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The NCAA Football Rules Committee will consider a proposed rule change intended to discourage players from faking injuries that result in unwarranted timeouts, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

In a proposal submitted by the American Football Coaches Association, a player who goes down on the field and receives medical attention would be required to sit out the rest of that team's possession, via ESPN.

Under the current rules, players must sit out at least one play before entering the game once again.

Players have increasingly utilized the tactic of faking injuries over the past decade to slow down tempo offenses. It has been used to essentially get an extra timeout and is also a method for an offense to potentially avoid incurring a delay of game penalty.

"The American Football Coaches Association is acutely concerned about this," AFCA executive director Craig Bohl said, via ESPN. "It goes against the grain of the betterment of our game and the ethics. We crafted this, we floated this, and it's been received well. I'm sure there'll be some pushback. Our point (to detractors) is give us something better if you don't like it."

There are some stipulations in the proposal. If a player goes down, a coach can use a charged timeout to get the player back on the field without waiting until the next possession, per ESPN. A player suffering an injury due to a hit that results in a penalty would be exempt from the proposed rule as well.

Also, the designated players that wear green dots on their helmets and can communicate with the sideline are allowed to re-enter games following an absence of just one play.

If the rules committee passes the proposal for the change, it would then go to the Playing Rules Oversight Panel for official approval in April.

If approved, it would be implemented ahead of the 2025 season.

Arch Manning is no stranger to comments about his football lineage as the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, but he continues to take them in stride.

"Yeah, I mean, that's fair," he said after reading a comment calling him a "nepo baby" during an "I Got Time Today" segment for Complex (h/t On3). "I do have a lot of football in my family, so it's a fair comment. Freedom of speech."

TRENDING: Texas QB Arch Manning reacts to being called a 'nepo baby,' Bronny James comparisons, and more🤣⬇️

(via @ComplexSports) https://t.co/L2Hn1g4EwW pic.twitter.com/ZwgMGWJWuj

— On3 (@On3sports) February 6, 2025

He also responded to a Bronny James comparison.

"I don't know Bronny; DM'd him once," he said. "Seems like a great guy, so maybe that's a compliment."

The Bronny comparison is more likely in the same vein as the "nepo baby" comment, i.e. a suggestion that Manning's place on Texas has more to do with his famous uncles than his own ability, much as it has been suggested that the younger James was only drafted because his father, LeBron James, wanted to play with him on the Los Angeles Lakers.

But Arch Manning—who served as Quinn Ewers' backup for the past two seasons after being the top overall prospect in the class of 2023—more than proved his merit when called upon this past season.

In a trio of starts for the Longhorns after Ewers suffered an abdominal injury, Manning threw for 806 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 82 yards and an additional two scores.

Yes, the competition wasn't exactly top tier, as Manning lit up UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe and a Mississippi State team that went just 2-10. But he hardly looked like a player who was only on the field because of his last name.

With Ewers headed to the draft, Manning is now the starter for the Longhorns, and expectations are high.

"Arch is a dog, man," Manning's former teammate at Texas, Kansas City Chiefs wideout Xavier Worthy, told reporters this week. "I expect nothing less than a Heisman. Nothing less than a Heisman."

But Manning has acknowledged that his last name has garnered him a "lot of underserved attention," as he told ESPN's Marty Smith last week.

"I kinda wanted to bring Texas back."

Arch Manning sat down with @MartySmithESPN to talk @TexasFootball, which family member his game is most like and his college experience so far 🤘 pic.twitter.com/KxuDhb7uPi

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 30, 2025

"But hopefully it gets more deserving in the next few months," he added. "I don't think I've done enough yet to be taking a lot of pictures at restaurants and signing autographs. But maybe that will come eventually."

To the victors go the spoils, and Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day is reportedly benefiting greatly from the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff national championship.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Thursday that Day and Ohio State agreed to a new seven-year contract to keep him with the team through the 2031 campaign. The agreement added three years onto his contract that was already in place and will pay him an average of $12.5 million per season.

Landing a contract extension like this is the latest step in an incredible turnaround for Day over the course of the last two months.

After all, November's shocking home loss to a Michigan team that was so mediocre it went to the ReliaQuest Bowl felt like a possible breaking point for Day's tenure at Ohio State. It was his fourth straight loss to the school's hated archrival, and this one was particularly concerning since the offense managed 10 points against a team it was expected to blow out.

