1. Oklahoma - As usual Oklahoma will be the favorite to win the Big 12, they have had some serious problems with their receiving core. Trey Franks, Jaz Reynolds, and Kameel Jackson have all been suspended for an extensive amount of games, leaving Kenny Stills as the only OU wide receiver who had a catch last year. Fortunately for OU they are bringing in the country's best wide receiver class including spring standout Trey Metoyer who will more than likely know be their number two receiver. The Sooners are strong at most positions and return QB Landry Jones.
2. West Virginia - The Mountaineers are expected to be contenders in Dana Holgerson's second season. This will be West Virginia's first year in the Big 12, but they already have the offense to fit right in. Leading the Mountaineer offense is Geno Smith, arguably the best quarterback in the Big 12. Holgerson implemented the Air Raid and WVU hasn't looked back. Runningback Dustin Garrison gained the staring spot last season as a true freshman, but tore both his MCL and ACL during bowl practice. His return isn't guaranteed by game one, but the Mountaineers have a solid back up in Shawne Alston. West Virgina also returns its top three receivers: Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, and Ivan McCartney. Austin and Bailey both had more than 1100 receiving yards last season.
3. Kansas State - The Wildcats have never failed to surprise under the leadership of coach Bill Snyder. Kansas State exceeded expectations by a mile last season, finishing second in the Big 12 and accumulating a record of 10-3 with all three loses coming to top ten teams. Quarterback Collin Klein took college football by storm last season. He is not the best of passers, but is an absolute force on the ground. Klein rushed for 27 touchdowns last season, which was 24 more than starting runningback John Hubert. Klein racked up 1141 yards on the ground. Expect much of the same this season.
4. Oklahoma State - The Cowboys won the Big 12 last season and defeated fourth ranked Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. If not for an overtime loss to Iowa State in a major upset Oklahoma State would have been in the National Championship game. That said, the Cowboys have lost their two best players; Brandon Weeden and two time Biletnikoff winner Justin Blackmon. Weeden and Blackmon were the main reason for Oklahoma State's success last year. True freshman Wes Lunt will takeover as quarterback and Josh Cooper will most likely take over as the number two receiver. The Cowboys return starting runningback Joseph Randle who rushed for 1216 yards last season. The defense gave up plenty of yards last season but made up for it by breaking the NCAA record for most takeaways in a single season. Unless they can accomplish a similar feat this season the defense may have trouble.
5. TCU - The Horned Frogs have had a disastrous offseason, which will make their transition to the Big 12 more difficult. Tanner Brock, Ty Horn, DJ Yendrey, and Devin Johnson were arrested in a drug bust. Brock was the Horned Frogs' leading tackler in 2010. They also lost runningback Ed Wesley, who left the team for family reasons. However they do return Waymon James and Matthew Tucker, who both ran for more than 700 yards last season. They also return quarterback Casey Pachall and his three leading receivers: Josh Boyce, Skye Dawson, and Brandon Carter. TCU brings along with it the 4-2-5 defense, which produced atrocious results for Baylor and Texas Tech last season. We'll have to wait and see if TCU can make it work in the Big 12.
6. Texas - The Longhorns are bad at quarterback, that's no secret. Bad may be too nice. They were atrocious. Case McCoy and David Ash struggled to complete a pass last year. The incoming quarterback Connor Brewer doesn't look to be much better. Texas really needs to fire their QB scout. Luckily for Texas they have a really good running game and arguably the best defense in the Big 12. Malcolm Brown, Johnathan Gray, and Joe Bergeron should make up a solid runningback core. Though the Longhorns have some playmakers at receiver they are under utilized due to the poor quarterback play. Until they fix their problems at quarterback, Texas will continue to finish in the middle of the pack.
7. Texas Tech - The Red Raiders are coming off their worst season in nearly two decades. Texas Tech looks to bounce back after a 5-7 season ended their 18-year bowl eligibility streak. The Red Raiders return 9 starters on both sides of the ball. After both turns experimenting with position coaches failed miserably, coach Tommy Tuberville decided to bring in an experienced defensive coordinator Art Kaufman. Tech's defense is moving from a 4-2-5 to a 4-3. Look for the defense to be much stronger this year. Runningbacks Eric Stephens and DeAndre Washington are expected to be back in time for seasons beginning. The Red Raiders return QB Seth Doege and their top three receivers: Eric Ward, Alex Torres, and Darrin Moore. If the Red Raiders do not make a bowl game this year, which I believe they will, expect Tommy Tuberville's tenure at Tech to come to an end.
8. Baylor - Do not expect the Bears success to continue this year. Without Heisman winning quarterback Robert Griffin to bail them out, Baylor's 114th ranked defense will be a huge liability for the Bears this year. Baylor also loses starting runningback Terrance Ganaway and star receiver Kendall Wright. Nick Florence is expected to start a at quarterback. He looked great against Texas Tech last season, but most quarterbacks did. Baylor returns two talented receivers in Terrance Williams and Tevin Reese. The Bear's offense will score a lot of points but the defense is going to cost them several games. Expect 6 or 7 wins from Baylor this season.
9. Iowa State - Paul Rhoads is one of the more exciting characters in college football and a solid coach. Even though he will never admit it, Rhoads doesn't have a lot to work with at Iowa State. The quarterback position will come down to senior Steele Jantz and sophomore Jared Barnett. Barnett is a bit more two dimensional than Steele Jantz but both are mobile quarterbacks. Both of them struggled with passing completing only about half their passes. The Cyclones lost leading receiver Darius Reynolds but return Josh Lenz and Aaron Horne as well as the bulk of their runningback core.
10. Kansas - The Jayhawks are the only Big 12 team bringing in a new head coach. Mark Mangino raised the program to relevance including an Orange Bowl victory, before being fired. Turner Gill quickly destroyed all that and was fired after just two seasons. Now former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis takes over as head man at Kansas. He brings with him an experienced defensive coach, in former Dallas Cowboys head coach Dave Campo. Expect Notre Dame transfer Dayne Crist to start at QB. Kansas returns it's top two receivers but JaCorey Shepherd is a receiver I look to make some noise. Kansas lost runningback Darrian Miller but return their other contributing runningbacks: James Sims, Tony Pierson, and Brandon Bourbon. What the future holds for the Jayhawks is unknown, but don't expect an immediate turn around.
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