In a recent list from Pro Football Focus, two members of the Big 12 Conference wound up on the receiving end of the nation’s easiest college football schedules.
The two Big 12 teams featured on the list were the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kansas Jayhawks, joined by Iowa, Miami, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and SMU.
The first team mentioned on PFF’s list, the Cincinnati Bearcats, are coming off a last-place finish in 2023 with an overall record of 3-9. Cincinnati’s 2024 schedule appears to be much more manageable than its previous one, with its toughest non-conference game coming on September 7th vs. Pittsburgh.
The Bearcats take on just one Preseason Top 25 team in 2024, with a matchup in Manhattan set for November 23rd vs. No. 18 Kansas State. Besides the Wildcats, Cincinnati will clash with Towson, Miami, OH, Houston, Texas Tech, UCF, Arizona State, Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State, and TCU. The schedule puts UC up against just three teams picked to finish in the top half of the league in the Preseason Media Poll, in Kansas State, Iowa State, and West Virginia.
In the case of the Jayhawks, the same can be said of their schedule. Kansas squares off against just one Preseason Top 25 team (No. 18 Kansas State), and will take on just three teams picked to finish in the top eight spots of league play in the Preseason Media Poll (Kansas State, Iowa State, West Virginia).
While the Bearcats appear to still need some more pieces in order to make a run to the conference championship game, the same cannot be said for Kansas. If Lance Leipold and the company can keep their star quarterback Jalon Daniels healthy, Kansas will have a serious shot as a dark-horse contender to win the league and make the CFP.
Kansas will take the field on Thursday, August 29th, to kick off their season against Lindenwood, while Cincinnati has a few more days rest before kicking off the season on Saturday, August 31st, vs. Towson.
