Big 12 football strength of schedule rankings. Who has it easiest and who has the nasties schedule going into the 2023 season?
Big 12 Football Strength of Schedule 2023
The world of the Big 12 is interesting with four new programs – BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF – coming aboard, and with Texas and Oklahoma just hanging around until it can bold for the SEC in 2024.
For this year, who has the easiest and hardest schedules to go through?
This is hardly an exact science – the idea is to get it as close to the pin as possible – but for now, we’re going off our 2023 College Football Rankings 1-133: First Look. Once we do the full-on 2023 Preview and finish up with every team and the preseason rankings, we’ll change this up.
But you’ll get the idea.
Here’s how we did this. If it’s a home game, take the first look ranking and that’s the score. So, if Iowa State is ranked 50th in this first round – remember, it can and will all change after we get through the whole offseason – a home game counts for 50 points. A road date gets cut in half, so playing the Cyclones on the road counts for 25 points. Any game against an FCS team counts as 134 points, and neutral site dates are scored like a home game.
The lower the overall score, the harder the schedule, so …
Ranked from the hardest schedule to the easiest.
1. West Virginia
Score: 431 It’s far tougher than it looks. The date at Penn State is the killer, hosting Pitt, and five road Big 12 road games will make it a grind.
Sept 2 at Penn State
Sept 9 Duquesne
Sept 16 Pitt
Sept 23 at Texas Tech
Sept 30 TCU
Oct 7 OPEN DATE
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
– 2023 West Virginia Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
2. Iowa State
Score: 450 The overall score makes it harder with the odd road game at Ohio, it’s going to Oklahoma – along with four other Big 12 road games – that makes it tough.
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 DATE
Oct 28 at Baylor
Nov 4 Kansas
Nov 11 at BYU
Nov 18 Texas
Nov 25 at Kansas State
– 2023 Iowa State Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
3. Kansas
Score: 452 Not getting to play West Virginia is part of reason for the tough schedule ranking, Going to Nevada – technically – brings it down, and playing Illinois doesn’t help.
Aug 31 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 DATE
Oct 28 Oklahoma
Nov 4 at Iowa State
Nov 11 Texas Tech
Nov 18 Kansas State
Nov 25 at Cincinnati
– 2023 Kansas Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
4. Texas Tech
Score: 455.5 Like the other teams on this with the toughest slates, Texas Tech has to play five Big 12 road games. That, and the trip to Wyoming cuts down the overall score. Dealing with Oregon is no prize, either.
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 DATE
Nov 2 TCU
Nov 11 at Kansas
Nov 18 UCF
Nov 24 at Texas
– 2023 Texas Tech Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
5. Texas
Score: 403 Start with a road game at Alabama, and the overall toughness score can only go up from there. Going to TCU doesn’t help.
Sept 2 Rice
Sept 9 at Alabama
Sept 16 Wyoming
Sept 23 at Baylor
Sept 30 Kansas
Oct 7 Oklahoma (in Dallas)
Oct 14 OPEN DATE
Oct 21 at Houston
Oct 28 BYU
Nov 4 Kansas State
Nov 11 at TCU
Nov 18 at Iowa State
Nov 24 Texas Tech
– 2023 Texas Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
6. Houston
Score: 496.5 This is a tad wrong, because going to Rice really shouldn’t be counted as a true road game, but it is. There are a slew of Big 12 games that should be winnable, but they’re on the road.
Sept 2 UTSA
Sept 9 at Rice
Sept 16 TCU
Sept 23 Sam Houston
Sept 30 at Texas Tech
Oct 7 OPEN DATE
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
– 2023 Houston Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
7. Kansas State
Score: 509.5 It’s got a nice blend of total layups and interesting – but winnable – road games. Missing Oklahoma and Kansas State helps in a huge way.
Sept 2 SE Missouri State
Sept 9 Troy
Sept 16 at Missouri
Sept 23 UCF
Sept 30 OPEN DATE
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
– 2023 Kansas State Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
8. BYU
Score: 512 The road trip to Arkansas makes up for the lightweight home non-conference games. Five Big 12 road games – including at TCU and Texas – makes this rough.
Sept 2 Sam Houston
Sept 9 Southern Utah
Sept 16 at Arkansas
Sept 23 at Kansas
Sept 29 Cincinnati
Oct 7 OPEN DATE
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
– 2023 BYU Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
9. Oklahoma
Score: 544 It’s not a tough schedule if Oklahoma is back to being Oklahoma. Sort of like Houston going to Rice, yeah, going to Oklahoma State is a road game, but it’s not a taxing trip.
Sept 2 Arkansas State
Sept 9 SMU
Sept 16 at Tulsa
Sept 23 at Cincinnati
Sept 30 Iowa State
Oct 7 Texas (in Dallas)
Oct 14 OPEN DATE
Oct 21 UCF
Oct 28 at Kansas
Nov 4 at Oklahoma State
Nov 11 West Virginia
Nov 18 at BYU
Nov 24 TCU
– 2023 Oklahoma Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
10. TCU
Score: 546.5 The non-conference slate couldn’t be much easier – even with Colorado on it – and there are enough easy games at home to roll through most of this if the team is close to as good as last year.
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 DATE
Nov 2 at Texas Tech
Nov 11 Texas
Nov 18 Baylor
Nov 24 at Oklahoma
– 2023 TCU Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
11. Baylor
Score: 550 It’s not that easy overall with Utah a tough home game, but the Big 12 home games are all very, very winnable, including Texas.
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 DATE
Oct 21 at Cincinnati
Oct 28 Iowa State
Nov 4 Houston
Nov 11 at Kansas State
Nov 18 at TCU
Nov 25 West Virginia
– 2023 Baylor Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
12. Oklahoma State
Score: 550 The schedule is actually easier than this considering Arizona State might need a while to be tough again. Road games at Iowa State, West Virginia, and against two of the Big 12 newbies makes this very, very manageable.
Sept 2 Central Arkansas
Sept 9 at Arizona State
Sept 16 South Alabama
Sept 23 at Iowa State
Sept 30 OPEN DATE
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
– 2023 Oklahoma State Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
13. UCF
Score: 572 The schedule looks a tad tougher than it is. The home games are all fine, and the Knights should be able to take down their share of road dates at places like – potentially – Kansas and Cincinnati.
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 12 OPEN DATE
Oct 21 at Oklahoma
Oct 28 West Virginia
Nov 4 at Cincinnati
Nov 11 Oklahoma State
Nov 18 at Texas Tech
Nov 25 Houston
– 2023 UCF Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
14. Cincinnati
Score: 590.5 The home games against Eastern Kentucky and Miami University are a big, big help to ease the way into the Big 12 season. There are just four conference road games, and two of them are against Houston and West Virginia. There’s no Kansas State, TCU, or Texas to deal with.
Sept 2 Eastern Kentucky
Sept 9 at Pitt
Sept 16 Miami University
Sept 23 Oklahoma
Sept 29 at BYU
Oct 7 OPEN DATE
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
– 2023 Cincinnati Schedule Breakdown, 3 Things To Know