Criticism from the Buckeye fanbase reached an all-time high, and some national media members even said it was time for Ohio State to move on from its head coach.

While Day's overall record wasn't in question, the fact that Ohio State hadn't beaten Michigan since 2019 or won the Big Ten since 2020 just wasn't good enough for the high standards in place. It also fell short of a national title during CFP appearances in the 2019, 2020 and 2022 seasons.

And then everything changed.

Perhaps the Michigan loss woke the Buckeyes up because they steamrolled their way through the inaugural 12-team CFP.

First came a 42-17 destruction of the SEC's Tennessee in a game where Day may have realistically been coaching for his job since it was the first one after the loss to the Wolverines. Then came a 41-21 win over No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl in a game that was 34-0 in the second quarter and not even as close as the final score indicated.

The Scarlet and Gray then went into Dallas and defeated the SEC's Texas Longhorns by 14 before an 11-point win over Notre Dame in the title game. All four wins came by double digits, and the champions trailed for fewer than seven total minutes during the course of the entire playoff.

While Ohio State fans undoubtedly want him to turn things around against Michigan, Day has now earned the benefit of the doubt after leading the program to the sport's mountaintop.

He also said during an appearance on The Steam Room podcast with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley, "Woody Hayes is the last (coach) to win multiple national championships at Ohio State. That's something I've now set for myself. To be the next head coach to win multiple national championships at Ohio State. There's still a lot more to be done."

It's quite the goal, but he now has the long-term stability to pursue it following this contract extension.

Deion Sanders, who was tied to the Dallas Cowboys' head coaching vacancy before the team promoted former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the role, says he wasn't cut out for an NFL head coaching job.

Sanders discussed his candidacy in a conversation with former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman on his Tubi talk show "We Got Time Today," per Reuters.

"I couldn't coach pro ball," Sanders said.

Sanders continued: "I couldn't coach pro ball, because the way they practice, the way they go about it, I couldn't take it. As a man, and as a football enthusiast, and I care about the game. The game is still providing for Troy and I, so there is no way I could allow that to happen on my watch. That would be tough."

Sanders has previously given similar answers when asked about potentially coaching in the NFL. He told Bri Amaranthus of Sports Illustrated in 2023, ahead of his first season with Colorado, that he didn't "have any desire or ambition to coach in the NFL."

"I have a problem with men getting their checks and not doing their jobs," Sanders said in 2023. "I would be too tough as a coach in the NFL because I still have those old-school attributes."

Although the Cowboys only officially interviewed Schottenheimer, Leslie Frazier, Robert Saleh and Kellen Moore for the open head coaching position, owner and general manager Jerry Jones also reportedly held a "informal meeting" with Sanders, per DallasCowboys.com's Nick Eatman.

After that talk, Sanders told ESPN's Adam Schefter in January it had been "intriguing" to hear from Jones.

"I love Jerry and believe in Jerry," Sanders said, per Schefter. "After you hang up, and process it, and think about it, it's intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body and the community."

Sanders' sons, Shilo and Shedeur Sanders, are joining two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter in leaving Colorado for the 2025 NFL Draft. If Sanders remains in Boulder without them, the third-year Buffaloes head coach will be tasked with rebuilding his team around a new quarterback this fall.

The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils just keep rolling.

Duke improved to 20-2 overall and a perfect 12-0 in ACC play with an 83-54 victory over a struggling Syracuse team on Wednesday at JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange dropped to 10-13 overall and 4-8 in the conference.

All eyes are on Cooper Flagg every time he takes the floor, and the star freshman finished with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.

He was one of five Blue Devils to score in double figures, including Tyrese Proctor (16 points) and Isaiah Evans (10 points, four assists and three rebounds).

J.J. Starling led the way for the Orange with 12 points, but social media was focused on the victorious showing from Flagg and his teammates:

THE DIME 👀 @MaliqBrown1 pic.twitter.com/h9xh67WYGV

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 6, 2025

genius ball by Liq + the squad 🧠🖼️👀 pic.twitter.com/FwVdVBnRBH

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 6, 2025

COOPER MF FLAGG!!! THROW IT DOWN YOUNG FELLAAAA 🔨 😤 pic.twitter.com/9rXCjyn4Pp

— Rick Heidrick (@rheidrick24) February 6, 2025

ive never seen a team play better defense then duke plays

— Brian Martin (@bigbrainnn30) February 6, 2025

pic.twitter.com/tfFAUHbAKk

— Duke Digest (@DukeDigest) February 6, 2025

Duke is looking like a well oiled machine…. I absolutely love it. Can’t let up tho, gotta stay locked in 😈 need CFost to get his confidence back too we believe in you #DukeNation

— TF (@torezfisher) February 6, 2025

Duke is otherworldly this year!

