Big 12 Top Ten Games 2008: Non-Conference

by Peter Bean on Jul 29, 2008 3:27 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns Football

I had some fun at lunch looking over the full slate of Big 12 games this fall. Below are my takes on what look like the 10 best non-conference games this fall. Conference games later today or tomorrow.

Ten Best Non-Conference Games

10. Kansas State at Louisville (September 17): I have no idea what to make of KSU this year. Freeman looks close to a breakthrough, but Jordy Nelson and James Johnson graduate from last year's 35 ppg offense. I'll be watching this one.

9. Miami at Texas A&M (September 20): Last year's debacle in Coral Gables coupled with the Frannypants Email Bla$t sealed the fate of A&M's head coach. This year, Miami travels to Carnival Station, where we'll get our first real look at what to expect from Texas A&M this fall.

8. Texas at UTEP (September 6): A 9:15 p.m. kickoff in the basin of the Frankin Mountains should be a beautiful site to behold. The game itself could be a wild one, with Miners fans treating this game as their Super Bowl. Earl Thomas, Christian Scott, and Ben Wells: get ready.

7. Florida State vs Colorado (September 27): Same deal with KSU - I'm not quite sure what to make of Colorado just yet. This is one of their two Show Me games.

6. Arkansas at Texas (September 13): Testing the freshmen safeties, Part 2. I really love hating Arkansas.

5. SMU at Texas Tech (September 13): June Jones vs Mike Leach Cage Match. In Lubbock. Awesome.

4. Illinois vs Missouri (August 30): Daniel Dufrene replaces Rashard Mendenhall, but Illinois still should be solid enough to make this one worth watching. A night game on CFB's opening weekend on a neutral field... what's not to love?

3. Virginia Tech at Nebraska (September 27): I'll let SMQ take this one.

2. West Virginia at Colorado (September 18): Thursday night fun, in which the Big 12 could make quite a statement. A win by Colorado over the consensus Big East favorite would be impressive.

1. Kansas at South Florida (September 12): Kansas didn't get an out-of-conference test until the Orange Bowl last season, but they'll have their hands full this year on a Friday night trip to Tampa, where preseason #14 South Florida is damn tough to beat. The clash marks another chance for the Big 12 North to assert itself as a powerful division.

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Agree for the most part

If it were my list, I’d exchange Tech/SMU for Tech/Nevada on 9/6…from what I’ve read, this game could end up being a shootout of early 1990’s Houston Cougar proportions.

Also, I noticed you didn’t have any OU games on your list. And while I agree that the Sooners’ non-con is nothing to write home about, I know we’ll all be watching intently to try and gage how good they are going into the RRS. Cinci, @U-Dub, and TCU may not tell us much, but I’ll probably be more tuned into those games than many of the other Big XII non-con match-ups.

As for Texas, the build-up for the UTEP game is feeling a lot like it did leading up to the TCU game last year. Nobody knows how good they are, but it just feels like a trap game. I’d like to remain calm and not let the media talk me into any hysterics, but that certainly didn’t stop us from obsessing about the Horn Frogs last year.

Burnt Orange People like to obsess about even the most overmatched opponents…it makes the beer go down faster.

Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.

by 54b on Jul 29, 2008 5:37 PM CDT reply actions

Yeah

I couldn’t decide on OU. Cincy isn’t going to be anything great, Washington is ‘meh,’ and TCU… shrug. I’ll be watching, though, you’re right.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Jul 29, 2008 5:47 PM CDT up reply actions

Honestly,

by bamfor on Jul 29, 2008 6:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Damnit! I pressed 'Enter'

Honestly, the only players you need to watch are, ~~Fred Rouse~~, ~~Braxton Amy~~ and Vittatoe, the quaterback.

On a related note, if you want to see how we should be using Chiles, look up some footage of Lorne Sam.

by bamfor on Jul 29, 2008 6:23 PM CDT up reply actions

Trap game

Its an in-conference game, but I still think the big trap game for us is going to be @ Boulder. The week after a bye week and the week before the OU game, will Mack manage to keep the guys focused on the task at hand or will they be tempted to spend that bye week preparing for OU instead of for CU?

by hodad on Jul 30, 2008 9:34 AM CDT up reply actions