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We're continuing our march across Big 12 country with your dream trek for 2013. Want to see the best of the best in the Big 12 this season? Come along with us.

We don't make the final decisions about where we spend our fall Saturdays, but I'm walking week by week through the 2013 season and forecasting where I'd like to be. Circumstances change as games happen, of course, but here's how I'd project the season. Road nonconference games count. Let's move on with the next week.

More 2013 Ultimate Big 12 Road Trip.

Here's how the Week 5 schedule in the Big 12 looks:

• Iowa State at Tulsa
• TCU vs. SMU
• Oklahoma State at West Virginia
• Oklahoma at Notre Dame

My pick: Oklahoma at Notre Dame

A lot of good games this week in the Big 12, but this one has no competition. Notre Dame should be salty once again, less than a year after knocking off the Sooners in Norman to keep its run to the national title game rolling. Colleague Mark Schlabach has Notre Dame at No. 9 in his Too-Early top 25, but this matchup is all about the ambience.

The Irish have tough matchups against Michigan and Michigan State before hosting the Sooners. As someone who's been to the storied stadium in South Bend only once on a random July morning, I'd love to take a trip north and see a game at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time. The history there is palpable, and getting to experience it in person would certainly be special.

It'll be a heck of a game, too. Oklahoma gets a week off before it faces the Irish, but would need to knock off West Virginia in Norman and beat Tulsa on the road to be undefeated. If Notre Dame survives, too, both teams might be in the top 10 when this game kicks off.

Hard to beat a matchup between two top 10 teams on any ultimate road trip relating to college football. There are only so many of those games. Let's hope this is one of them.

SoonerNation
From Bob Przybylo : In this week's Sooner Intel, we have notes on next week's spring game and more.

HornsNation
From Max Olson and William Wilkerson : The Longhorns are high on the list of running back Soso Jamabo after his spring game visit, but did they impress Alabama defensive back commit Deionte Thompson last weekend?

More from Olson : ESPN Watch List cornerback Tony Brown is enjoying the two-sport life.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Last year, no Big 12 team faced a top-25 opponent in nonconference play for the first month of the season.

When all 30 Big 12 nonconference games were finished, just six came against teams from major conferences, excluding Oklahoma's October date with Notre Dame.

This season, the Big 12's nonconference slate looks a whole lot different, and no team has stepped up its scheduling game as much as TCU. The Horned Frogs will play one of the premier contests of the season's opening weekend when they face LSU, a team that played for a national title just two years ago and has won two BCS titles since 2003.

They'll only have to take a short bus ride about 15 minutes down I-30 to Cowboys Stadium to do it, but the top-notch venue will provide the Frogs a big stage to kick off their second season in the Big 12.

"You’re always looking for a measuring-stick game," coach Gary Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

LSU will certainly provide that. Wondering if TCU is ready or not? The Tigers will provide the answer with 60 minutes of physical play under the lights at JerryWorld.

"Do you have a better chance of losing that game than maybe the Grambling game last year? Yes, but you also ... your kids get ready as long as you don’t get beat up or lose players; you play well, you gain and you played against great competition," Patterson said. "You’re not going to play against much better than that level of athlete."

For as much talk as you hear with these games about big early-season showdowns wrecking BCS title hopes (LSU did that exact thing to Oregon back in 2011, in the same stadium), Patterson seems to be spending a whole lot more attention staring at the other side of the equation: What TCU has to gain.

"If you can win it, then it ricochets you and skyrockets you in the rankings and gets you closer to all the things you’re trying to do, and that’s what we’re trying to get done," Patterson said, "plus financially, it’s a great deal for the university."

The SportsBusiness Journal reported that LSU earned $3.5 million for its game against the Ducks in 2011. TCU is no stranger to this kind of stage, either. It earned $1 million for playing Oregon State in Cowboys Stadium in 2010. The Frogs and Tigers signed up to play a home-and-home series all the way back in 2006, but last fall switched up plans and decided to play a single game at a neutral site.