— U-Goboy (@U_goBoy) February 6, 2025

Cooper Flagg is the best college basketball player this year.

— Thatz Okay (@Thatz_Okay) February 6, 2025

@DukeNBA Cuse fans walking to the door at the 5:21 mark. Let’s go Duke!

— Eric eller (@Ericeller20) February 6, 2025

Historically, Duke and Syracuse is an intriguing matchup with legendary coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim. However, the programs are in two very different places following their retirements with the Blue Devils unblemished in conference play with one of the nation's best players in Flagg.

They were also coming off a blowout win over archrival North Carolina and entered play with no shortage of momentum.

That momentum didn't go anywhere out of the gates, as the visitors controlled play in the first half on the way to a commanding 14-point lead at intermission. They used a balanced attack to build that lead with Proctor finding his stroke from deep and Kon Knueppel consistently getting to the free-throw line.

Being able to create separation without Flagg doing too much of the heavy lifting underscores how dangerous this Blue Devils team can be by March because they don't need the likely No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft to carry them on a nightly basis.

Syracuse was within striking distance at the start of the second half, but that quickly changed.

Duke continued to pull away with impressive ball movement on the offensive side to go with swarming defense that created a number of turnovers and prevented the Orange from creating many open looks.

Cooper Flagg with the POWERFUL stuff 💥

(via @espn) pic.twitter.com/IVWuyzhp1z

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 6, 2025

Flagg also brought the Blue Devils bench to its feet with a monster slam and block on back-to-back plays, reminding everyone in attendance he can dazzle at a moment's notice even if he isn't going for 30-plus points.

The majority of the second half was a formality as Duke drained the energy from the crowd.

Saturday's trip to Clemson figures to be more challenging since the Tigers are in second place in the ACC at 10-2 with an opportunity to make up ground with a head-to-head showdown.

Ohio State reportedly didn't have to look far for its next offensive coordinator.

Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports and 247Sports reported Wednesday that the reigning national champions plan to promote co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline to the full-time O.C. position.

This comes after former O.C. Chip Kelly departed to fill the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.

That the Buckeyes would promote Hartline comes as no surprise and further guarantees he will remain with his alma mater after he previously interviewed for head-coaching jobs elsewhere.

After all, he is widely considered one of—if not the—best wide receivers coaches and recruiters in the sport who has helped maintain the program's powerhouse status during his eight seasons on the staff.

Hartline has recruited and worked with a long list of star wide receivers, including Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, among others.

He also played at Ohio State before an NFL career that included back-to-back seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards with the Miami Dolphins in 2012 and 2013.

Ohio State certainly didn't want to risk losing Hartline without a promotion after Kelly left, and now he will have the opportunity to further prove himself in a different role.

However, it remains to be seen if Hartline is given full play-calling capabilities in the offense even after this promotion.

After all, head coach Ryan Day has an offensive background and, as Pete Nakos of On3 pointed out, took over play-calling in 2023 after O.C. Kevin Wilson left for Tulsa. Day called plays that season even though Hartline held the official O.C. role.

Day then took a different approach in 2024 and went out and hired Kelly as a high-profile outside addition. In doing so, the head coach took more of a step back from consistent play-calling and played the CEO and game-management role that many head coaches do.

It was hard to argue with the results, as the Buckeyes went on to win the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff national championship. They were barely even threatened in their four CFP games, winning each of them by double digits and trailing for a grand total of fewer than seven minutes across the four contests.

Perhaps Day will give Hartline more play-calling responsibilities this time around, especially after such a strategy with Kelly resulted in Ohio State winning the national title.

If he does, the new O.C. will immediately be put to the test seeing how the Scarlet and Gray open the 2025 campaign with a home game against Texas.

Ron Rivera became the newest tenured NFL head coach to try his hand at the college game.

CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reported Wednesday that Rivera is expected to assume a "general manager-like role" for the Cal football program.

Rivera confirmed he's returning to his alma mater, adding that Bill Belichick "has made going back to school, cool."

Coach Belichick has made going back to school, cool. Stay tuned I am coming home. @CalAthletics @UCBerkeley @Cal #GoBears🐻

— Ron Rivera (@RonRivera80) February 5, 2025

It doesn't matter the sport or the level, administrators and executives are always quick to jump on what they consider to be the newest trend.

Hiring former NFL head coaches isn't unprecedented in college football, but Belichick's decision to take the North Carolina job is almost without parallel. The Tar Heels are betting that his experience and plan to turn them into "an NFL program at a college level" helps attract talent that otherwise wouldn't have looked at Chapel Hill.

Others were bound to try the same blueprint.

In the case of Rivera and Cal, his duties will involve far less coaching. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported the 63-year-old will "be involved in oversight of the program and its big-picture needs, including budget, coaching staff and the student-athlete experience."

Ron Rivera as GM is the first Cal Football decision in a long long time I have high conviction on that we got right, and the clearest marker to date that Football is a priority under this new administration.

We’re taking things seriously for first time since the mid 2000’s

— Ghost (@GhostofGarbers) February 5, 2025

Cal had a pair of 10-win seasons under Jeff Tedford in the 2000s, and the Golden Bears saw some of their top stars from that era thrive in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch and DeSean Jackson all spent time in Berkeley.

That kind of success has proven elusive after Tedford was fired in 2012, though. Cal has yet to finish a season ranked in the Top 25 since then and has only been ranked whatsoever in three separate years.

The fanbase might've been a little disappointed when the school chose to retain head coach Justin Wilcox, who has posted five straight losing records.

Bringing Rivera into the fold is a sign of ambition that's going to resonate positively with any disenchanted fans.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day's victory tour following the team's victory in the College Football Playoff Championship took him to late night television.

Appearing on Monday's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (starts at 2:14 mark), Day joked that he came "right back down to earth" immediately after the game as a result of the viral moment when a golf cart carrying him and two players crashed into a wall in the tunnel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium following the Buckeyes' 34-23 win over Notre Dame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=134&v=_vh3zw1tmoA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fcontenttools.bleacherreport.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

Some lady just crashed the golf cart carrying Ryan Day and Will Howard in the Mercedes-Benz tunnel after they won the National Championship pic.twitter.com/o3UqM5ZhrO

— Patrick Greenfield (@PCGreenfield) January 21, 2025

Another topic that Fallon asked about was an old social media post from LeBron James when he asked about college eligibility in a sport besides basketball.

Do I have college eligibility if I went to play another sport besides basketball? How does that rule work?

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 24, 2022

Day joked that he would give James a spot on the Ohio State football team, but he would be "right in line with the freshman" and "have to work his way up" to get snaps on Saturdays.

James accepted the coach's terms with his response on social media:

I don’t mind it one bit Coach Day! Earned Not Given! 🙏🏾 https://t.co/ymM3bpcauc

— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 28, 2025

James has often talked about the possibility of being a football player, including saying in 2011 that he had an offer to tryout for the Dallas Cowboys:

"I would have made the team. I would have tried out, but I would have made the team. One thing about it, I don't mind working for something, so if I would have had to try out for the Cowboys or the Seahawks, or if I'd have stayed home and went back home to Cleveland, I'd have tried (out), but I would have made the team. I just know what I'm capable of doing on the football field. Especially at that age."

Despite James' confidence about being able to have played in the NFL if he really gave it his best effort, it's safe to say he made the right career choice given how things are still going for him in the NBA.

Plus, depending on which position James played, it would have been tough to get snaps for the Buckeyes this season. Their receiver room featured freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

Carnell Tate was the No. 3 wideout and he had 733 receiving yards this season.

James gets the best of both worlds because he's still one of the best basketball players and he got to celebrate Ohio State's fifth national title by attending the College Football Playoff Championship Game in Atlanta.

The SEC schedule has not been kind to Mark Pope and his Kentucky Wildcats.

Ole Miss responded to Saturday's loss against top-ranked Auburn in a major way, upsetting Kentucky 98-84 on Tuesday night in a game they led by as many as 27 points.

