Big 12 football: Road teams dominate

The Big 12 has some tough places to play. Norman. Stillwater. Morgantown. Lubbock. But road teams are thriving in Big 12 play this season.

In the nine conference games played so far, road teams are 7-2. And three are heavy favorites on Saturday — West Virginia at Texas Tech, OSU at Kansas and Kansas State at Iowa State.

What’s going on? Last year, Big 12 home teams were 25-15 in conference play, and that was with league champion OSU winning in Columbia, College Station, Austin and Lubbock, and OU losing a conference home game (Texas Tech) for the first time in 10 years.

If the favorites win Saturday, Big 12 road teams will be 10-3. Amazing.

Iowa State lost at home to Tech but won at TCU. OU lost at home to K-State but won at Lubbock. Texas won at Stillwater but lost at home to West Virginia.

Generally, winning on the road puts you ahead of the pack. This season in the Big 12, winning on the road just keeps you abreast of your competitors.