2012 Big 12 Preview
The Saturday Edge participated in a 2012 Big 12 preview with the guys over at College Football Zealots. Below are some of my additional thoughts on the Big 12 race this year along with my predicted order of finish for each team.
Tags BaylorIowa StateKansasKansas StateOklahomaOklahoma StateTCUTexasTexas TechWest VirginiaWest Vriginia
3 thoughts on “2012 Big 12 Preview”
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MAXIMIZE YOUR EDGE
My assessment is not all that different really and I can’t argue with any of your reasons for listing the teams this way. You did a good job. Here is the way I would rank them:
1.) Oklahoma
2.) West Virginia
3.) Texas
4.) K-State
5.) Texas Tech
6.) Baylor
7.) Oklahoma State
8.) TCU
9.) Iowa State
10.) Kansas
— I think Texas Tech’s defense has got to be better, but their real strength is their schedule this year. I think Oklahoma State will struggle despite the success they have had in previous seasons. I put West Virginia above Texas simply because I am going to have to see better QB play out of Texas before I can start ranking them #1 or #2 in the conference again. I actually think Baylor is going to be competitive again this year.
I still think you can expect at least marginally improved QB play at Texas this year. Both Ash and McCoy will be, at the very least, more experienced this year. With the potential playmakers they are surrounded with on offense (especially at RB), a top 10 defense and also a very favorable schedule, Texas should be OU’s biggest competition this year.
They get OSU early and should feed on the freshman QB and they get WVU in Austin. They should be 5-0 heading into Red River. That gives the QB’s 5 games and an open date to get more reps.
I just don’t know how many times the West Virginia defense is going to breakdown against much, much better offenses this year. It wasn’t very good last season against far less offensive firepower in the Big Easy.
BS…I think the top 4 or 5 teams in this conference are pretty much interchangeable if OU chokes the chicken again. What bothers me more about the Sooners than anything is last season they not only lost games, they lost as double digit favorites, -15 against Baylor and -28 against Texas Tech. The really good programs out there occasionaly lose, but they seldom lose like that. And they never do it twice in one season. So there’s more going on with this team than we’re seeing in the media. I don’t know if they’ve put all of this behind them, but my confidence factor in the Sooners isn’t very high right now.
Pez…I think the QB play will probably be improved for Texas. But if they hit any rough spots and Mack starts going back to the two QB system, I think Texas could end up in the same boat as they did last year. Like they say “if you have two QB’s you have none.” We also shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves with this team. Remember, they were behind in two games last season (BYU, A&M) in which they had to win both on the final plays of the game. A break or two the other way and Texas could have easily ended up with another 5-7 record. So like I said, they are still a work in progress. The real test for this team will be when they have to play OSU, WV and OU in successive weeks. And Baylor the next week won’t be a cakewalk either. The Bears have beaten Texas two years in a row. Two of those games are also on the road, and last year Texas was bad enough at home, just going 2-2 in conference play in Austin. Their game against WV won’t be a gimme. I think WV will be well prepared for their first true road game of the season. Plus Texas has WV sandwiched between OU and OSU. I promise you that will be a tough game for the Horns.