The countdown to college football is well underway.

Preseason magazines have hit the newsstand and newcomers are arriving at campuses across the conference. With the season just over the horizon we’ll be reviewing the schedule of each Big 12 team.

We start the series with Baylor:

Non-conference opponents (with 2015 record)

Sept. 2 (Fri.): Northwestern State (La.) (4-7)

Sept. 10: SMU (2-10)

Sept. 16 (Fri.): at Rice (5-7)

Big 12 home games

Sept. 24: Oklahoma State

Oct. 15: Kansas

Nov. 5: TCU

Nov. 19: Kansas State

Big 12 road games

Oct. 1: Iowa State

Oct. 29: Texas

Nov. 12: Oklahoma

Dec. 3: West Virginia

Big 12 neutral site game

Nov. 25: Texas Tech

Gut-check time: Late October and early November could decide Baylor’s fate. In a span of three weeks, the Bears will play at Texas and Oklahoma with a renewal of the Revivalry against TCU sandwiched in between. Even if the Longhorns don’t find an answer at quarterback, Charlie Strong’s defense should be tough. Any game against the Horned Frogs promises to have plenty of heated emotion. And the Sooners are the defending Big 12 champions. It’s one of the toughest three-game stretches in the Big 12 this season.

Trap game: Baylor hosts Kansas State directly after that challenging three-game stretch in a game that could be much more difficult than it appears on paper. Not only do the Wildcats present scheme challenges unlike any other offense in the Big 12, Bill Snyder’s team should have a solidified its playmakers and identity by mid-November. If the Bears are beat up and licking their wounds when the Wildcats come to town, K-State could jump up and bite them.

Snoozer: Every game in Baylor’s non-conference slate fills the bill. However, Northwestern State, as the first game of the Jim Grobe era, should be interesting and SMU’s visit should include plenty of points. Baylor’s trip to Rice could include little fanfare. Everyone will be looking toward the next weekend, when Oklahoma State heads to McLane Stadium to provide the Bears’ first Power 5 test of the seasons.

Final analysis: The Cowboys' September visit will tell us more about Baylor than we normally know heading into October and the finale at West Virginia could provide a stern test for a weary team. Yet, the schedule is without back-to-back road games and features a bye week before the difficult three-week stretch of Texas, TCU and Oklahoma. Baylor’s schedule isn’t easy but it’s manageable.