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          Big 12 Blog

          The Ultimate Big 12 Road Trip: Week 3

          • ESPN.com staff
          Apr 2, 2012, 05:00 PM

          I've been inspired by the boys at the Big Ten Blog, and this should be a fun walk through each week in the new-look Big 12 next season. I'll pick one game a week during the season that I'd attend if it were entirely up to me. I don't make the call, and things change as games are played of course, but right now, this is how it'd look if it were up to me. I'll include road nonconference games, too.

          Here's the Week 3 slate in the Big 12:

          • Baylor vs. Sam Houston State

          • Iowa State vs. Western Illinois

          • Kansas vs. TCU

          • Kansas State vs. North Texas

          • Oklahoma State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

          • Texas at Ole Miss

          • Texas Tech vs. New Mexico

          • West Virginia vs. James Madison (in Landover, Md.)

          My pick: Texas at Ole Miss

          I mean, this is a no-brainer, right? I grew up in Arkansas, which is sort of SEC country, but the nearest road venue was six hours away, so I've never been to a game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. That means I've never been outside of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, also known as The Grove, the most hallowed tailgating ground in college football. Sign me up for that. Our SEC blogger, Edward Aschoff, hails from Oxford, so I'm sure he could hook me up with a few tips to score some grub, and where to make the most of my time.

          Oh yeah, and there's a game, too.

          Texas believes its on the way back up. Maybe it is. A convincing win over what should be the worst team in the SEC West, even one with a first-year head coach in Hugh Freeze, would be a good sign the Longhorns are fit to win 10 games or more. It'll also be the first reasonable test for what will likely be David Ash at quarterback. The Longhorns host Wyoming and New Mexico before traveling to SEC country, but even with the Rebels' likely struggles, Texas can prove a little something with a big performance. Even last year, thrashing a mediocre UCLA team let people know Texas wouldn't be headed to another 5-7 season.

          The real tests for Texas will come when the Longhorns face real offenses in the Big 12, but we'll learn a little bit about Texas on September 15. I'd like to be able to see it.