UCF v Texas Tech
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Only three short years ago, Big 12 teams played a perfect round robin schedule. Every school vied against every other, and so schedules frankly rarely paid much relevance. As the conference exploded from 10 to 16 teams, though, schedules have never been more important. 

In this era, getting a good draw can make all the difference. Reigning Big 12 champ Arizona State was able to ramp up in the middle of last season to prepare for top contenders Kansas State and BYU in the second half of the year. Iowa State played six teams in conference that missed bowl games. Chances are, the teams with the easiest schedule this year will also have a huge advantage to reaching the postseason. 

Now granted, here's the thing: In the Big 12, the strength of schedules are somewhat unpredictable. Two years ago, West Virginia appeared to be facing one of the hardest schedules in the league, but ended up with the easiest. Additionally, every team in the conference has FanDuel win totals between 5.5 and 8.5. The teams are, frankly, just not far enough apart that there can be free rides. 

That said, getting a good draw can make all the difference in flying through the schedule, picking up tiebreakers and earning a trip to AT&T Stadium to play for a Big 12 title. With that in mind, here's how we rank the toughest schedules in the conference in 2025. 

Note: The Big 12 no longer does an official preseason poll, so we're using the 247Sports Big 12 poll, featuring votes from all 16 team site publishers. 

Big 12 2025 Strength of Schedule
1
Baylor
The Bears will make or break themselves as a College Football Playoff contender in the first six weeks of the season. Baylor plays Auburn, SMU, Arizona State, Kansas State and TCU before Oct. 18 and also gets Utah in the back half of the schedule. Only two of the games are on the road, which creates massive opportunity, but the Bears can't survive another 2-4 start. The one respite is that nine of their 12 matchups are in the state of Texas.
2
TCU
The Bears are Frogs have comparably difficult schedules -- including matching games against SMU -- but getting North Carolina instead of Auburn is a big win. However, road trips to Arizona State, Kansas State and BYU will provide serious tests for a rising squad. The middle of the schedule is loaded with potholes, especially a stretch of playing at Kansas State, vs. Baylor, at West Virginia, vs. Iowa State and at BYU in consecutive games. Maintaining focus will be everything.
3
Utah
A matchup against Nico Iamaleava should be a sensational opening to the season, but the conference schedule is very difficult. The Utes play teams picked No. 1-4 in the preseason poll, and then have tricky games against Kansas and BYU on the road as well. The offense will have to quickly round into shape as Utah hosts Texas Tech and Arizona State in pivotal conference matchups.
4
Kansas State
The Wildcats have a fairly challenging path to contending for the Big 12 with road games against Baylor, Kansas and Utah on the docket. A matchup against Arizona counts as a nonconference game, but reigning American champion Army won't be fun. However, the most daunting task is opening the season in Week 0 to play Iowa State in Ireland. Lose that game and contention becomes far more difficult.
5
Colorado
The Buffaloes have a fun one to open the year against Georgia Tech in Boulder, but it's the conference schedule where things get tough. Colorado gets BYU, TCU, Iowa State and Utah all in a row, before ending with Arizona State and Kansas State, the top two teams in the conference. Five of CU's Big 12 wins last year came against teams that missed a bowl. There are only three such teams on the schedule this year.
6
West Virginia
WVU has finally aged out of the miserably hard nonconference schedules, and primarily features the Backyard Brawl against Pittsburgh coming to Morgantown. From there, the Mountaineers play most of the middle class of the Big 12, but miss the elite for most of the year. That is, until the final two games of the season when Arizona State and Texas Tech are on the docket in November. Still, the wave of middle class teams makes for a bumpy road in Morgantown.
7
Arizona St.
The Sun Devils' title defense features a fairly balanced schedule. Nonconference games against Mississippi State and Texas State are tricky, but likely wins. Road trips to Baylor, Utah and Iowa State are all serious challenges, while Texas Tech and TCU come to Tempe. The schedule isn't necessarily harder than last season, but it is more relentless.
8
Iowa St.
Like Kansas State, the opening matchup in Ireland will define the Cyclones' chances in many ways. The Cy-Hawk rivalry game is always a challenge, but it's surrounded by mostly fluff in the first half of the year. Iowa State gets both BYU and Arizona State at home and the only major road challenge is against TCU. The first three games will be everything.
9
Arizona
The Wildcats' schedule is fairly boilerplate for the conference, with most of the toughest games against contenders coming at home. A game against Kansas State is technically a nonconference matchup due to a scheduling quirk, and getting Oklahoma State early could prove valuable for building confidence.
10
Cincinnati
The Bearcats open with Nebraska, but things get manageable from there. None of Arizona State, Kansas State or Texas Tech are on their schedule and games against Iowa State, Baylor and BYU are at home. Cincinnati only plays four true road games.
11
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys play Oregon on the road in Week 2, but playing one bodybag game isn't much of a big deal. Four of the bottom six teams in the Big 12 are on the schedule (and OSU is one of the others). Getting Baylor, Kansas State and Iowa State at home gives plenty of potential opportunities for upset victories. It's not easy, but there's plenty to work with.
12
UCF
The Knights get a number of the Big 12's best teams, with road trips to Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and BYU on the docket. Getting North Carolina and Jacksonville State at home will help, and Kansas, West Virginia, Houston and Oklahoma State at home all present winnable games. It's unclear if UCF will have the goods to deliver much success, but the schedule lines up pretty well.
13
Kansas
The Jayhawks' schedule features battles against two of the top three teams in the conference and an emotional road trip to play Missouri for the first time since 2011. Outside of that, though, Kansas plays the bottom five projected teams in the Big 12 and gets four teams that finished with losing records at home. Even the hardest stretch of at Texas Tech and vs. Kansas State consecutively has a bye week in between.
14
Texas Tech
While the transfer class is the headliner, the schedule is also a big reason why expectations are off the charts in Lubbock. The nonconference slate is one of the easiest in the country with UAPB, Kent State and Oregon State at home. Five conference games come against teams below .500 last season, including two against new coaching staffs. The road schedule is a little brutal with Utah, Arizona State and Kansas State, but just nabbing one could be enough to reach Arlington.
15
Houston
The Cougars have two road nonconference matchups, but games against Rice and Oregon State are exceedingly winnable in Year 2. Arizona State and Baylor are tough road challenges, but Houston gets four schools that finished with losing records in conference play. Sniping one off TCU or Texas Tech at home could push the Cougs to a winning record.
16
BYU
The Cougars are working through a quarterback change, but the program will have plenty of time to get back on track. BYU plays four of the teams picked bottom five in the conference and doesn't play a serious contender until Oct. 18 against Utah. Road games against Iowa State and Texas Tech are likely losses, but BYU could be favored in nearly every other game, even without consistency at quarterback.