Oklahoma State football: 2013 schedule heavy on games in Texas

OSU's football schedule, released by the Big 12 Tuesday afternoon, reveals a slate that features just one September game at Boone Pickens Stadium: Sept. 14 against Lamar, a Football Championship Subdivision school.

Instead, the Cowboys' early season will include plenty of time in the Lone Star State. OSU opens on Aug. 31 with a marquee nonconference game against Mississippi State at Reliant Stadium in Houston in the Texas Kickoff Classic. The next week, the Cowboys play Texas-San Antonio at the Alamodome.

Here are five other highlights of the OSU schedule:

STRONG OPENING

Cowboy coach Mike Gundy has been adamant about his desire to play the easiest nonconference schedule possible. That won't happen in 2013, with the Cowboys beginning the season on a neutral field against a Mississippi State squad that Dan Mullen has built into a program that was ranked for much of the 2012 season. But the marquee matchup on college football's opening weekend will give the Cowboys plenty of television eyeballs and exposure, both nationally and in an area OSU recruits heavily.

TEXAS FOUR-STEP

OSU plays four games in the state of Texas next season. Following the back-to-back nonconference games in Houston and San Antonio, the Cowboys will travel to Texas Tech on Nov. 2 and Texas on Nov. 16. OSU plays TCU at home for the second consecutive season.