Every Big 12 Team's Make Or Break Game For The 2022 College Football Season

It might not be their biggest marquee game of the season, but we'll learn everything about each Big 12 team in these games.

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It wasn't their biggest game of the season, but TCU's Week 8 loss to West Virginia last season seemed to be the breaking point. The Frogs were 3-3 and would go on to finish a bowl in-eligible 5-7.

That led me down the road: which game of the season will we really find out about each team in the Big 12? What will that point be where we see the true success a team will or won't have?

This doesn't mean their biggest game, per se– rather the game that could put the "DONE" stamp on each team's season. Or the one that vaults them into conversations.

Baylor Bears: Week 5 vs. Oklahoma State

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It's questions aplenty for the 2022 Baylor Bears, who lost a ton of their 2021 Big 12 Championship team in the offseason. They do have a tough test traveling to Provo to face BYU, but a loss there could be written off as flukey and in a weird environment.

Instead, heading into a bye, are we talking a 5-0 Baylor team poking around the Top 10? A 3-2 Baylor squad outside the Top 25? Their home stint against the Pokes will set expectations for the Bears heading into big games at Oklahoma and Texas later in the year.

Iowa State Cyclones: Week 10 vs. West Virginia

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Why so late for Iowa State? Their Vegas win total is at 6.5 – teetering around being bowl eligible. Their Week 10 home game against West Virginia comes in the middle of a Big 12 Murderer's Row of Kansas State, at Texas, a bye week, vs. Oklahoma, and at Oklahoma State.

Lose this one and they may not make a bowl game.

Kansas Jayhawks: Week 1 vs. Tennessee Tech

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Tennessee Tech is far from the Jayhawks' toughest test of the year, especially handling them at home to start the year. But how does Kansas handle this game? Is this a 17-10 ugly win? Or do they take care of business?

Kansas isn't anyone's pick to make real noise in the Big 12 this year– though they've proven to be thorns in multiple teams' sides– but this opening game will set the tone for KU right off the bat.

Kansas State Wildcats: Week 4 at Oklahoma

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As I've laid out in a few previews, I think Kansas State is going to be a pretty good football team. Luckily, I won't have to wait long to find out if that ends up on Freezing Cold Takes by October.

K-State's taken two of the last three from Oklahoma, and a trip to Norman marks the start of conference play for Kansas State. If they go in and get their doors blown off by Brent Venables & Co., we're looking at the Wildcats differently than if they play close or even win.

Oklahoma Sooners: Week 3 at Nebraska

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Yes, I'm aware Nebraska finished 3-9 and that Scott Frost is on the hot seat. But how does Oklahoma handle their business in Lincoln after a scare at home last year? The Huskers came into the Palace on the Prairie and nearly knocked off No. 10 Oklahoma.

Venables' first two games as the head coach of the Sooners come against UTEP and Kent State; we'll learn much more about what to expect in the early season from OU in Week 3. Nebraska played them tough and physical last year. Plus, they face a familiar foe: former Texas QB Casey Thompson, who tossed for 388 yards and five touchdowns on OU last season.

Oklahoma State Cowboys: Week 5 at Baylor

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Ditto for Oklahoma State as for Baylor– this game is huge for the Big 12 landscape. The Pokes have the benefit of coming off a bye week after a favorable out of conference schedule (Central Michigan, Arizona State, FCS Arkansas Pine-Bluff).

OK State went through a lot of turnover this offseason, including multiple All Americans leaving and the departure of Ace defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. How do the Cowboys respond to their heartbreaking loss in the conference championship against these guys?

TCU Horned Frogs: Week 6 at Kansas

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TCU nearly let this one get away from them at home last year. It's easy to overlook an opponent like Kansas, especially when the game is sandwiched in between games at home against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Lance Leipold has the Jayhawks playing feisty at times. How well coached is this TCU team under Sonny Dykes? A low-profile, sleepy outing in Lawrence could either bite the Frogs by the ankles or be a true cakewalk. TCU absolutely needs to take care of business here and not get caught looking ahead.

Texas Longhorns: Week 6 vs. Oklahoma

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In Texas' case, their biggest conference game of the season is also their most pivotal. Oddsmakers aren't projecting a Week 2 nail-biter against Alabama in Austin and– outside of extreme fans– no one's going to overreact to Texas getting blown out by the National Champion favorites.

But after blowing a 28-7 first quarter (38-20 at halftime) lead last season, how do the Horns respond against their arch rivals? How does new QB Quinn Ewers hold up on the biggest stage? Last year, this loss sent Texas into their longest losing streak in several decades. A loss this year could derail the entire season.

Texas Tech Red Raiders: Week 2 vs. Houston

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Lose this game and Texas Tech could very well be 1-4 going into the bye week. The Red Raiders play a tough schedule, no doubt about it. But ahead of that bye week is downright brutal: vs. FCS Murray State, vs. Houston, at a ranked NC State, vs. Texas, at Kansas State, and at Oklahoma State.

With conference play right on the horizon, it may be easy for Tech to overlook Houston. But the Cougars are a top-25 team and return a ton of talent from a 12-win team a season ago. Tech beat them in 2021, so Dana Holgorsen's crew will be ready to go in 2022.

West Virginia Mountaineers: Week 4 at Virginia Tech

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WVU's biggest game of the season is their opener against longtime rival Pitt. But their make-or-break game could very well be Week 4 at a scrappy Virginia Tech team under new management. Lane Stadium is an impossible venue to play in.

This is a pretty good letdown lookahead spot for the Mountaineers, who travel to Texas the next week before heading into a bye and diving headlong into conference play. A potential 2-3 mark with a home match against Baylor and a sneaky-tough game at Texas Tech ahead is dangerous waters for WVU.

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