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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 North.

2010 Big 12 North Schedule Breakdown
Collegefootballnews.com

Colorado
Games Against The South: Baylor, Texas Tech, at Oklahoma
Realistic Best Case Record: 8-4
Worst Case Record: 4-8
Likely Finish: 6-6

Summary: The Buffs have to beat rival Colorado State in the opener in Denver or it could be a rough, rough start to the season with a trip to California and a date with Georgia to deal with. If that wasn’t enough, the Big 12 opener is coming off the date with the Dawgs and is at Missouri. The games against the South come in a three-week midseason span hosting Baylor and Texas Tech and with a trip to Oklahoma. Forget about any hope of winning the North with road games at Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, but the schedule has just enough winnable games to get to a bowl game. There’s no excuse to not beat Colorado State, Hawaii, Baylor, Iowa State, and Kansas State at home and come up with an upset to get to six wins.

Sept. 4 Colorado St (in Denver)
Sept. 11 at California
Sept. 18 Hawaii
Sept. 25 OPEN DATE
Oct. 2 Georgia
Oct. 9 at Missouri
Oct. 16 Baylor
Oct. 23 Texas Tech
Oct. 30 at Oklahoma
Nov. 6 at Kansas
Nov. 13 Iowa State
Nov. 20 Kansas State
Nov. 26 at Nebraska

Iowa State
Games Against The South: Texas Tech, at Oklahoma, at Texas
Realistic Best Case Record: 7-5
Worst Case Record: 2-10
Likely Finish: 5-7

Summary: It’s going to be a tough second year in the Paul Rhoads era with a mean gift from the scheduling gods getting Texas Tech, at Oklahoma, and at Texas from the South. Throw in the yearly rivalry game against Iowa, on the road this season, and a non-conference home date against Utah and the Cyclones might have five sure-thing losses without blinking. The Nebraska and Missouri games are at home and there’s only one road trip from October 30th on, but no one should have to play the Sooners and Longhorns in back-to-back road games. On the plus side, there’s only one true road game against the North (at Colorado) with the Kansas State game to be played in Kansas City.

Sept. 2 Northern Illinois
Sept. 11 at Iowa
Sept. 18 Kansas State (in KC)
Sept. 25 Northern Iowa
Oct. 2 Texas Tech
Oct. 9 Utah
Oct. 16 at Oklahoma
Oct. 23 at Texas
Oct. 30 Kansas
Nov. 6 Nebraska
Nov. 13 at Colorado
Nov. 20 Missouri
Nov. 27 OPEN DATE

Kansas
Games Against The South: at Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State
Realistic Best Case Record: 9-3
Worst Case Record: 5-7
Likely Finish: 7-5

Summary: There’s no real excuse for Turner Gill in his first season to not get KU into a bowl game with a schedule like this. The Jayhawks don’t have to play Texas, Oklahoma, or Texas Tech from the South, and get Texas A&M and Oklahoma State at home … Merry Christmas. A good team finds a way to get through the first nine games with eight wins, at least, but there are sneaky-tough games at Southern Miss and at Baylor and Iowa State while the home dates against Georgia Tech, Kansas State, and Texas A&M aren’t going to be layups. KU has to have six wins and a bowl sewn up after the November 6th home game against Colorado with at Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Missouri to finish things up.

Sept. 4 North Dakota St
Sept. 11 Georgia Tech
Sept. 18 at Southern Miss
Sept. 25 New Mexico St
Oct. 2 at Baylor
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 Kansas State
Oct. 23 Texas A&M
Oct. 30 at Iowa St
Nov. 6 Colorado
Nov. 13 at Nebraska
Nov. 20 Oklahoma St
Nov. 27 Missouri (in KC)

Kansas State
Games Against The South: at Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas
Realistic Best Case Record: 8-4
Worst Case Record: 4-8
Likely Finish: 6-6

