The Big 12 released its 2023 football schedule on Tuesday, giving fans their road map for the new-look league after a little bit of a delay added mystery to the reveal.
The Big 12 welcomes in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the club this year while Texas and Oklahoma are on the way out — ostensibly in 2025, but with frequent rumors that their split could come a season sooner — so this may be the last time we get to see the Longhorns and Sooners in this lineup.
The league schedule begins on Sept. 16, with TCU hosting Houston, the first time the two old Southwest Conference rivals have met since 2007.
“I would like to thank our fans for their patience awaiting this historic schedule,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Given its importance, the complexities of weaving in four new schools, adding a third time zone and ensuring alignment with key stakeholders, we were very deliberate with its development.”
With the new teams, the league says it will continue to play nine league contests with no divisions. The top two finishers by conference win percentage in the regular season standings will meet in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
But before the new conference schedule kicks in, there are some marquee nonconference games to kick off the season, including West Virginia traveling to Penn State in Week 1 before hosting Pitt in the renewed Backyard Brawl on Sept. 16. Texas travels to Alabama on Sept. 9, the same day Oregon travels to Texas Tech and Baylor hosts Utah, the back-to-back Pac-12 champs. Colorado will kick off the Coach Prime era under Deion Sanders with a road trip to TCU in Week 1, seeking to have the kind of first-year turnaround in Boulder that Sonny Dykes engineered last year in Fort Worth.
Here are each team’s schedules, along with some key questions they raise.
Games we’re most looking forward to?
You can’t start this list without Texas playing Oklahoma during the State Fair of Texas in Dallas on Oct. 7. While there was intrigue on if the league would ever consider sticking it to the Horns and Sooners and scheduling their game at some other point, it’s a historic rivalry that’s a key asset to the league. So with that being a given, let’s look elsewhere. The addition of Houston back to the league means every matchup against an old state SWC rival will be a little pettier and with a little added heat. Texas’ trip to Houston on Oct. 21 will be one the Cougars will be circling, looking for their first win against Texas since 1991. Similarly, Oklahoma State will be hosting Oklahoma on Nov. 4 in what could turn out to be the last Bedlam matchup.
On a pure football level, there is intrigue in Cincinnati’s first Big 12 game, when the Bearcats, under new coach Scott Satterfield, who replaced the Wisconsin-bound Luke Fickell, host Oklahoma, which is coming off a 6-7 season in Brent Venables’ first year. TCU — which rode a magical season all the way to the national championship game and is seeking to establish staying power — gets a Thursday night showdown in Lubbock against Texas Tech before a marquee matchup with Oklahoma the Friday after Thanksgiving to end the season.
The defending league champs, Kansas State, will host the Horned Frogs on Oct. 21, after the two teams played two incredible games in 2022, a 38-28 TCU win in Fort Worth and a 31-28 K-State win in the Big 12 championship game.
Who are the winners and losers?
Winner: Kansas State seemed to get its respect, kicking off the league schedule at home for the first time since 2017 with a game against UCF on Sept. 23. The Wildcats will also host Houston, meaning they won’t be traveling to any of the new teams’ stadiums this season.
Loser: Oklahoma begins Big 12 play with a road trip to Cincinnati, and wraps up the season with its first-ever trip to BYU on Nov. 18 before hosting TCU. The Sooners have one of the most unfamiliar schedules, and won’t play Kansas State or Baylor this season.
Winner: Baylor plays a school-record eight home games this season, with its first four matchups at McLane Stadium, including Texas on Sept. 23. The Bears only leave the state of Texas for road games at UCF, Cincinnati and Kansas State.
Loser: Iowa State has a tough closing slate, finishing with a Nov. 11 trip to Provo for its first matchup against BYU since 1974, before hosting Texas on Nov. 18 and then traveling to Kansas State on Nov. 25.
What’s at stake for fans of the new teams?
Houston, which was left out of the Big 12 after the SWC dissolved, gets in with perhaps one last shot at Texas and Oklahoma. The Cougars play their first seven games in Texas and replace American Athletic Conference teams like Temple, Navy and East Carolina on the schedule with Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU, which will be a boost for fans.
BYU, which played two tight games with Baylor the past two years, misses the Bears now that the teams are conference rivals. But the home game against Oklahoma will be a hot ticket in Provo. Cougars fans will also get the benefit of Texas Tech’s first-ever game in Utah while watching an exciting offense that was influenced heavily by legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards.
Cincinnati faces all three fellow newcomers, helping to lay down the foundation for future rivalries, with a home game against UCF and road trips to BYU and Houston. The Sept. 23 home game against Oklahoma could be one of the hottest tickets in Nippert Stadium history.
UCF appears to avoid the riskiest of the cold-weather road trips, with two November home games against Oklahoma State and Houston in Orlando, and one road game against Texas Tech. The Knights don’t play Texas this season, but will have tough road contests against Kansas State and Oklahoma.
