And now, the Big 12, ranked 1 through 10.
- Oklahoma (1 legit, 0 FCS): Louisiana-Monroe, Tulsa, @Notre Dame. Much to the likely regret of the ADs who scheduled the games years ago, UL-M and UL-L are not quite the bodybag games they used to be. I mean, the Sooners are still going to win, but still. Also, I’m not seeing a lot of pre-season love for Oklahoma-Notre Dame, which definitely ranks up there in terms of the “interesting intersectional and historical matchup” scale.
- Texas Christian (1, 1): N-Louisiana State, Southeast Louisiana, Southern Methodist. TCU-LSU is one of the opening weekend games that everyone is looking forward to, and for good reason. It’s nice to see that TCU has quickly established themselves after getting back into a major conference. (Much to the jealously of their cross-town rivals, SMU, I’m sure.)
- Iowa State (0.5, 1): Northern Iowa, Iowa, @Tulsa. And now things go rapidly downhill. If you don’t believe me, read on. Don’t forget that when Iowa State is involved, though, there’s always the chance they’ll lose to Northern Iowa and then beat Iowa.
- Texas (0.25, 0): New Mexico State, @Brigham Young, Mississippi. Honestly, that BYU game is probably more interesting than that Ole Miss game, but nonetheless it was the Rebels that were responsible for that quarter of a point.
- Oklahoma State (0.25, 1.5): N-Mississippi State, @Texas-San Antonio, Lamar. Miss State will try to prove they belong to the upper-tier of the SEC hierarchy once again this season, but I’m not so optimistic about their chance to prove their out-of-conference chops against Oklahoma state. (Note to self: don’t repeat that for Miss State’s write-up.)
- Kansas (0, 1): South Dakota, @Rice, Louisiana Tech. I’m not sure if there’s a question that LaTech will beat KU, but more of by how much.
- Kansas State (0, 1): North Dakota, Louisiana-Lafayette, Massachusetts. I suspect the Ragin’ Cajuns are a little more spicy than Bill Synder anticipated, but them’s the breaks.
- Texas Tech (0, 1): @Southern Methodist, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State. Yes, that’s right: the other thing to get used to this year are the new full-fledged FBS members, like Texas State.
- Baylor (0, 1): Wofford, Buffalo, Louisiana-Monroe. If Baylor and UL-M want to replay last year’s game, that’s fine by me. One of the few chances for legitimate entertainment here.
- West Virginia (0, 1.5): William & Mary, Georgia State, N-Maryland. Yes, West Virginia is still in the Big 12 for some reason. And they’re still not playing Pittsburgh, so as a penalty I’ve rated their schedule last. Well, also that and they should obliterate Maryland.