TCU will get its measuring stick for sure, though as a Big 12 member these days, it's not quite as needed. It'll also collect a hefty paycheck. If it wins, though? It'll collect more respect than any paycheck can buy.

"You’ve got to be able to step out and do those kinds of things once in awhile and give yourself so you know as a football team where you’re at and what you’re doing," Patterson said. "I think it helps all of us."

Baylor made history in New York.

The Bears became the first Big 12 team to win the NIT, soundly defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 74-54 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

"I’m proud of these guys," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Really proud of their heart and determination, and they’ll always be remembered. Whenever you make history -- you don’t get a lot of chances to do that."

Baylor led 27-22 at halftime, and Iowa cut the deficit to 28-27 early in the second half. But the game turned into a rout from there. Pierre Jackson, the Bears' leading scorer (19.9 PPG), heated up, scoring 13 of his 17 points after intermission. He also collected 10 assists, giving him a fourth consecutive double-double, and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

"In the second half, they were getting some good screens for me to get to the paint," Jackson said, "and I got to the right spots and knocked down shots."

"They’re a terrific offensive team," said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. "They had us spread out. They were moving the ball, and they’ve got a lot of weapons, and Jackson is tremendous."

Iowa, on the other hand, had a nightmarish game on offense. The Hawkeyes shot just 18-for-69 (26.4 percent) from the field and 5-for-24 (20.8 percent) from beyond the arc. They missed open looks on the perimeter and several chippies around the rim, clearly bothered by the presence of 7-foot-1 center Isaiah Austin (15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks) and 6-foot-9 forward Cory Jefferson (23 points, 7 rebounds).

Roy Devyn Marble, who had scored 21 or more points in each of Iowa's first four games in this tournament, finished with just six, shooting 3-for-12 from the field.

"[It] seemed like we just kept missing easy shots," McCaffery said. "The stat that jumps out at me is we had 20 offensive rebounds against this team. That’s effort. That’s special. That should have equated to more success offensively."

Baylor (23-14) was ranked No. 19 in the country in the preseason, so ending up in the NIT was a disappointment. But the Bears certainly finished the season strong.

"You look at most teams in the NIT, they probably lost a lot of close games, and with our team, we lost some close games," Drew said. "And the common denominator was when we shot over 70 percent from the free throw line, we won, and when we shot in the 50s and 60s, we lost. That’s with a young front line."

Drew will lose his starting backcourt of Jackson and A.J. Walton, both seniors. But if the talented post players return, Baylor will be dangerous next season.

Iowa (25-13) had its NCAA tournament bubble burst Selection Sunday but gained valuable experience by playing five more games. Senior swingman Eric May departs, but everyone else should be back, and the Hawkeyes should go dancing next season, for the first time since 2006.

"There’s just no substitute for experience," McCaffery said. "Come to Madison Square Garden, the greatest venue in sports, and play twice against two really good teams, win one, lose one, learn from that -- it can only make us better."

 
NEW YORK -- Quick thoughts on Baylor's 74-54 victory over Baylor in Thursday's NIT title game at Madison Square Garden:

What it means: Baylor is your 2013 NIT champion -- the first Big 12 team ever to win this tournament.

Baylor (23-14) had a disappointing regular season. The Bears were ranked No. 19 in the country in the preseason, coming off a berth in the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight a year ago. They didn't even make the Big Dance this time around but finished the season on a high note.

Iowa (25-13) was on the bubble on Selection Sunday and didn't make the NCAA cut, but collected four wins and some valuable experience the past couple of weeks.

The turning point: After Iowa's Roy Devyn Marble scored the first bucket of the game, Baylor scored nine consecutive points and led the rest of the first half. It took the Bears' leading scorer, Pierre Jackson, almost 15 minutes to collect his first point. But Baylor still led 27-22 at intermission. The Hawkeyes shot just 7-for-28 (25 percent) in the first half and committed eight turnovers.

