Big 12 Football 2012: Ranking the 20 Best Big 12 Matchups for Upcoming Season

Following a great season on the field for the Big 12 conference, the league will once again experience change in its membership as Texas A&M and Missouri leave for the SEC while TCU and West Virginia join the league in 2012.

While West Virginia to the Big 12 is still stuck in the legal system right now, the Mountaineers will be included in these rankings as all signs point to WVU being in the conference when the 2012 season kicks off this September.

With the league pretty wide open with departures like Robert Griffin III and Justin Blackmon, the following slideshow will rank the 20 best games for the Big 12 conference for the upcoming 2012 season.

No. 20: Kansas vs. Baylor

With the Jayhawks getting a new head coach in Charlie Weis and quarterback in Dayne Crist, Kansas might have enough to knock off Baylor this season as they came up just short against the Bears last November in a 31-30 loss in overtime.

No. 19: Iowa State vs. Baylor

Even though the Cyclones racked up more than 400 yards of offense last year against Baylor, the Bears had almost 200 more yards. However, with Robert Griffin III off to the NFL, the Cyclones could get the win this season and break the 5-5 tie in the series between the two programs.

No. 18: Kansas State vs. Texas Tech

The Wildcats got their first win over the Red Raiders since the 2000 season in their comeback 41-34 victory last October. Kansas State moved to 6-0 following that game for the first time since the aforementioned 2000 season.

No. 17: Baylor vs. Kansas State

Baylor will be looking to avenge its 36-35 loss to the Wildcats last October but without Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III, as he is set to enter the NFL draft this April.

No. 16: Iowa State vs. Kansas State

While Iowa State used to dominate the rivalry with border-rival Kansas State in the early days of their series, the Wildcats have dominated the Cyclones over the past two decades, which will likely continue in 2012.

No. 15: Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State

If it weren’t for the Cyclones’ upset of Oklahoma State last November, the Cowboys would have probably made the BCS National Championship game against LSU instead of Alabama. Expect OSU to get some revenge on Iowa State.

No. 14: Oklahoma vs. Baylor

The Sooners will not have to worry about the playmaking abilities of Robert Griffin III in this year’s matchup with Baylor. Oklahoma will likely continue its dominance of the rivalry and earn its 20th victory in what would be only 22 meetings in either program’s history.

No. 13: Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech

Even though the Red Raiders fell off the map after their upset of the Sooners last October, Oklahoma will look to avenge its fourth loss to Texas Tech in the past seven meetings as the two Big 12 teams have been very balanced over the last several years. 

No. 12: Kansas State vs. Texas

Following their 17-13 win last November on the road in Austin, Kansas State will look to continue their domination of their rivalry with Texas in 2012. The Wildcats collected their fourth straight win against the Longhorns in 2011.

No. 11: Oklahoma State vs. Texas

After the Longhorns rattled off 12 straight wins versus the Cowboys from 1998 to 2009, Oklahoma State has seized control of their conference rivalry as they look to win their third straight game over Texas in 2012.

No. 10: Kansas State vs. TCU

As TCU makes the jump from the Mountain West conference to the Big 12 in 2012, the Horned Frogs will have their hands full. They enter the league against the Wildcats, who finished second in a very balanced league last year.

No. 9: Kansas State vs. West Virginia

As West Virginia prepares to make the move from the Big East to the Big 12 in 2012, the Mountaineers will definitely see a clash of styles in offenses. Dana Holgorsen runs a very wide-open passing offense while Bill Snyder of Kansas State pounds the ball on the ground for the Wildcats.

No. 8: Oklahoma vs. TCU

As the Horned Frogs adjust to their new conference in 2012, TCU will meet Oklahoma for the first time since 2008 but this time as conference opponents. This game will likely be a shootout as the teams ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in points per game in 2011.

No. 7: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

In their expected 2012 meeting as conference foes in the Big 12, Oklahoma and West Virginia will meet for the fifth time as the two programs both have two wins apiece against each other, with the Mountaineers earning the past two: in 1982 and the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.

No. 6: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma

While this isn’t a meeting between two schools from the Big 12, the Oklahoma Sooners will welcome the Fighting Irish to Norman on October 27th in the first meeting between the two legendary programs since Notre Dame won 31-34 in South Bend in October of 1999.

No. 5: Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State

As Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon move on to the NFL, Kansas State might not have as hard a time with Oklahoma State in 2012 as they did in 2011's 52-45 shootout where both offenses combined for 1,082 yards of total offense.

No. 4: Kansas State vs. Oklahoma

The 2011 matchup was Kansas State's best chance to get its first win over Oklahoma since the 2003 Big 12 title game. This season, the Wildcats will try to make the score a little better and hold the Sooners to much fewer yards than the 690 of total offense last October.

No. 3: Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia

It will be a homecoming for West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen as he plays the team where he served as offensive coordinator for one season before making the jump to Morgantown, in what will be an offensive shootout in 2012.

No. 2: Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State

The Sooners will have their eyes on their 2012 contest with Oklahoma State as Oklahoma will look to get back on track before the Cowboys notch their second straight win in this rivalry.

No. 1: Oklahoma vs. Texas

In what has to be the marquee game for the Big 12 every season, Oklahoma and Texas will once again meet in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl as the Sooners and Longhorns look to get a step ahead in the chase for the 2012 Big 12 Championship.

What Do You Think?

With matchups between both old rivals and the new stable of conference members for the Big 12, which game during the upcoming season do you think will be the best during 2012?

Chris Humphrey is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. He has written for multiple sections on B/R like college basketball, the UFC, the NBA, the NFL and college football in a short period of time with the site. You can become a fan on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @_CBH_.