Matthew Murrell led the way for the Rebels with 24 points, while Dre Davis added 17 points and Jaylen Murray chipped in with 15 points and 10 assists.

Otega Oweh (24 points, six rebounds), Jaxson Robinson (18 points) and Amari Williams (12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) led the way for Kentucky, which has now dropped five of its last eight games in SEC play.

That had fans riled up on Tuesday, with much of the ire directed toward Pope:

Mark pope is officially on fraud watch

— Only Calipari Can Save Us (@HeartBreakHogs) February 5, 2025

Mark Pope needs to learn how to coach defense. It’s going to be the downfall of this Kentucky Wildcat team. They are too talented to be this pathetic on the defensive end

— Let’s Talk Sports (@LTSports80) February 5, 2025

Second half was better, yes. But that first half was an embarrassment to Kentucky Basketball.

We better stomp South Carolina on Saturday. No excuses

— Big Blue Nation #BBN (@Big_BlueNation_) February 5, 2025

Kentucky might be in trouble without Cal

— crackertalksball (@PHDcracker) February 5, 2025

https://twitter.com/Suttid48/status/1886953587991044354

Mark Pope is absolutely nothing like Rick Pitino and that’s partly why this team is mind numbingly soft. https://t.co/ZUWIVuhewv

— Gavin Downard (@GavinDownard) February 5, 2025

Just play the best players and this doesn’t happen. Perry and Chandler cannot handle this level of basketball yet.

What a shame that Pope, who apparently is so intelligent, has not realized this.

— Kentucky Blue Source (@kybkueource) February 5, 2025

Will Kentucky finish the regular season in the top 25? That's a real question we have to ask ourselves now.

— BIG BLUE DUDE (@Kyduder) February 5, 2025

Back to back Kentucky games I’ve turned off. Embarrassment from Mark Pope and staff…..these are no excuses games. Pitiful. Pathetic. Embarrassing.

— CoachesCards (@CardsCoaches) February 5, 2025

Hanging my head low tonight Kentucky looked like a high school team and it hurts to say that but fact are facts

— James (@James1890524370) February 5, 2025

Did Arkansas break Kentucky? People are asking!

— JC Hoops (@JacksonCollier) February 5, 2025

It's been a rough few days for Kentucky fans. On Saturday, the Wildcats lost to a mediocre Arkansas team, 89-79, which is of course coached by former Kentucky head honcho John Calipari. That one stung.

Then came Tuesday's effort, as Kentucky continued to struggle on the defensive end. Ole Miss deserves some credit for playing fantastic team offense—the Rebels finished with 24 assists to just one turnover and shot 13-of-30 from three (43.3 percent)—but Kentucky didn't exactly make life difficult for the Rebs.

The Wildcats will have a very winnable matchup against South Carolina (10-12) on Saturday before a rough stretch starting next week that includes matchups against Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Oklahoma, Auburn and Missouri.

The Wildcats better figure out how to stop the bleeding, and fast, or the rest of the SEC schedule is going to chew them up.

Start marking your calendars, Big 12 fans.

The 2025 football schedule has arrived.

The Big 12 revealed the entire schedule for all of its teams Tuesday for the upcoming campaign that will start on Aug. 23 with the highly anticipated showdown between Iowa State and Kansas State in Ireland.

Here is a look at the full slate:

Week 0 (8/23)

• Iowa State vs. Kansas State (neutral site)
• Fresno State at Kansas

Week 1 (8/30)

• Hawaii at Arizona
• Northern Arizona at Arizona State
• Auburn at Baylor
• Portland State at BYU
• Jacksonville State at UCF (Thursday)
• Cincinnati vs. Nebraska (neutral site)
• Georgia Tech at Colorado
• Stephen F. Austin at Houston
• South Dakota at Iowa State
• Wagner at Kansas
• North Dakota at Kansas State
• UT Martin at Oklahoma State
• TCU at North Carolina (Monday)
• Arkansas Pine Bluff at Texas Tech
• Utah at UCLA
• Robert Morris at West Virginia

Week 2 (9/6)

• Weber State at Arizona
• Arizona State at Mississippi State
• Baylor at SMU
• Stanford at BYU
• North Carolina A&T at UCF
• Bowling Green at Cincinnati
• Delaware at Colorado
• Houston at Rice
• Iowa at Iowa State
• Kansas at Missouri
• Army at Kansas State
• Oklahoma State at Oregon
• Kent State at Texas Tech
• Cal Poly at Utah
• West Virginia at Ohio