Iowa cut the deficit to one early in the second half, 28-27, thanks to five quick points by Eric May. But Baylor answered with seven points in a row to reassert control, and soon turned the game into a rout. The Bears pushed the lead past 20 for the first time on a Cory Jefferson two-hand slam with 7:04 remaining. The rest was garbage time.

Star watch: Jackson scored just four points in the first half, shooting 1-for-6. The second half was a different story. The senior finished with 17 points and 10 assists, and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Jefferson scored a game-high 23 points, and Isaiah Austin added 15.

Mike Gesell scored a team-high 13 points off the bench for Iowa, while Aaron White chipped in 12. Marble finished with just six points.

Number crunch: It just wasn't Iowa's night offensively. The Hawkeyes missed open shots from the perimeter, and several chippies around the rim -- they were clearly bothered by the presence of the 7-foot-1 Austin (five blocked shots) in the paint. For the game, Iowa shot 18-for-69 from the field (26.4 percent), including 5-for-24 from beyond the arc (20.8), while Baylor shot 26-for-48 (54.2 percent).

What's next: That's the final college basketball game of the season at Madison Square Garden. Enjoy the Final Four, and we'll see you next year.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Casey Pachall's arrival was a big deal in the Big 12, and his return to TCU presumably bolstered the Frogs' hopes of winning their first Big 12 title.

When he left the team to seek treatment for drug and alcohol addiction following a DUI arrest last October, he was the nation's leader in passer rating, but this spring, he hasn't just been handed the job that backup Trevone Boykin fought for over the final two-thirds of 2012.

"Trevone is way ahead of where he was because of what he played," Frogs coach Gary Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

Before becoming the starting quarterback upon Pachall's abrupt exit, Boykin spent time working at running back. Days later, he made his first start in a lopsided home loss to Iowa State. The redshirt freshman wasn't ready, but tough lessons he clearly learned over the rest of the season have paid off this spring. Meanwhile ...

"Casey’s rusty, so I’d say we probably won’t be able to know anything about who that guy will be until we get into fall practice," Patterson said.

Patterson has expressed similar sentiments before, but it's almost always met with strong skepticism, words masquerading as a motivational ploy to keep Pachall working or a cover to prevent Patterson from appearing like a coach who's handing a troubled player his old job back without him earning it.

TCU's practiced are closed tighter than about any in the Big 12, so the number of people who know how that race truly looks is minimal, but is it really all that hard to believe that Patterson's not blowing smoke?

Pachall didn't throw a football or lift from October to January while he was in treatment, and re-joined the team as the semester began, but practices didn't begin until March. That's a long time without playing the game at full speed, and we saw Boykin make great strides late in the season as a passer.

Pachall's ceiling is significantly higher, but it's also entirely possible that the time away put a major dent in Pachall's mastery of the offense and his own throwing mechanics.

Call me crazy, but I buy what Patterson is selling at this point in the spring about Boykin and Pachall being very close, close enough to cause some debate about who the starter will be.

Will time working over the summer with his receivers in 7-on-7 change that, along with more practices in fall camp? I'm sure Patterson hopes so, and I expect that to be the case. For now, though, I don't believe Patterson is blowing smoke about who TCU's best quarterback is at this exact moment.

Colleague Ryan McGee takes a look at five off-the-radar teams during this spring, and a Big East newcomer cracks the list.

SMU begins Year 1 in a new conference under sixth-year head coach June Jones, who made a big-name addition to his staff two weeks ago.

McGee says Hal Mumme is the reason to watch, with the former Division II McMurry (Texas) head coach coming aboard to be the Mustangs' assistant head coach and passing game coordinator. The addition of Mumme, the proprietor of the Air Raid offense, places him with a boss in Jones who is considered a founding father of the Run 'n' Shoot offense. Three of the top seven signal callers in career passing yards per game were coached by either Mumme or Jones, making for an intriguing dynamic in Dallas.

"This might not work at all," a fellow Big East offensive coordinator told McGee. "But if it does, the results might be scary. If anything, this is one of those experiments where coaches all over the country will be pulling film just to see what these two come up with together."

