2009 CFN Big 12 Preview
Team Previews & Predictions
North
- Colorado |
Iowa
State |
Kansas |
Kansas State |
Missouri |
Nebraska
South
- Baylor |
Oklahoma |
Oklahoma State |
Texas |
Texas A&M |
Texas Tech
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2009
CFN Big 12 Preview
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2009
CFN All-Big 12 Team & Top 30 Players
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2009
CFN Big 12 Team Capsules
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2009
Big 12 Schedules & CFN Picks
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2009
Big 12 Unit Rankings
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2008
CFN Big 12 Preview
By
Pete Fiutak
The dream has finally come true for all those who
were waiting for the Big 12 to reach its full
potential.
Lost in all the current success was that it wasn't a
forgone conclusion that the mix of plum non-Arkansas
Southwest Conference teams and the Big 8 was going
to form a league of superpowers. Back in 1996,
Nebraska ruled the college football world and
everyone else was taking up space, Kansas State was
a star, Colorado was solid, and Texas A&M was trying
to shoehorn its way among the elite. Oklahoma was
awful, Texas was hardly special (outside of the
stunning victory over the Huskers in the inaugural
Big 12 Championship game), and Missouri, Oklahoma
State, and Texas Tech were just good enough to get
to bowl games, but weren't anything to get excited
about. 13 years later, the Big 12 is a serious
challenger to the SEC's unquestioned spot as the
nation's top conference.
Okay, okay, to dial it down a bit, the Big 12 took
it on the chin in last year's bowl season, at least
compared to expectations, and the SEC is probably
the better league from top to bottom, there's no
questioning which conference is the most
entertaining on a weekly basis.
The Big 12 made Saturday nights fun in 2008. While
the SEC was busy waging wars with putrid offenses
and boring slugfests, the top teams in the Big 12
were shooting it out week after week with a dizzying
array of offensive talent and firepower. The
mediocre defenses had something to do with it, but
the Big 12 attacks really were that good making it a
fun season with great storylines, a whopper of a
tie-breaker debate, and stars, stars, stars.
The SEC might have more prospects in CFN's top
250 players who will be eligible for the 2010 NFL
Draft, but the top stars are from the Big 12 with
seven of the top ten and several more potential
first rounders. The list doesn't include players
like Todd Reesing of Kansas, Baylor's
superstar playmaker Robert Griffin, Oklahoma State's
QB Zac Robinson and RB Kendall Hunter, all the
rising stars in the Texas receiving corps, Missouri
quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who could be the next
big thing, and on and on and on. This will still be
the must-watch league on a weekly basis, even if the
league has to keep proving itself.
Oklahoma is running into an Ohio State problem when
it comes to winning the big bowl games after losing
in its last five trips to the BCS. Meanwhile, Texas struggling to get by the Buckeyes, Texas Tech
getting its doors blown off by Ole Miss and Oklahoma
State getting run over by Oregon didn't help quiet
down those who spent most of last year questioning
whether or not the fun football played week after
week in the Big 12 was actually good football. And
there will be more of the same this season.
There will be plenty of shootouts, the Oklahoma -
Texas showdown could be the college football game of
the year, and there are just enough decent
non-conference games, at least compared to some of
the other leagues, to show just how good the
conference is. But it's going to take more in the
post-season, it's going to take some big victories
in the BCS, and it's going to take wins over the SEC
to make an honest case in the discussion of which
league is the best. For now, though, the Big 12 has
done enough to become really, really good, and it's
not going to slow down any time soon.
Team That Will Surprise
Missouri. Most will dismiss the Tigers
after losing key players like QB Chase Daniel, WR
Jeremy Maclin, safety William Moore, and TE Chase
Coffman, but there's a good change the team will be
better in a big hurry. Head coach Gary Pinkel has
recruited just well enough to improve the overall
athleticism on both sides of the ball, new starting
quarterback Blaine Gabbert has better pro skills
than Daniel, Derrick Washington is the best running
back you probably haven't heard of, and Sean
Weatherspoon might be the nation's best linebacker,
even if Florida's Brandon Spikes will end up winning
all the awards. The lines are better, the receiving
corps is big and fast, and there's no reason to not
expect a run to a third straight Big 12 title game.
