Big 12 releases 2012 football schedule

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Oklahoma's 2012 football schedule released

Jake Trotter breaks down Oklahoma's 2012 football schedule.Tags: Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma's 2012 football schedule released

The Big 12 clearly has been ready and waiting for West Virginia. Just hours after the Big East and the Mountaineers announced their divorce, the Big 12 released its 2012 football schedule, with West Virginia on it.

Fellow Big 12 newcomer TCU is scheduled to play the first conference game of the 2012 season with a Sept. 15 visit to Kansas.

West Virginia will play its first Big 12 game Sept. 29 at home against Baylor.

TCU and West Virginia replace Texas A&M and Missouri, who are leaving for the SEC.

The Big 12 says there likely will be schedule adjustments in order to accommodate requests by its television partners.

West Virginia was able to join the Big 12 -- officially on July 1 -- after a lawsuit settlement was reached with the Big East.

The Mountaineers basically inherited the Big 12 schedule that had been set for Missouri, while TCU took over the expected Texas A&M slate -- including a game at Texas the week of Thanksgiving.

The schedule currently lists TCU at Texas on Nov. 24, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. However, the league is expecting that the game will be played on Thanksgiving night and that's one reason both teams were given a bye week the Saturday before that game week.

"Judging by Texas' history of playing that day, we anticipate that game would be selected by TV to be played on Thanksgiving," Bob Burda, spokesman for the Big 12, said.

Television selections for the first three weeks of the season and special dates, such as Thanksgiving Day and other non-Saturday games, aren't due to the conference until July 1.

The Mountaineers and their explosive offense went 10-3 last season and finished No. 23 in the BCS standings, No. 17 in the AP rankings. West Virginia capped off the season with a record-setting 70-33 victory over Clemson in the Discover Orange Bowl.

West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck didn't rule out the possibility of a nonconference game against archrival Pitt after the 2012 season, but said that both schools have nine nonconference games, and a matchup would be "difficult to schedule."

"It's pretty obvious there will be no Backyard Brawl" in 2012, he said.

Oklahoma State, which finished last season No. 3 in the BCS standings, opens its conference schedule Sept. 29 at home against Texas.

Oklahoma and Texas will renew the Red River Rivalry Oct. 13 at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas.

For the first time since 2004, the Bedlam game between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma won't be the last regular-season game for both teams. The game will be played Thanksgiving weekend, and both teams will still have games left after that on Dec. 1 -- Oklahoma at TCU and Oklahoma State at Baylor.

The Sooners and Cowboys played the last Big 12 game last season, on the same Saturday when the league had formerly held its championship game.

Oklahoma has what could be a difficult closing stretch, with its Nov. 17 game at West Virginia before Bedlam and then the trip to TCU. The addition of the Frogs to the Big 12 took away one of the Sooners' scheduled nonconference games.

Information from ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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