To read the full story about all five off-the-radar teams to watch this spring, click here.

Last Wednesday's announcements that Connecticut had agreed to a home-and-home series with Boise State and that Cincinnati would be heading to the Big House in 2017 were the latest in a trend that has seen BCS-conference schools boost their nonconference schedule strength.

While the soon-to-be-former Big East is entering its last season as a BCS school, before the four-team college football playoff takes into effect in the 2014-15 season, aggressive scheduling is one way to keep the league on the national radar.

The slates will provide several opportunities for big national upsets in the coming years, so here's a look at some of the notable future opponents for SMU.

SMU: The Mustangs have quite the in-state home-and-home lineup. They canceled this season's home game with Baylor, and while it is unknown if the 2013 game will be made up or bought-out completely, the schools still have a home-and-home scheduled through 2019. The Battlle for the Iron Skillet with TCU will continue through 2017, with the Horned Frogs playing host this season. SMU will go to Texas A&M this year and host the Aggies in 2014, closing out a four-year home-and-home. They begin this season with a Friday night home contest against Texas Tech.

Gone is the "Big East" and the recently trendy "soon-to-be-renamed Big East." The 10 teams that make up the 2013 football-playing conference will be known as the American Athletic Conference, sources told our Brett McMurphy on Wednesday.

The conference is expected to make the announcement official as early as Thursday.

The conference had to find a new name because the Catholic 7 schools kept the Big East name when it announced it was splitting apart and forming its own league.

Sources had told McMurphy last month that commissioner Mike Aresco favored the name "America 12 Conference," but league presidents did not like that name because they did not want a number to be included.

The new 10-team Big East will begin July 1, featuring the Catholic 7 schools -- DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Villanova -- plus Butler, Creighton and Xavier.

To read McMurphy's story, click here.

You can expect to see plenty more stories on TCU in the days and weeks to come, but I heard from a few of you who didn't necessarily agree with Gary Patterson in the first of those stories on the blog.

Here's what he had to say that got a few of you fired up:

"I think we gained a lot more respect fan-wise from being 7-5 than a being 11-2 beating Boise State at Boise State, which to me is an unbelievable win," Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "To me, that speaks volumes to where we’re at and I think our kids should to understand that, what we’re doing." ...

"Everybody was wondering how we could handle things on a week to week basis, and I thought we, except for one half of football against Oklahoma State, we felt like we were in every ball game that you had," Patterson said.

It's an interesting debate. I'll put my cards on the table: I strongly agree with Patterson's assertion. As for what I saw on the field, I'd say the accomplishments Patterson is noting are about equal, but managing to go 7-5 considering all the personnel losses is what makes it more impressive to me.

Fans noticed, and I've heard from plenty of you who are on board with Patterson's assertion over the past few months.

But let's take a vote. The Frogs went 11-2 in 2011, losing two heartbreakers beginning with an early-season loss in Waco to Baylor, led by eventual Heisman winner Robert Griffin III. A second midseason loss came at the hands of rival SMU on the road in overtime, a team I'd say TCU underestimated a bit. It knocked off Boise and beat a good Louisiana Tech team in the Poinsettia Bowl.

This season, TCU earned big wins against Texas, Baylor and West Virginia, but suffered close losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma before a heartbreaker in the bowl game against Michigan State.

As a Big 12 fan, which season impressed you more? Vote in our poll.

WACO, Texas -- You'll be able to see a lot more in-depth coverage from Baylor in the days and weeks to come, but thanks to all of you who read and participated in Tuesday's live blog. I'll make a note not to let safety Ahmad Dixon steal the show next time. Great, great job by him on the live chat with fans. I heard from a lot of you who said that was your favorite part of the day.

That's not hard to believe when he's dropping insight like this:

John from Houston asked: Ahmad, Other than yourself of course, who has impressed you the most on Baylor's defense during spring practice? Who is the most difficult current Baylor receiver to defend one on one?

