tech
The drive to Lubbock, Texas is not pretty. There is not much to see or do on the way, regardless of the direction from which you come. However, if this one is anything like the 2012 installment, this will be well worth the miles logged.
The Red Raiders and Horned Frogs meet on a Thursday night. AT&T Jones Stadium is known for its raucous atmosphere for evening kickoffs. Tech needed three overtimes to upend the pesky Horned Frogs last year. This time around, TCU is out to prove it belongs near the top of the poll, to establish a foothold in the Big 12 race early.
Week 4:
Kansas State at Texas
Tensions in Austin may run high with regular thorn in UT’s side Bill Snyder visiting. The Wildcats handled last year’s meeting easily, 42-24.
Texas is out to stake its claim as the preeminent Big 12 program once more. David Ash has a chip on his shoulder, and the defending conference champion is a great opportunity for him to prove his value as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback.
You may want to find a comfortable hotel on this first swing through Austin and stick with it — you’ll be visiting twice more this season.
Week 5:
West Virginia at Oklahoma State
A lopsided, 55-34 loss to the Cowboys last year marked West Virginia’s fourth consecutive loss. This time around, Oklahoma State is the team to beat in the conference. Stillwater makes for a great early fall locale to take in a college football game.
Week 6:
TCU at Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s late season win at TCU a year ago helped the Sooners claim a share of the Big 12 title. Expect a similar, back-and-forth contest this season upon TCU’s first visit to Norman as a Big 12 member.
Both are projected highly in preseason conference polls. This is an opportunity for TCU to declare its place in the league championship race.
Week 7:
Oklahoma vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas)
Oct 13, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cheerleaders perform on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Texas Longhorns during the red river rivalry at the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma beat Texas 63-21. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
One cannot plan a Big 12 road trip without including a visit to the Texas State Fair and the Red River Shootout. Few rivalries have the same tradition, or the same pure hatred as this one. Everything about this series is iconic.
The Longhorns have been beaten down by the Sooners over the last few years. Texas hopes to exorcise those ghosts of routs past. Outside of the game, fair food is an added attraction and Dallas is host to some of the best college parties the nights before and after the game.
Week 8:
TCU at Oklahoma State
Due to TCU picking up Texas A&M’s schedule entering the conference, the Horned Frogs make a second consecutive trip to play at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys used a second half rally to pull ahead of the Horned Frogs and added late touchdowns to pull away in 2012.
This is another critical test to TCU’s championship aspirations. After suffering through perhaps its most disappointing effort of 2012 here last year, expect a four-quarter effort from Gary Patterson’s team this time around — and anticipate Mike Gundy having his Cowboys equally prepared when one of the conference’s best defenses and offenses collide.
Week 9:
Texas at TCU
The first trip to the newly renovated Amon G. Carter Stadium brings a rematch of last year’s Thanksgiving special. TCU shocked the Longhorns in Austin.
Only TCU’s date with LSU to open up the season has a higher resale value than this match-up, according to StubHub.
Week 10:
Iowa State at Kansas State
A Big 12 road trip would not be complete without visiting the Little Apple: Manhattan, Kan. K-State is the defending conference champion, so the Wildcats received the nod for this one over another trek to Norman for OU-Texas Tech. This week also provides road trippers their first (and only) glimpse at Iowa State.
Week 11:
Oklahoma at Baylor
Where Baylor will be position at this time of the year is anyone’s guess. The unlikely chance that they have one or two losses at this point makes this an exciting possibility. The Bears could be in a rebuilding year but so are the Sooners — at least, comparatively from where they are used to being.
Say goodbye to Waco’s Floyd Casey Stadium on this visit; the Bears move across I-35 in 2014.
Week 12:
Oklahoma State at Texas
A potential conference championship-deciding tilt, Oklahoma State visits Austin in a clash of preseason Big 12 favorites. Assuming both teams are in the hunt as expected, the atmosphere should be electric.
Week 13:
Baylor at Oklahoma State
By this point you should know Stillwater like the back of your hand. A late season game between the Bears and Cowboys will likely have more implications for OSU than Baylor, but BU proved it can impact the championship race last year when it felled Kansas State. Also, the potential for a sheer lack of defense could make this one of the more exciting pairings of the season.
Week 14:
Baylor at TCU
Your first thought may be: Baylor is featured three out of four weeks in a row? However, this is a rivalry game that pits two programs not particularly fond of one another. TCU has held the advantage in recent years, much to the chagrin of the Baylor faithful. However, Robert Griffin III launched his Heisman campaign when these teams met in 2011 in a contest that was one of that season’s best.
TCU’s Fort Worth Stadium will be flooded with purple, but you are safe packing green as well: it’s only a one-hour drive for the Baylor faithful in Waco.
Week 15:
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
Dec 3, 2011; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys fans carry off the field goal post after a 44-10 victory in the Bedlam game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Mandatory Credit: Richard Rowe-USA TODAY Sports
The trip ends in Bedlam! See what I did there? After attending Bedlam in 2012, I can promise that this one is not one to be missed. Just one week remains before bowl pairings are announced, the Big 12 could factor prominently into the BCS discussion. A possible at-large BCS berth or even national championship spot could be at stake here, either of which have been the case the last two seasons.
Oklahoma took down OSU in overtime last year in Norman. The folks in Stillwater will be ready to cheer the Cowboys on in their effort to exact revenge. There may be more than just Big 12 implications on the line here.