Summary: The Wildcats will know where they stand right away at home against a good, but not great UCLA team. A win over the Bruins might lead the way to a hot start with Missouri State, Iowa State (played in Kansas City) and UCF before getting a week off. And then the fun comes with Nebraska at home in a make-or-break game for their North chances, and beyond just beating a great team that might be a must win with five of the final seven games on the road. The home games during that rough stretch will hardly be a walk in the park hosting Oklahoma State and Texas. Unlike last year when playing two FCS teams killed bowl hopes, KSU only has one FCS date (Missouri State) and has a layup to close out the regular season at North Texas. In other words, the team has to find four wins (assuming the Missouri State and UNT games are wins) to get to a bowl.

Sept. 4 UCLA
Sept. 11 Missouri State
Sept. 18 Iowa State (in KC)
Sept. 25 UCF
Oct. 2 OPEN DATE
Oct. 7 Nebraska
Oct. 16 at Kansas
Oct. 23 at Baylor
Oct. 30 Oklahoma St
Nov. 6 Texas
Nov. 13 at Missouri
Nov. 20 at Colorado
Nov. 27 at North Texas

Missouri
Games Against The South: at Texas A&M, Oklahoma, at Texas Tech
Realistic Best Case Record: 10-2
Worst Case Record: 6-6
Likely Finish: 8-4

Summary: This isn’t exactly going to be a flaky Missouri team, but it’s still going to be reloading a bit. Fortunately, it’ll get time to fatten up the record with a cakewalk of a first half of the season. Illinois might be better, but Mizzou will be favored in the opener and won’t be an underdog, or anything lower than a seven-point favorite, until mid-October. Going 5-0 with this slate is a must for a team with any realistic hopes of winning the North, and then the fun kicks in dealing with a trip to Texas A&M and Oklahoma from the South before the showdown for the North against Nebraska in Lincoln. Throw in a trip to Texas Tech and the Tigers going on the road for three games in four (with the OU date the home game) and are away from Columbia for five of the final six games. However, the last three games against Kansas State, at Iowa State, and against Kansas (to be played in Kansas City) are very winnable.

Sept. 4 Illinois (in St. Louis)
Sept. 11 McNeese State
Sept. 18 San Diego St
Sept. 25 Miami Univ.
Oct. 2 OPEN DATE
Oct. 9 Colorado
Oct. 16 at Texas A&M
Oct. 23 Oklahoma
Oct. 30 at Nebraska
Nov. 6 at Texas Tech
Nov. 13 Kansas State
Nov. 20 at Iowa State
Nov. 27 Kansas (in KC)

Nebraska
Games Against The South: Texas, at Oklahoma State, at Texas A&M
Realistic Best Case Record: 11-1
Worst Case Record: 6-6
Likely Finish: 9-3

Summary: There’s a reason Husker fans are all fired up. The defense should be fine, the offense can’t be worse, and the schedule is national-title good. That might be putting the program’s head over its skis, this isn’t going to be one of the three best teams in the country, but to get to the BCS Championship a great team needs a mix of winnable layups with one or two signature games. Winning at Washington won’t be anything to get to jacked up over, but it would still make a national splash, and the rest of the non-conference slate is a joke. While road games at Oklahoma State and Texas A&M will be tough, any team thinking big has to win those games. Getting Missouri and Kansas at home should all but sew up the North title, and then comes the big one: Texas. It might be a Big 12 Championship preview, and if the Huskers can win the showdown in mid-October, the hype and high expectations will follow.

Sept. 4 Western Kentucky
Sept. 11 Idaho
Sept. 18 at Washington
Sept. 25 South Dakota St
Oct. 2 OPEN DATE
Oct. 7 at Kansas State
Oct. 16 Texas
Oct. 23 at Oklahoma St
Oct. 30 Missouri
Nov. 6 at Iowa State
Nov. 13 Kansas
Nov. 20 at Texas A&M
Nov. 26 Colorado