2008 CFN Big 12 Preview
North
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Colorado |
Iowa State |
Kansas |
Kansas State |
Missouri |
Nebraska
South
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Baylor |
Oklahoma |
Oklahoma State |
Texas |
Texas A&M |
Texas Tech
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CFN All-Big 12 Team &
Top 30 Players
- Big 12 Team-by-Team
Capsules
- Big Ten Unit
Rankings
- Big 12 Schedules &
Predictions
By
Pete Fiutak
While it’s a reflex to
automatically assume the SEC is the nation’s best conference year in and
year out, there’s a contender to the throne this season. It took 12
years to get to this point, and now this should be the season when it
all comes together for the Big 12.
It’s one thing for the usual stars like Oklahoma and Texas to be good,
which they will be, but a conference really blows up when the normal
also-rans become contenders. After a fantastic bowl season (outside of
OU’s gaffe to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl), the league is primed
and ready to explode.
With Kansas and Missouri emerging as special teams last season, and with
Texas Tech loaded with talented veterans on both sides of the ball, and
with Colorado, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Baylor
likely to all be better than they’ve been in the last several years,
there won’t be a week off for anyone.
More than anything else, the coaching situations are more settled than
they’ve ever been. No one is on any real hot seat, at least as far as
possibly getting fired, and with a new breed of young, hot coaches like
Iowa State’s Gene Chizik, Baylor’s Art Briles, Oklahoma State’s Mike
Gundy, Nebraska’s Bo Pelini, Colorado’s Dan Hawkins, Kansas State’s Ron
Prince, and even going to the assistants like Texas defensive
coordinator Will Muschamp, who’ll be off to a big-time head coaching gig
soon, this is the golden age of the Big 12. This is when it should all
come together and the league should be special.
All the stability and all the excitement should lead to the wildest
conference season yet. If you thought last year was fun when Kansas came
out of nowhere to be a star, and when Missouri finally turned the
corner, wait until this season when every week will be a test for all
the projected top teams. Yes, the balance of power in college football
really might be moving to the Midwest.
Team That'll Surprise
Iowa State – The team took a step back to possibly take a giant leap
forward this year after playing several young prospects before they were
ready, and now they have the experience to hit the ground running. Eight
starters are back on offense, and that doesn't include QB Austen Arnaud,
who's ready to take over for Bret Meyer, and hot young back Alexander
Robinson and senior J.J. Bass. Seven starters are back on D. The
schedule gets a huge break missing Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, who's
loaded this year.
Team That'll Disappoint
Nebraska - This isn't the mid-1990s Huskers Bo Pelini is taking over.
There are big losses in the defensive back seven, including the entire
starting linebacking corps, while there still needs to be a talent
infusion at some point on the lines. Step one is to get the team more
physical and a whole bunch nastier, and while the new coaching staff
will instill the will from the start, there's still a big question mark
about the talent level from top to bottom. No, the team isn't bad, and
it'll go to a bowl, but the star players aren't there at a national
title level like the Big Red fans might want it to be.
Big 12 Game of the Year
Oklahoma vs. Texas, Oct. 11 – While this is normally the no-brainer Big
12 game to circle on the calendar, it’s not a slam-dunk this season.
Kansas vs. Missouri, played in Kansas City, the Texas Tech battles with
the Sooners and the Longhorns, and a few tremendous interdivision games
(Kansas at Oklahoma, Missouri at Texas and Texas at Kansas) should make
this a fantastic conference season.
One Bold Prediction
Texas will finish third, at best, in the Big 12 South. Oklahoma is good
enough to win the national title and Texas Tech is loaded from top to
bottom. With the Longhorns having to travel to Lubbock to face the Red
Raiders, and with at trip to Colorado and Kansas from the North along
with the home game against Missouri, the schedule isn’t a plus. This
isn’t Mack Brown’s best team. It’s good, and the coaching staff is the
best it’s been in years, but the overall talent level is just
above-average until the young talent kicks in.
5 Big-Time Players Who Deserve a Bigger Spotlight ...
1. S William Moore, Sr. Missouri
2. TE Jermaine Gresham, Jr. Oklahoma
3. DT George Hypolite, Sr. Colorado
4. LB Joe Mortensen, Sr. Kansas
5. OT Phil Loadholt, Sr. Oklahoma
Coach on the Hot Seat
Mack Brown,
Texas – Two years removed from the national title, and with Oklahoma
taking back the South again on the way to two straight Big 12
championships, the pressure is on Brown to prove that he can win a
championship without Vince Young.
5 Non-Conference Games the Big 12 had better take very, very
seriously
1. Texas A&M at New Mexico, Sept. 6
2. Western Michigan at Nebraska, Aug. 30
3. TCU at Oklahoma, Sept. 27
4. Troy at Oklahoma State, Sept. 27
5. Florida Atlantic at Texas, Aug. 30
5 Best Pro Prospects
1. FS William Moore, Sr. Missouri
2. TE Brandon Pettigrew, Sr. Oklahoma State
3. TE Jermaine Gresham, Jr. Oklahoma
4. WR Michael Crabtree, Soph. Texas Tech
5. OG Duke Robinson, Sr. Oklahoma
5 Biggest Shoes to Fill
1. LB
Ryan Reynolds for
Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma
2. WR
Deon Murphy for
Jordy Nelson, Kansas State
3. RB
Vondrell McGee for
Jamaal
Charles, Texas
4. LB Marcus Burton for
Jordon Dizon, Colorado
5. CB
Kendrick Harper for
Aqib Talib, Kansas
North
-
Colorado |
Iowa State |
Kansas |
Kansas State |
Missouri |
Nebraska
South
-
Baylor |
Oklahoma |
Oklahoma State |
Texas |
Texas A&M |
Texas Tech
-
CFN All-Big 12 Team &
Top 30 Players
- Big 12 Team-by-Team
Capsules
- Big Ten Unit
Rankings
- Big 12 Schedules &
Predictions