Each morning Longhorns Wire will share the top stories from around the Big 12 Conference. For this edition of the Big 12 Morning Rush ESPN, 247Sports and Heartland College Sports provide the headlines.
Ranking the most important game for each team in the top 25
ESPN named Oklahoma and Oklahoma State’s most important game on the schedule. The game pick for the Cowboys was a bit of a surprise.
The Sooners look like prohibitive favorites in every game, except for the big one against Texas on Oct. 10, which currently is almost a toss-up (FPI gives OU a 51.6% chance). OU is 4-1 in its past five Red River games, but the Longhorns put up a fight; the Sooners only won by an average of 38-33. A win fast-tracks the Sooners’ hopes of a fifth College Football Playoff appearance in six seasons. — Dave Wilson
The Oct. 3 matchup with TCU will tell us a lot about where the Cowboys are headed. Mike Gundy is 5-3 against Gary Patterson since the Frogs returned to the Big 12 in 2012, but OSU’s win last season stopped a two-game losing streak. Win again, and the Cowboys could very well be 6-0 going into Bedlam in Norman on Oct. 24, where they have the offensive firepower for a classic Big 12 shootout. — Wilson
One Big 12 player for each team that must step up in 2020
These are the players from every other school in the Big 12 who need to step in 2020 per 247Sports.
- Baylor: Josh Fleeks, WR
- Iowa State: Colin Newell, OL
- Kansas: Miles Kendrick, QB
- Kansas State: Drew Wiley, DT
- Oklahoma: Spencer Rattler, QB
- Oklahoma State: Josh Sills, OG
- Texas Christian: Zachary Evans, RB
- Texas Tech: Zech McPhearson, DB
- West Virginia: Leddie Brown, RB
Ranking the Big 12 non-conference schedule
Heartland College Sports recently ranked the non-conference games for the entire Big 12.
- Texas vs LSU
- Iowa State vs Iowa
- Tennessee vs Oklahoma
- Baylor vs Ole Miss
- West Virginia vs Florida State
- Kansas State vs Vanderbilt
- Texas Christian vs Southern Methodist
- Texas Tech vs Arizona
- Kansas vs Boston College
- Oklahoma vs Army