The Big 12 Conference’s 5 best rivalries that could emerge in 2023
By John Scimeca
The Big 12 Conference officially released its 2023 football schedule on Jan. 31, cementing a unique scheduling setup for the league in its transition phase of 14 teams. The scheduled announcement was a long time coming, and it might be the only season of a 14-team league if the Sooners and the Longhorns are able to negotiate and quicker-than-anticipated exit to the SEC.
Several pairings of teams could grow into important football rivalries in the new-look Big 12 Conference as early as fall 2023.
With the additions of Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston from the American Athletic Conference and BYU from the Independent ranks, the Big 12 will be at 14 teams this fall until the impending departures of OU and Texas.
Ignoring the fun but temporary matchups like OU facing Cincinnati on the road to open conference play or Texas traveling to Houston in October, the addition of four new members to the league offers the opportunity to extend old regional rivalries and give birth to some new grudge matches in the future, too.
What are the five best rivalries that could emerge in the new-look Big 12 Conference?
5. Iowa State – BYU
Iowa State enters the 2023 season determined to prove that the 2020 season wasn’t an anomaly — the Cyclones won the Fiesta Bowl and finished with the AP No. 9 ranking behind quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Breece Hall. Since then, the program has combined for an 11-14 record in the past two seasons and has looked anemic on offense (the team barely averaged 20 points per game, good for No. 114 in the country).
Could Iowa State’s season hang in the balance as the team takes a Week 11 visit in November to Provo, Utah?
BYU enters the Big 12 after a dozen years as an FBS Independent. The program has been ranked among the Top 15 teams in the nation in each of the past three seasons, but last year’s 8-5 record felt lackluster to a fanbase that has witnessed better results and more talented teams.
These two programs met four times in the 60s and 70s, with Iowa State winning all four contests.
The Cougars won’t have an automatic geographic rival in their new conference, unlike their previous leagues such as the WAC and the Mountain West. A rivalry could grow between these two schools that like to play smash-mouth defense at their best — consider that BYU finished No. 4 in the nation in overall defense en route to an 11-1 record in 2020 and that Iowa State was the Big 12’s best defensive unit in the same year.
BYU is a compelling program in terms of its talent level and its devoted fanbase. Iowa State is a program that in some ways exemplifies the classic old Big 8/Big 12 days. These two programs could find themselves in a meaningful rivalry in the new-look league.