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2009 Big 12 South Schedule Breakdown
Collegefootballnews.com

Last week I showed you Collegefootballnews.com's first 2010 preseason rankings. While it may still be abit early for some of you to talk college football, it really got my juices flowing for next season. So to continue that I have some more way too early CFN coverage. This time they're breaking down conference schedules. Here is the Big 12 South.

Baylor
Games Against The North: Kansas, at Colorado, Kansas State
Realistic Best Case Record: 8-4
Worst Case Record: 3-9
Likely Finish: 6-6

Summary: The Bears couldn’t get much more of a break with the interdivisional schedule missing Nebraska and Missouri and getting Kansas and Kansas State at home with a trip to Colorado. The problem will be a midseason stretch of only one true home game from October 9th through November 13th with the Texas Tech game to be played in Dallas kicking off a run of four non-home games in five weeks. Going to Texas and Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks will be rough, and the home games against Texas A&M and Oklahoma are at home. There’s an almost sure-thing loss at TCU in non-conference play, but the other three games are layups against Sam Houston State, Buffalo and at Rice.

Sept. 4 Sam Houston State
Sept. 11 Buffalo
Sept. 18 at TCU
Sept. 25 at Rice
Oct. 2 Kansas
Oct. 9 Texas Tech (in Dallas)
Oct. 16 at Colorado
Oct. 23 Kansas State
Oct. 30 at Texas
Nov. 6 at Oklahoma State
Nov. 13 Texas A&M
Nov. 20 Oklahoma
Nov. 27 OPEN DATE

Oklahoma
Games Against The North: Iowa State, at Missouri, Colorado
Realistic Best Case Record: 12-0
Worst Case Record: 8-4
Likely Finish: 10-2

Summary: Oklahoma doesn’t lose in the state of Oklahoma, and there are only three of the seven that will provide any sort of an issue: Florida State, Texas Tech, and at Oklahoma State. The Sooners will win those three, or at worst lose one of them. Going to Cincinnati isn’t like going to Cincinnati last year, and the offense will have to get its track shoes on for shootouts on the road to face Missouri and Texas A&M, but of course it all comes down to October 2nd against Texas. Come out of Dallas with a win and the national title spotlight will be on. Three of the final four games and four of the final six are on the road.

Sept. 4 Utah State
Sept. 11 Florida State
Sept. 18 Air Force
Sept. 25 at Cincinnati
Oct. 2 Texas (in Dallas)
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 Iowa State
Oct. 23 at Missouri
Oct. 30 Colorado
Nov. 6 at Texas A&M
Nov. 13 Texas Tech
Nov. 20 at Baylor
Nov. 27 at Oklahoma St

Oklahoma State
Games Against The North: Nebraska, at Kansas State, at Kansas
Realistic Best Case Record: 10-2
Worst Case Record: 6-6
Likely Finish: 8-4

Summary: The Cowboys will need a little time to rebuild, and it’ll get it with three wins against teams that will provide a bit more than a light scrimmage (Washington State, Troy, and Tulsa) before getting 12 days to prepare for a Thursday night game against Texas A&M. Win that, and the Cowboys are 5-0 before going to Texas Tech. Going to Texas is a problem but getting Oklahoma at home, even though the Sooners don’t lose in the state of Oklahoma, is a plus. Having to play Nebraska, the star of the North, is a problem, but at least the game is at Stillwater. After hosting the Huskers, three of the next four games are on the road.

Sept. 4 Washington St
Sept. 11 Troy
Sept. 18 Tulsa
Sept. 25 OPEN DATE
Sept. 30 Texas A&M
Oct. 8 at Louisiana-Lafayette
Oct. 16 at Texas Tech
Oct. 23 Nebraska
Oct. 30 at Kansas State
Nov. 6 Baylor
Nov. 13 at Texas
Nov. 20 at Kansas
Nov. 27 Oklahoma

Texas
Games Against The North: at Nebraska, Iowa State, at Kansas State
Realistic Best Case Record: 12-0
Worst Case Record: 8-4
Likely Finish: 10-2

Summary: It’s Texas so it’s going to finish with double-digit wins, but there are just enough landmines to prevent a second-straight unbeaten season. It’s an interesting first half of the season after layups against Rice and Wyoming with a tougher-than-Texas-will-believe home game against UCLA sandwiched in between at Texas Tech and the Oklahoma showdown. After a week off, the Longhorns get a possible Big 12 Championship preview at Nebraska in what might be an even bigger conference matchup than the Red River Rivalry. If the Horns are 6-0, start booking tickets for Glendale (either for the BCS championship or for the Fiesta Bowl depending on what happens in the Big 12 title game) with five home games in the last six and the road game at Kansas State.

Sept. 4 at Rice
Sept. 11 Wyoming
Sept. 18 at Texas Tech
Sept. 25 UCLA
Oct. 2 Oklahoma (in Dallas)
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 at Nebraska
Oct. 23 Iowa State
Oct. 30 Baylor
Nov. 6 at Kansas St
Nov. 13 Oklahoma St
Nov. 20 Florida Atlantic
Nov. 25 Texas A&M

Texas A&M
Games Against The North: Missouri, at Kansas, Nebraska
Realistic Best Case Record: 9-3
Worst Case Record: 5-7
Likely Finish: 7-5

Summary: A&M is the team no one will be all that interested in facing because of its high-octane offense, and on firepower alone it’ll be able to open up with three straight easy wins before getting 12 days off to prepare for the Big 12 opener at Oklahoma State. The neutral site game against Ryan Mallett and Arkansas should be a wild shootout, the following week game against Missouri should be a wild shootout, and the games against Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas should be wild shootouts. What should make this fun for Aggie fans is where these games are being played getting the Hogs in Dallas and Mizzou, the Red Raiders, Sooners, and Huskers in College Station. The Texas game is in Austin, but it should be a puncher’s chance type of game like last year’s thriller.

Sept. 4 Stephen F. Austin
Sept. 11 Louisiana Tech
Sept. 18 FIU
Sept. 25 OPEN DATE
Sept. 30 at Oklahoma State
Oct. 9 Arkansas (in Dallas)
Oct. 16 Missouri
Oct. 23 at Kansas
Oct. 30 Texas Tech
Nov. 6 Oklahoma
Nov. 13 at Baylor
Nov. 20 Nebraska
Nov. 25 at Texas

Texas Tech
Games Against The North: at Iowa State, at Colorado, Missouri
Realistic Best Case Record: 10-2
Worst Case Record: 6-6
Likely Finish: 8-4

Summary: The Tommy Tuberville honeymoon period will be about ten minutes with a schedule good enough to hope to stay in the Big 12 title race throughout. The non-conference schedule will be entertaining, even if it won’t be that good early with SMU and at New Mexico to start the season and Weber State and the one good matchup, Houston, to close out the regular season. In Big 12 play, the Red Raiders miss Nebraska from the North and get Missouri at home. The one big problem will be the second half of the conference slate with three road trips in four playing at Colorado and at Texas A&M and finishing with at Oklahoma after hosting Mizzou. With the Baylor game to be played in Dallas, five of the eight conference games are on the road with Texas and Oklahoma State coming to Lubbock.

Sept. 4 SMU
Sept. 11 at New Mexico
Sept. 18 Texas
Sept. 25 OPEN DATE
Oct. 2 at Iowa State
Oct. 9 Baylor (in Dallas)
Oct. 16 Oklahoma St
Oct. 23 at Colorado
Oct. 30 at Texas A&M
Nov. 6 Missouri
Nov. 13 at Oklahoma
Nov. 20 Weber State
Nov. 27 Houston