Team That Will Disappoint
Texas. Considering this is a national
title-or-bust year after all the issues of last
season, the potential is there for there to be a
major letdown if things don't go perfectly. Oklahoma
is better, Oklahoma State has the firepower and
maturity to pull off a win over the Longhorns,
unlike last year, and going to Missouri could be a
beartrap if the Red River Rivalry doesn't go well.
Oh sure, Texas will blow away at least seven teams
on the slate, but when anything less than winning a
Big 12 title and ending up in Pasadena in early
January will be accepted, the pressure will be
immense.
Game of the Year
Oklahoma vs. Texas, Oct. 17. The game is
always among the biggest of the college football
season, but it will take on yet another level of
intensity after all the nuttiness of last year's
tie-breaker that sent the Sooners to the Big 12
title game, and the national championship, even
through the Longhorns won the Red River Rivalry
45-35. Watch out for Texas at Oklahoma State on
Halloween and Oklahoma State at Oklahoma on November
28 in games that could turn out to mean just as much
as OU vs. Texas in the Big 12 title chase.
5 Big-Time Players Who Deserve A Bigger
Spotlight
1. LB Joe Pawelek, Sr. Baylor
2. RB Derrick Washington, Jr. Missouri
3. LB Ryan Reynolds, Sr. Oklahoma
4. WR Dezmon Briscoe, Jr. Kansas
5. RB Kendall Hunter, Jr. Oklahoma State
Coach On The Hot Seat
Dan Hawkins, Colorado - Insiders suggest
that there's no thought whatsoever of Hawkins not
being around in 2010 unless the Buffs go into the
tank this year, but there needs to be a major
positive step forward to show the fan base that
there's hope for a return to glory. The Gary Barnett
era might have been marred by scandal and
embarrassment, but the Buffs were in the Big 12
title mix every year. The program hasn't been close
under Hawkins, but to be fair, he had to rebuild.
Now there needs to be a payoff.
5 Non-Conference Games The Big 12 Had Better
Take Very, Very, Seriously
1. Missouri at Nevada, Sept. 25
2. Texas Tech at Houston, Sept. 26
3. Houston at Oklahoma State, Sept. 12
4. Southern Miss at Kansas, Sept. 26
5. Colorado at Toledo, Sept. 11
Bold Prediction
At least ten Big 12 players will go in the
top 20 of the 2010 NFL Draft. Assuming they stay
healthy, DT Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska, TE
Jermaine Gresham of Oklahoma, OT Trent Williams of
Oklahoma, OT Russell Okung of Oklahoma State, LB
Sean Weatherspoon of Missouri, safety Darrell
Stuckey of Kansas, and Colt McCoy are all almost
certain to go in the first round, or at least among
the top 50 picks. They're seniors, while it'll be a
stunner if Sam Bradford, Oklahoma DT Gerald McCoy,
and Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant don't leave early
are aren't taken in the top ten.
5 Best Pro Prospects
1. DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma, Jr.
2. WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State, Jr.
3. TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma, Sr.
4. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, Sr.
5. QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, Jr.
5 Biggest Shoes To Fill
1, QB Blaine Gabbert for Chase Daniel,
Missouri
2. QB Taylor Potts for Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
3. WR Detron Lewis for Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
4. DE Sergio Kindle for Bryan Orakpo, Texas
5. OT Cory Brandon for Trent Williams (who'll move
to Phil Loadholt's spot at left tackle), Oklahoma
-
2009
CFN Big 12 Preview
-
2009
CFN All-Big 12 Team & Top 30 Players
-
2009
CFN Big 12 Team Capsules
-
2009
Big 12 Schedules & CFN Picks
-
2009
Big 12 Unit Rankings
-
2008
CFN Big 12 Preview