With our new emphasis on recruiting Texas and our move to the Pac 12, I hope that we start regularly scheduling non-conference games in Texas. Houston, Rice, SMU, TCU, UT, aTm, Baylor, Tech, North Texas, UTEP, etc. It will help with exposure and kids can back home. A big plus for recruiting.
As a Buff refugee living in Texas, I'd like to pitch in my two cents:
Please wait until October before scheduling any away games south of the Red River. September is still hot, with highs in 90's not uncommon. If you are going to schedule a game in September, make it a home game in Folsom. The ability to enjoy a football game in Texas increases dramatically during the second half of the season.
Be smart about which teams are chosen based on geography and cupcake snack value.
High Value Recruiting Meccas + Super sweet cupcake flavor:
Rice Owls
North Texas Mean Green
SMU Mustangs
Texas State Bobkats
Great Metro Area recruiting - Not an automatic win
TCU Horned Frogs
Houston Cougars
Texas Longhorns
Potentially tough games in big stadiums that are in the boonies and therefore have less recruiting value.
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Baylor
Cupcakes in the boonies (not as much recruiting upside)
Sam Houston State (far, far from Houston)
Stephen F Austin (nowhere near Austin)
Texas Southern
Prairie View A&M
UTEP
If CU schedules in Texas, focus on the first group. No reason CU should come home with a loss. If Embree gets the Buffs playing in the top 20, then schedule the Longhorns. Otherwise, no. It doesn't help recruiting to watch the Buffs get pounded in a stadium full of 105k burnt orange Longhorn fans.
Then there are lots of bowl games in Texas that would throw the Texas alumni a bone. It would be at the expense of the Colorado based fan, though. The Alamo and Cotton Bowls are premium. The others, not so much: Sun, Houston, Texas, Armed Forces, ect aren't going to be bringing Texas based Buff fans out in force.
In closing, it's too bad Texas is such a fertile recruiting ground for D1 talent. If not for that, it's just a hot, inhospital place that many Buffs fans would just as gladly ignore. As for the Texas based CU alumni, well, Texas is a big state. It's as easy to fly to Denver as it is to travel between San Antonio, DFW and Houston.