The 4th best conference in college football this season should be the Big 12. They should be able to rebound from a down season last year. The two giants of the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas, both had 3 loss seasons while battling through adversity. This should have been expected, however with Texas having to replace Vince Young at quarterback with a freshmen and Oklahoma losing blue chip quarterback Rhett Bomar right before the start of the season due to NCAA infractions. Throughout the rest of the conference, there were no major surprises beyond the emergence of Missouri as an offensive powerhouse finishing 8th in the NCAA in total offense. Out of conference for the Big 12 last season was not very good. The Big 12 was able to get 8 teams bowl births, but they went 3-5 in the bowl games including Texas barely edging a down Iowa team and Texas Tech needing to overcome a 31 point deficit to edge out a bad Minnesota team. Other notable losses out of conference for the Big 12 last season included Texas losing at home to Ohio State, Oklahoma losing to Oregon, Nebraska falling to USC, Oklahoma State losing to Houston, and Texas Tech losing an in state battle to TCU.
Despite all this negativity from last season, there are a lot of reasons to believe the Big 12 is going to rebound this season. Oklahoma and Texas are both going to come into this season with a lot more comfort in their quarterback than last year. Nebraska has brought on a high profile quarterback in Sam Keller who can thrive in the West Coast Offense. Missouri barely loses anybody from a very good offense from last season. Kansas State and Colorado should both get better with another year under the belts with their coaches. Lastly Iowa State has nowhere to go but up after the hiring of Gene Chizik.
Chizik was the most underrated hire of this off season. He has had great success everywhere he has gone. For Iowa State to be able to land Chizik speaks volumes about the direction this program is trying to take. Iowa State may not show drastic improvement this season, but look for them to become a defensive powerhouse in the Big 12 in the years to come. Look for Chizik to have a signature win this season to signal his arrival at Iowa State.
One of the most interesting things to look forward to this season is how the Big 12 fares in their out of conference match ups. Most notably will be the match ups for Texas and Baylor against in state mid major powerhouse TCU. If Gary Patterson can knock off Texas, it could lead TCU to become the next Louisville in the world of college football. Both Oklahoma and Texas A&M square off against Randy Shannon's Miami Hurricanes which should be a good indicator of the strength of the conference and the strides Shannon has made thus far at Miami. Nebraska hosts USC week 3 in hopes of winning a signature game to mark the revival of the program under Callahan. Other notable match ups include Oklahoma State traveling to Athens, GA to take on the Bulldogs, Kansas State going to the plains of Auburn, and Colorado taking on Arizona State and Florida State.
3 Big Questions in the Big 12 This Season:
1. What impact will Gene Chizik have on Iowa State this season?
2. Will the loss of Sonny Dykes have an impact on Texas Tech's aerial assault?
3. Can Bill Callahan take Nebraska to the next level this season?
Look for Oklahoma and Texas to battle once again not only for the Big 12 championship, but possibly even for the chance to play for the BCS Championship. Both teams are loaded with talent and good coaches. The Big 12 south in general this season is going to be very tough. Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State are all very strong teams this season. In the north it's still a crap shoot. Nebraska should be able to win the Big 12 north this season, but they are going to receive a lot of pressure from Missouri. Kansas State and Colorado should both improve from last season and the wild card will be Iowa State. All in all I'm expecting improvement amongst the Big 12 across the board in which should be one of the more competitive leagues in the NCAA
BIG 12 SOUTH
1. Texas 12-0 (8-0)
2. Oklahoma 10-2 (6-2)
3. Texas Tech 9-3 (5-3)
4. Texas A&M 7-5 (4-4)
5. Oklahoma St 6-6 (3-5)
6. Baylor4-8 (1-7)
BIG 12 NORTH
1. Nebraska 10-2 (7-1)
2. Missouri 7-5 (5-3)
3. Kansas State 8-4 (5-3)
4. Iowa State 6-6 (2-6)
5. Colorado 4-8 (1-7)
6. Kansas 4-8 (1-7) Big 12 Championship: Texas over Nebraska
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