The five most important Big 12 non-conference games of 2024

There are some conferences in college football, particularly the SEC, that have traditionally been full of conference pride. We've all heard the "S-E-C! S-E-C!" chants from fans of that league in bowl games and non-conference games and many of us have wondered why conference affiliation means so much to some fandoms.

Fan bases in the Big 12 have never been that supportive of one another. For whatever reason, there has never been much conference braggadocio coming from Texas Tech and its conference bunkmates.

Maybe it's because the conference is the youngest of the major conferences in the country. Thus, fans of every team in the league remember a time when their school was in a different conference such as the Big 8 or the Southwest Conference. What's more, many Big 12 fans are of the opinion that the sport was better before the creation of the Big 12 ended those leagues.

Perhaps the fact that the Big 12 has been full of infighting almost since its inception has kept the bonds of brotherhood from growing strong among its member institutions. After all, since the early 2010s, conference realignment has been a constant hassle that has impacted the Big 12 more than any other league in the nation other than the PAC-12.

With all the continual shuffling of the deck, it's been tough for Big 12 pride to develop organically. What's more, the fact that the league has constantly been belittled and looked down upon by media members and leaders of other conferences has given Big 12 fans an inferiority complex.

Now, though, given the current landscape of college football, conference pride is more important than ever. That's because the perception of each conference is about to mean more than ever before given the new 12-team College Football Playoff format which will pick six participants at-large with almost all of them virtually guaranteed to be from one of the major conferences.

If the Big 12 wants more seats at the playoff table each year, then the league is going to have to prove its worth on the field. Thus, fans of schools from around the league would be wise to start rooting for their conference brethren because the more high-profile non-conference wins the league racks up, the better it will be for the entire league's health.

So with that in mind, let's look at the five most important Big 12 non-conference games of 2024. Though it may be strange for many fans, these are games in which our rooting interests should be for our Big 12 rivals, something that hasn't always been a popular way to think in this conference.

Penn State @ West Virginia

One of the best opportunities for the Big 12 to pick up a signature victory over a traditional power from one of the two most boisterous conferences in the nation will take place on August 31 when Penn State travels to West Virginia in what should be a juicy regional showdown.

The bad news for the Big 12 is that this rivalry is woefully lopsided with Penn State holding an all-time edge of 49-9-2. However, this year's matchup could be rather competitive.

Penn State was picked third in a recent Big Ten media poll after going 10-3 and finishing ranked No. 13 last season. Meanwhile, WVU was picked seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll after a surprising nine-win season a year ago.

This could be a sneaky opportunity for the Big 12 to knock off one of the Big Ten's proudest programs. The Mountaineers return most of last year's team that went 9-4 and they are a tough team to handle at home. If they can beat the Nittany Lions, it would be a huge tone-setter for the Big 12 in the first full week of the season.

UCF @ Florida

No conference is higher on itself than the SEC. It is perceived as the top football conference in the nation and it just ripped Texas and Oklahoma away from the Big 12. That's why every opportunity the Big 12 has to beat SEC programs is big.

This year, one of the newest programs in the Big 12, Central Florida, can score a massive win for the conference by beating in-state rival Florida on the first Saturday of October. It won't be easy, though, as this game will be played in Gainesville at The Swamp.

Still, this is an opportunity for UCF. Florida is coming off of a 5-7 season and was picked just 12th in the SEC preseason poll. Meanwhile, UCF was picked 8th in the Big 12 preseason poll.

If the Knights can't beat what is expected to be a bad Florida team, then it will reflect poorly on the Big 12. But by scoring a win over the Gators, the Knights will be able to give their new conference something invaluable, a win over a name-brand SEC program.

Arkansas @ Oklahoma State

It will be important for Oklahoma State to take care of business at home against Arkansas in another Big 12 vs. SEC showdown. That's because this is a game in which the Big 12 team should be a heavy favorite.

When these teams meet in Stillwater on the first Saturday of September, Oklahoma State will be expected to win. After all, the Cowboys are one of the favorites to win their conference this year after being picked third in the preseason poll.

Meanwhile, Arkansas is not thought of highly. They were picked 14th in their league's preseason poll and they have a daunting schedule this year.

If Oklahoma State can secure a dominant win over the Razorbacks, it won't send shockwaves throughout the nation but it would remind people that the top of the Big 12 is much better than the bottom of the SEC. However, if the Hogs pull off the upset, it will be a brutal result for the perception of the Big 12 which makes this game between a Big 12 contender and an SEC pretender so important.

Iowa State @ Iowa

Another opportunity for the Big 12 to make a statement against the Big Ten will arrive on September 7 when Iowa State travels to Iowa for their annual rivalry game. That will pit two similarly-tiered teams from both conferences against one another.

The CyHawk rivalry has not been kind to the Cyclones for quite some time, though. Since 2015, ISU has managed just one win in this heated series.

The good news in this rivalry, at least for the Big 12 in 2024, is that the last four meetings have gone to the road team. Can Matt Campbell's team extend that streak by one more season?

Iowa State was picked sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll while Iowa was picked fifth in the Big 10. Thus, this game will go a way toward showing which conference has the stronger middle tier. That shouldn't be insignificant when it comes to deciding if the Big 12 deserves multiple playoff teams.

Colorado @ Nebraska

Finally, when Colorado heads to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers, it could be one of the most intriguing games ever between a pair of teams coming off of losing seasons. It will also tell us quite a bit about which conference is stronger at the bottom of the league.

This year, Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes will be trying to use a massive influx of transfers to rebound from a 4-8 season in his debut campaign. Similarly, Matt Rhule guided Nebraska to just a 5-7 season in his first go-round in Lincoln in 2023.

Neither of these teams is expected to be all that much better this fall. Nebraska was picked just eighth in the Big Ten and Colorado was picked 11th in the Big 12.

However, one thing that most conferences like to argue is that they are strong from top to bottom. Therefore, this matchup of lower-rung teams from the Big 12 and Big Ten will tell us something important about which conference really is stronger all the way through the league.