Ahmad Dixon: John, I'm going to have to say Shawn Oakman. He's helped us out a lot. He slows down the perimeter run a lot. A lot of those bubble passes and short throws, he's able to knock those down because of his length. He can get off the ball and get a lot of sacks. He gives us a speed rush and his speed gets in the backfield and length to cut off the outside. He's been the most impressive of anybody I've watched. (For receivers) I would have to say Levi Norwood. His ability to come out of his breaks are tremendous. He has great hips. He's not the fastest guy, but he has great stop/start speed .That makes you have to work on coming with balance and not coming downhill and just biting on his first move. When you guard Levi, it makes you learn how to be patient.

Great stuff from Ahmad. Here's a few more thoughts from my day with the Bears:

• The one thing that jumped out to me in seeing them and being around the Bears all day was the confidence of everybody. I think last year really did show a lot of people around the league that Baylor's program was more than just RG III, and if there were any folks inside the program who doubted that, there aren't any more. There's just sort of a different feel around practice than there was last spring, and even back when Griffin was in the mix. I've gone to spring and fall practices probably five or six times at Baylor, but this one felt a lot different. You build toward titles in small steps in college football. One or two players won't do it. Baylor's talent level is steadily rising. I don't know if I see transcendent talents like RG III or Kendall Wright on this team, but on the whole, there's a lot more talent in a lot more spots than there has been for a long time at Baylor. That's the biggest thing that jumped off the page at me in spending two hours watching them work out. Offensively, I didn't see a huge difference from Baylor in the past, but on defense, there is clearly more speed. There is more instinct and football IQ, and there is not much griping from coaches about guys being out of position or being lost on plays. I saw very, very little of that. Who knows how much of that will carry over, but the defensive resurgence we saw late in 2012 was far above the moderate resurgence we saw at the end of 2011.
• Art Briles' biggest concern about his team is definitely his offensive line. Losing Troy Baker to an ACL injury last week only made that worse, and necessitated adjustments. "We were a little light in the O-line to start with. We only had 10 scholarship O-linemen," Briles said. "That's kind of made us readjust some positions, but the defense has really done well. We've got eight of those guys back."
• You'll be able to read a whole lot more about quarterback Bryce Petty in the future on the blog from my extensive sit-down with him and Briles, but Petty divulged that his source of transportation around campus these days is a moped. That was news to Briles, but it doesn't sound like he's too nervous about his starting quarterback zipping around Waco on two wheels, though I might be if I were Briles. "I'm glad it's not a Harley," Briles said.
• As for practice, I saw a more mature version of the physically gifted Petty I watched in practices on previous visits to Waco. I thought he was ready to be a Big 12 starter last year, and maybe could have even started for a few teams back in 2011. Now that he's nearing the end of his fourth spring on campus, he definitely looks far more polished than any of the other quarterbacks on Baylor's roster. I mentioned this in the live blog on Tuesday, but I asked Briles what Petty would have to do to lose this job. He thought about it awhile and said it would take a long string of mistakes and not taking care of the ball. "I don't anticipate that happening," Briles said. Me either.
• Plenty more Baylor coverage to come soon, so sit tight. Hope you guys enjoyed the live blog, though. If you want more in-depth coverage of my practice observations, you can find it there.

 
Andre Ware discusses fans' growing impatience with the Longhorns football program.

Baylor and Iowa are both a long way from New York City.

They’re also both one win away from an NIT title.

Neither team has won this tournament before. The Bears and Hawkeyes are trying to make history, and finish their seasons on a winning note.

Baylor advanced first, defeating BYU 76-70 in the first game of Tuesday night's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. The Bears led by just two at halftime, and three with just under five minutes remaining, before Pierre Jackson scored seven straight points to help Baylor pull away.

The electrifying 5-foot-10 senior scored a game-high 24 points -- 15 of them coming in the second half -- and also had 10 assists. "Pierre is like a time bomb," said Baylor coach Scott Drew. "You just wait for him to go off. He had a nice spurt there and that gave us a cushion."

