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Big 12 Best Non-Conference (NC) Games in 2021

The B-12, P-10, & B-10 all play 9 conference games, so three (3) NC games in a season, while the ACC & SEC play 8 conference games & part take in 4 NC contests.

Oklahoma: OU best NC tilt is against Nebraska (B-10) in 2021. This game and its site were scheduled to reenact the “Game of the Century” played, a half a century ago (1971 in Norman), when then #1 Nebraska played #2 Oklahoma. It remains the best college game I ever seen: Huskers 35 Sooners 31, in a game for the ages! The teams last played in Oklahoma, 12 years ago, a game the Cornhuskers would like to forget, OU put a 62 spot on the Black Shirts (NU once feared defense). Oklahoma also plays @ Tulane (that’s right, AT Tulane), an American Athletic Conference (AAC) team & Western Carolina, a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon), a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS / 63 scholarships) team, as compared the the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) all being 85 scholarships teams!

Iowa State: The Cyclones best NC game is typically their in-state battle with Iowa! This is the 68 meeting for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, ISU trails in the series, 22-45 and has dropped 5 in a row. ISU outgained the Hawks in their 2019 battle by 105 yards, yet were -2 in Turnovers (TO) and fumbled away a 4th quarter punt, that the Hawks turned into a, one point (1) winning margin, 18-17! This was the 1st, one (1) point win by either team! The Cyclones also play Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC / FCS) & @ UNLV, is it the B-12’s year to travel to Group of 5 (G5) venues?

Texas: The ‘Horns vs the Hogs’, I don’t know about you, but I’m already ‘fired up’! These teams (Texas & Arkansas) have only met 5 times since 1991 (when the Southwest Conference / SWC, folded up it tent), with Arkansas winning three (3) of those games (27-6 in 2000; 38-28, in 2003, & 31-7, in 2014) while Texas has prevailed twice (2), 22-20, in 2004 (Last game played in Fayetteville) & 52-10, in 2008! Texas wants to play ‘Big Boy FB’ in the SEC West? OK, here is your chance, last year, Arkansas beat Ole Miss, 33-21 & Mississippi State, 21-14, while losing to Auburn, 30-28, LSU, 27-24, & Texas A&M, 42-31. Hey Texas, this game is not a ‘walk in the park’, it’s more like a visit to the Lion’s Den’! The Longhorns also have NC games scheduled with Louisiana, Sun Belt Conference (SBC) & Rice, Conference-USA (C-USA)!

TCU (Texas Christian University): The Horned Frogs are welcoming the P-12’s, California Golden Bears, to Fort Worth & Amon G. Carter Stadium. This is only the 2nd meeting between these schools, their 1st and only meeting was in the 2018, ‘Cheez-it Bowl, a 10-7, TCU victory! The Frogs also take on two (2) other NC opponents, Duquesne, Northeast Conference (NEC / FCS) program & their annual rival, Southern Methodist (SMU / AAC member). This year’s game is the 100th meeting between these Universities, with TCU leading the series 51-41-7! We struggled with identifying Cal or SMU as TCU best NC opponent, before settling on the Golden Bears!

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys do not play a Power 5 (P5) opponent in 2021! However, they do play Boise State in Idaho, @ Albertsons Stadium (The Blue Turf). The fact is BSU is better then many (not sure what many means, yet we are going with … many) P5 teams. Last time OSU played the Broncos, was in 2018, a 44-21 victory in Stillwater’s, Boone Pickens’ Stadium! OSU also has NC games with Tulsa (AAC) & Missouri State (MVFC / FCS).

West Virginia: Another struggle to identify who is WV’s best NC opponent in the 2021 season, Maryland (Mike Lockley, HC, is recruiting very well) or Justin Fuente’s, Virginia Tech. These two teams, Maryland & V-Tech, have split their last 2 games (VT won in 2009, 36-9 & UM won in 2013, 27-24) After much discussion we decided on VT, as they have clearly been the better program in recent years! The Mountaineers lead the all-time series, 28-23-1 and the last time these teams played was Sept 3, 2017, VT 31 WV 24! West Virginia’s other NC game is with Long Island University (NEC / FCS).

Texas Tech: TT is one (1) of two (2) B-12 teams (Oklahoma State, is the other), who elected not to schedule a P5 opponent for the 21 season! The Red Raiders best NC game will be played at a neutral site, NRG Stadium, located in Houston, against, none other than, the Houston Cougars (AAC). These teams are old SWC rivals, with Houston leading the all-time series, 18-13 -1. That said, Tech has won the last three (3) meetings, 63-49, in 2018, 27-24, in 2017, & 35-20, in 2010! TT has scheduled Stephen F. Austin, a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) team. The WAC is returning to Division I football (FCS) in part-time status for the 2021 season and full activation for the 2022 season! The Raiders also have a NC date with Florida International (FIU) on 9/18/21!

Kansas State: K-State’s best NC game is against P-12 North Division power, Stanford. The game will be played at neutral site, in/at Arlington’s, AT&T Stadium! The teams last played in 2016, @ The Farm (so called ‘The Farm’ because Stanford was built on a stock farm in Palo Alto, CA, on land donated by Leland & Jane Stanford), a game won by the Cardinal, 26-13. The Wildcats last played in a neutral site game in 2003, @ Arrowhead Stadium, for the B-12 Championship. KSU took down the Mighty Sooners, 35-7, say what? Yap, 35-7 (OU rolled into the championship game with a 12-0 record) and limped out @ 12-1! The Cats also line it up against, Southern Illinois (MVSC / FCS) & Nevada (MWC) in NC games!

Baylor: The Bears best NC game in 2021 is against BYU, @ home in Waco! On SCFP, we count BYU & Army as part of the P5 (now before you start throwing things, you should know, so does the SEC & B-10 for scheduling purposes / while the ACC counts BYU, but not Army)! we agree and count BYU is a P5 opponent vs Baylor, although the B-12 is silent on the matter. This is the 3rd meeting between the teams, they split the 1st two (2) games, both clubs winning at Home (Baylor won in 1983, 40-36 and BYU in 1984, 47-13)! Baylor also plays Texas State (SBC) & Texas Southern (SLC / FCS) in their 2 other NC tilts!

Kansas: The Jayhawks NC games presented a similar challenge to what we faced in identifying Ole Miss’ best NC game! The Rebels play Louisville, from a P5 conference (ACC) & Liberty, a G5 Independent; after much discussion, we determined that Liberty was the better NC opponent! Kansas plays Duke (ACC) & Coastal Carolina (SBC), again, after much discussion, we determined that Coastal Carolina, a group of 5 team is a better opponent then Duke, a P5 team! Kansas also plays, Austin Peay (OVC / FCS) on September 11 at home!

The Game Simulator: Go to Head to Head compare these teams https://sullyscollegefootballpage.com/Football_Stats/Matchup.cfm

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