Week 3 (9/13)

• Kansas State at Arizona
• Texas State at Arizona State
• Samford at Baylor
• Northwestern State at Cincinnati
• Colorado at Houston
• Iowa State at Arkansas State
• Abilene Christian at TCU
• Oregon State at Texas Tech
• Utah at Wyoming
• Pitt at West Virginia

Week 4 (9/20)

• Arizona State at Baylor
• BYU at East Carolina
• North Carolina at UCF
• Wyoming at Colorado
• West Virginia at Kansas 
• Tulsa at Oklahoma State
• SMU at TCU
• Texas Tech at Utah

Week 5 (9/27)

• Arizona at Iowa State
• TCU at Arizona State
• Baylor at Oklahoma State
• BYU at Colorado
• UCF at Kansas State
• Cincinnati at Kansas
• Houston at Oregon State
• Utah at West Virginia

Week 6 (10/4)

• Oklahoma State at Arizona
• Kansas State at Baylor
• West Virginia at BYU (Friday)
• Kansas at UCF
• Iowa State at Cincinnati
• Colorado at TCU
• Texas Tech at Houston

Week 7 (10/11)

• BYU at Arizona
• Arizona State at Utah
• UCF at Cincinnati
• Iowa State at Colorado
• Houston at Oklahoma State
• Kansas at Texas Tech
• TCU at Kansas State

Week 8 (10/18)

• Arizona at Houston
• Texas Tech at Arizona State
• Baylor at TCU
• Utah at BYU
• West Virginia at UCF
• Cincinnati at Oklahoma State

Week 9 (10/25)

• Houston at Arizona State
• Baylor at Cincinnati
• BYU at Iowa State
• Colorado at Utah
• Kansas State at Kansas
• Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
• TCU at West Virginia

Week 10 (11/1)

• Arizona at Colorado
• Arizona State at Iowa State
• UCF at Baylor
• Cincinnati at Utah
• West Virginia at Houston
• Oklahoma State at Kansas
• Texas Tech at Kansas State

Week 11 (11/8)

• Kansas at Arizona
• BYU at Texas Tech
• Houston at UCF
• Colorado at West Virginia
• Iowa State at TCU

Week 12 (11/15)

• Arizona at Cincinnati
• West Virginia at Arizona State
• Utah at Baylor
• TCU at BYU
• UCF at Texas Tech
• Kansas State at Oklahoma State

Week 13 (11/22)

• Baylor at Arizona
• Arizona State at Colorado
• BYU at Cincinnati
• Oklahoma State at UCF
• TCU at Houston
• Kansas at Iowa State
• Kansas State at Utah

Week 14 (11/29)

• Arizona at Arizona State (Friday)
• Houston at Baylor
• UCF at BYU
• Cincinnati at TCU
• Colorado at Kansas State
• Iowa State at Oklahoma State
• Utah at Kansas (Friday)
• Texas Tech at West Virginia 

Big 12 Championship Game (12/6)

---

While a number of games stand out, attention naturally turns to the nonconference clashes. After all, that will be the Big 12's best chance to prove itself against other leagues across the country as teams battle for positioning in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Notably, Cincinnati will play Nebraska from the Big Ten in the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium, Baylor hosts Auburn from the SEC, Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes host Georgia Tech from the ACC and TCU travels to face Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels from the ACC all in Week 1.

The opportunities to make a national statement don't stop there, as Oklahoma State travels to Oregon, Iowa State hosts Iowa and Kansas travels to Missouri.

Perhaps the most unusual nonconference game will pit two teams from the Big 12 against each other when Kansas State and Arizona play in Week 3. That is considered a nonconference game because it was scheduled when the Wildcats were still in the Pac-12 before they joined the Big 12 during conference realignment and expansion.

The Wildcats and everyone else will be attempting to catch reigning champion Arizona State, which defeated Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game and then pushed powerhouse Texas to double-overtime in the College Football Playoff.

Arizona State faces a nonconference test at Mississippi State from the SEC before playing Sanders' Buffaloes, Baylor, Utah and the Cyclones in a Big 12 title game rematch all on the road.

It won't be an easy title defense, and now the Sun Devils and everyone else know what they have to navigate to reach the CFP.