Iowa won the nightcap, taking a 14-point first-half lead against Maryland, and then holding off a Terrapins rally in the second half to win 71-60. Junior forward Roy Devyn Marble scored a game-high 21 points, and nine of the 10 Hawkeyes who got into the game also got into the scoring column.

"I thought one of the keys to the game was how we came out, in particular with Dev offensively," said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. "We got into a flow early, and then the same thing late, kept everything going."

What we're left with is a championship game in midtown Manhattan between schools from Waco, Texas and Iowa City, Iowa -- 1,627 and 995 miles away, respectively.

It's also a matchup between one of the best offensive teams in the country and one of the best defensive teams. Baylor entered Tuesday night's game ranked 21st in the nation in scoring, at 76 points per contest. Iowa was ranked 18th in defensive field goal percentage, at 38.8.

Makes for an intriguing matchup Thursday night at MSG.

Both these teams dealt with disappointment this year. Baylor was picked to finish second in the Big 12, but ended up in sixth. Iowa finished ahead of Illinois and Minnesota in the Big Ten standings, yet those schools went to the Big Dance, while the Hawkeyes were left out.

Nevertheless, Baylor and Iowa are two of the last college teams still in action in the first week of April. And the players sound pumped up about it.

"It feels good. We've got one more," said Jackson. "If we win on Thursday, I’ll probably be shaking because I’m too excited."

"It means a lot to me and the team and our program," said Marble. "A lot of teams look down upon [the NIT] because they didn't get into the other tournament, but we just looked at it as another opportunity to win a championship."

Tubby Smith talks about taking over as Texas Tech's men's basketball coach.

Here are three things to watch for when Baylor (21-14, 9-9 Big 12) plays BYU (24-11, 10-6 WCC) on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Tipoff is at 6 p.m., and you can watch the game on ESPN2.

FINAL FOUR! Well, not the real Final Four -- that's in Atlanta this coming weekend. Baylor and BYU are in the NIT final four, along with Maryland and Iowa.

All four of these programs are trying to build some momentum heading into next season, with hopes of getting back to the Big Dance in 2014. And the NIT can serve as a building block. Wichita State won the NIT two years ago, and now the Shockers are in the NCAA Final Four, two wins away from a national championship.

Baylor is a No. 2 seed in this tournament, while BYU is a No. 3 seed. The two teams played each other on Dec. 21 -- Baylor won comfortably at home, 79-64.

THE BEARS: Baylor was picked to finish second in the Big 12 in the preseason, but ended up in sixth place. The Bears lost six of their final eight regular season games, before defeating Long Beach State, Arizona State and Providence -- all at home -- to earn a trip to New York.

Three players average in double figures, led by 5-foot-10 guard Pierre Jackson (19.7 ppg, 6.9 apg). The other two are 7-1 freshman center Isaiah Austin (12.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and 6-9 junior forward Cory Jefferson (12.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg).

The Bears like to play up-tempo. They are 21st in the nation in scoring, averaging 76 points per game. But they only shoot 68.6 percent from the foul line, ranking them 201st in Division I.

THE COUGARS: BYU was picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference in the preseason, but ended up a distant third -- six games behind Gonzaga, and four games behind St. Mary's. The Cougars lost five of their final eight regular season games, before defeating Washington, Mercer and Southern Miss (two home, one road) to earn a trip to New York.

Three players average in double figures, led by 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Tyler Haws (21.6 ppg). The other two are 6-9 senior forward Brandon Davies (17.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and 6-2 sophomore guard Matt Carlino (11.3 ppg, 4.7 apg).

The Cougars are averaging even more points than Baylor, scoring 77.3 per game, ranking them 10th in the country. And they're better at the foul line -- 72.8 percent, 62nd in the nation. But they are weaker defensively -- 244th in scoring defense (69.3 ppg) and 284th in blocked shots per game (2.4).