The Big 12 football season is just a couple of weeks from its opening weekend, and it will be a long road
to the league title game in December in Arlington, Texas.
Each of the Big 12’s 16 teams will play 12 games to decide which two teams head to the title game.
Along the way, each team has a trap game.
Here is the trap game for each Big 12 team and why it was chosen. Only Big 12 conference games were considered. And, yes, there are some usual suspects.
ARIZONA: VS. HOUSTON, NOV. 15
The Wildcats will have 13 days off after a long road trip to UCF. With the break, Arizona is likely to be
focused on the Knights game before that break. Houston’s new coach, Willie Fritz, loves to run the ball
and shorten the game. It’s a perfect trap game that late in the season.
ARIZONA STATE: AT CINCINNATI, OCT. 19
This road trip for the Sun Devils is sandwiched around two games against legit Big 12 contenders — vs.
Utah on Oct. 11 and at Oklahoma State on Nov. 2. Even with the break after the Bearcats game, the Sun
Devils could overlook this game.
BAYLOR: VS. BYU, SEPT. 28
The Bears play each of the first five weeks of the season. On Sept. 28, the fifth straight week with a
game, the Bears host BYU, a team that could star Baylor’s former quarterback, Gerry Bohanon. This trap
game could have an edge to it.
BYU: AT UCF, OCT. 26
The Cougars might see this as a breather game after back-to-back contests against Arizona and
Oklahoma State. BYU gets an extra day of rest before traveling to face the Knights, but the Cougars
cannot overlook them after what could be a rough two weeks. A win or loss in that game could be the
difference in a bowl game or coach Kalani Sitake’s job.
CINCINNATI: VS. HOUSTON, SEPT. 21
After three weeks of non-conference action, the Bearcats will host Houston to start the Big 12 slate. The
game comes after a trip to Miami (Ohio) and before a pair of games against dark horse Big 12
contenders Texas Tech and UCF. If the Bearcats beat the Redhawks, this Big 12 opener becomes a
significant trap game for Cincinnati.
COLORADO: VS. CINCINNATI, OCT. 26
The Buffaloes have a brutal schedule before (Kansas State, Arizona) and after (Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma State). The Bearcats may look like a breather game to the Buffaloes. Cincinnati won’t be, and the game could be the difference in whether CU goes to a bowl game or not.
HOUSTON: VS. BAYLOR, NOV. 23
The Cougars may think this game will be a breather, given the games they have before facing Baylor —
Kansas, Utah, Kansas State and Arizona in succession. Baylor won’t care if Houston is exhausted from
that stretch. The Bears could be fighting for a bowl game.
IOWA STATE: VS. CINCINNATI, NOV. 16
This one speaks for itself. The Cyclones are a Big 12 contender. The week before Iowa State faces
Kansas. Two weeks after that, it’s Utah and Kansas State. ISU can’t lose this game if it expects to advance to the Big 12 title game.
KANSAS: VS. HOUSTON, OCT. 19
Like Iowa State, this game is the classic trap game. The Jayhawks start Big 12 play with winnable games
against West Virginia, TCU, and Arizona State before they face the Cougars. After that? It’s the Sunflower
State Showdown with Kansas State. Don’t look ahead, KU.
KANSAS STATE: VS. CINCINNATI, NOV. 23
The Nov. 30 finale against Iowa State may mean a lot to the Wildcats. It may be the game that clinches
their berth in the Big 12 title game. Does Kansas State want to let that chance slip against the Bearcats, a
team that could get much better as the season progresses?
OKLAHOMA STATE: VS. WEST VIRGINIA, OCT. 5
The Cowboys probably have one of the toughest first two games in league play. They start with Utah
and then face Kansas State. What if the Cowboys win both games and enter that game with WVU
undefeated? It’s the perfect trap.
TCU: VS. HOUSTON, OCT. 4
The week before the Cougars come to Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs travel to face Kansas. After
Houston, the Horned Frogs have to go to Utah. The Horned Frogs need the win, and the Cougars are just
good enough to take it away from them.
TEXAS TECH: VS. BAYLOR, OCT. 19
The Red Raiders have a relatively forgiving schedule to start the Big 12 slate, with their biggest early
game against Arizona on Oct. 5. After that, it’s a week off and then the Baylor Bears come to Lubbock.
So, 14 days between games and a team most believe will be among the bottom of the conference feels
like the perfect definition of a trap game.
UCF: AT ARIZONA STATE, NOV. 9
The Knights will head to Tempe coming off a home game against Arizona and entering a late bye week
before back-to-back games against West Virginia and Utah to end the season. This feels like the perfect
game to trip up a dark horse run at a Big 12 title game berth.
UTAH: VS. BYU, NOV. 9
It isn’t just a renewal of the ‘Holy War” rivalry. It’s exactly the kind of game that could trip up a team
that has College Football Playoff aspirations. It comes at the end of four games the Utes should win —
Arizona State, TCU, and Houston. The last one in that stretch could be the one that traps them.
WEST VIRGINIA: VS. BAYLOR, NOV. 16
WVU’s start to Big 12 play is, frankly, brutal — Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas State and
Arizona. After that, the Mountaineers get a bye week and then face Cincinnati. Win that game, and then
it’s Baylor. It’s the game AFTER the game after the break that becomes the trap.