Sept. 2: Texas State
Sept. 9: Utah
Sept. 16: Long Island
Sept. 23: Texas
Sept. 30: at UCF
Oct. 7: Texas Tech
Oct. 14: Open
Oct. 21: at Cincinnati
Oct. 28: Iowa State
Nov. 4: Houston
Nov. 11: at Kansas State
Nov. 18: at TCU
Nov. 25: West Virginia
Sept. 2: Sam Houston
Sept. 9: Southern Utah
Sept. 16: at Arkansas
Sept. 23: at Kansas
Sept. 29: Cincinnati
Oct. 7: Open
Oct. 14: at TCU
Oct. 21: Texas Tech
Oct. 28: at Texas
Nov. 4: at West Virginia
Nov. 11: Iowa State
Nov. 18: Oklahoma
Nov. 25: at Oklahoma State
Sept. 2: Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 9: at Pitt
Sept. 16: Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 23: Oklahoma
Sept. 29: at BYU
Oct. 7: Open
Oct. 14: Iowa State
Oct. 21: Baylor
Oct. 28: at Oklahoma State
Nov. 4: UCF
Nov. 11: at Houston
Nov. 18: at West Virginia
Nov. 25: Kansas
Sept. 2: UTSA
Sept. 9: at Rice
Sept. 16: TCU
Sept. 23: Sam Houston
Sept. 30: at Texas Tech
Oct. 7: Open
Oct. 12: West Virginia
Oct. 21: Texas
Oct. 28: at Kansas State
Nov. 4: at Baylor
Nov. 11: Cincinnati
Nov. 18: Oklahoma State
Nov. 25: at UCF
Sept. 2: Northern Iowa
Sept. 9: Iowa
Sept. 16: at Ohio
Sept. 23: Oklahoma State
Sept. 30: at Oklahoma
Oct. 7: TCU
Oct. 14: at Cincinnati
Oct. 21: Open
Oct. 28: at Baylor
Nov. 4: Kansas
Nov. 11: at BYU
Nov. 18: Texas
Nov. 25: at Kansas State
Sept. 2: Missouri State
Sept. 9: Illinois
Sept. 16: at Nevada
Sept. 23: BYU
Sept. 30: at Texas
Oct. 7: UCF
Oct. 14: at Oklahoma State
Oct. 21: Open
Oct. 28: Oklahoma
Nov. 4: at Iowa State
Nov. 11: Texas Tech
Nov. 18: Kansas State
Nov. 25: at Cincinnati
Sept. 2: Southeast Missouri
Sept. 9: Troy
Sept. 16: at Missouri
Sept. 23: UCF
Sept. 30: Open
Oct. 6: at Oklahoma State
Oct. 14: at Texas Tech
Oct. 21: TCU
Oct. 28: Houston
Nov. 4: at Texas
Nov. 11: Baylor
Nov. 18: at Kansas
Nov. 25: Iowa State
Sept. 2: Arkansas State
Sept. 9: SMU
Sept. 16: at Tulsa
Sept. 23: at Cincinnati
Sept. 30: Iowa State
Oct. 7: Texas (Dallas)
Oct. 14: Open
Oct. 21: UCF
Oct. 28: at Kansas
Nov. 4: at Oklahoma State
Nov. 11: West Virginia
Nov. 18: at BYU
Nov. 25: TCU
Sept. 2: Central Arkansas
Sept. 9: at Arizona State
Sept. 16: South Alabama
Sept. 23: at Iowa State
Sept. 30: Open
Oct. 6: Kansas State
Oct. 14: Kansas
Oct. 21: at West Virginia
Oct. 28: Cincinnati
Nov. 4: Oklahoma
Nov. 11: at UCF
Nov. 18: at Houston
Nov. 25: BYU
·Sept. 2: Colorado
Sept. 9: Nicholls
Sept. 16: at Houston
Sept. 23: SMU
Sept. 30: West Virginia
Oct. 7: at Iowa State
Oct. 14: BYU
Oct. 21: at Kansas State
Oct. 28: Open
Nov. 2: at Texas Tech
Nov. 11: Texas
Nov. 18: Baylor
Nov. 24: at Oklahoma
Sept. 2: Rice
Sept. 9: at Alabama
Sept. 16: Wyoming
Sept. 23: at Baylor
Sept. 30: Kansas
Oct. 7: Oklahoma (Dallas)
Oct. 14: Open
Oct. 21: at Houston
Oct. 28: BYU
Nov. 4: Kansas State
Nov. 11: at TCU
Nov. 18: at Iowa State
Nov. 24: Texas Tech
Sept. 2: at Wyoming
Sept. 9: Oregon
Sept. 16: Tarleton State
Sept. 23: at West Virginia
Sept. 30: Houston
Oct. 7: at Baylor
Oct. 14: Kansas State
Oct. 21: at BYU
Oct. 28: Open
Nov. 4: TCU
Nov. 11: at Kansas
Nov. 18: UCF
Nov. 24: at Texas
Aug. 31: Kent State
Sept. 9: at Boise State
Sept. 16: Villanova
Sept. 23: at Kansas State
Sept. 30: Baylor
Oct. 7: at Kansas
Oct. 14: Open
Oct. 21: at Oklahoma
Oct. 28: West Virginia
Nov. 4: at Cincinnati
Nov. 11: Oklahoma State
Nov. 18: at Texas Tech
Nov. 25: Houston
Sept. 2: at Penn State
Sept. 9: Duquesne
Sept. 16: Pitt
Sept. 23: Texas Tech
Sept. 30: at TCU
Oct. 7: Open
Oct. 12: at Houston
Oct. 21: Oklahoma State
Oct. 28: at UCF
Nov. 4: BYU
Nov. 11: at Oklahoma
Nov. 18: Cincinnati
Nov. 25: at Baylor