2022 Big 12 Football

[yankee]

Figure I'd start a thread to discuss the overall Big 12 conference heading into this season. Obviously and very unfortunately, UT is very well represented on this board, but there are some other team's fans and I know I personally have a greater interest in the state of the conference and teams as we move forward into the season.

Thoughts? Predictions? Concerns?

Big 12 feels relatively wide open this season, at least compared to what the conference has been for much of the last decade (OU and then everyone else ). Think Baylor, OU, Kansas State, OSU and Texas will all feel, to varying degrees, they have a shot at winning the conference this season. Each team has massive question marks but there's also a ton of intrigue and potential with them and I also wouldn't be surprised if the conference champ has 2 losses.

For OU, if Dillon Gabriel stays healthy, my prediction is 10-2 and a spot in the CCG. Think growing pains are inescapable with the amount of turnover we've had on the roster coupled with the majority of the coaching staff being new. Having said that, the positivity around the program has been infectious and like most years, OU will be the most talented team in the conference, no matter who the opponent is. I still expect a couple of stumbles along the way, maybe even one that's very out of the blue. But with Venables in charge and everything we've heard out of spring, summer and fall ball, this OU team is going to be much more physical, more disciplined and play with more effort than we saw out of most of Riley's teams. Think the ceiling on this team is very high if it all comes together and comes together quicker than anticipated. Much of the media writing off this OU team and Venables is surely more fuel for the fire.

[SBBear]

Think OU and Baylor start as 1 and 2, will be interested to see how UT responds from last year’s disappointing season, especially on the OL and defensively. Kansas State is interesting and OSU has been pretty consistent.

[AusMOJO]

I think OU fans don't realize how much a coaching turnover is going to affect their program. It's not going to be as easy, as going 10-2 in your first year, imo. As for Texas, I think they're going to be playing young at a lot of positions, growing pains are expected, but I think the pieces are there to have a good season. Coach Sark is definitely recruiting well, we just need to see it on the field now. Hell, we saw it last year. Sark's scripted plays, worked like a charm. When things went off script, we were screwed and teams had made adjustments.

If he can do better in that area this year, I think we'll be fine. D will definitely be improved, if you've followed PK at all. His D was terrible in year 1 at Washington and way better in year 2. I suspect the same will be true for Texas in year, with pretty much the same core of coaches, no massive coaching turnover and same schemes, etc. I predict their floor is 8-9 wins this year. Though the next couple of years could be really good for them, so who really knows.

[yankee]

It may not be as easy as going 10-2 but it also doesn't have to be as hard as Texas has made it look the last decade.

[WoodlandsGuy]

I’ll definitely be posting more about the big 12 once Houston joins. I might be an Aggie but I’m a big Houston fan as well.

[yankee]

Good weekend for the conference, going 9-1 with the only loss being WV’s close loss in the Backyard Bowl to Pitt.

Baylor looks like they found a QB. Sounds like Ewers showed some signs of life in Austin. Okie State may need to find a defense. OU defense looks like they may know how to tackle for the first time in years.

Some really intriguing matchups this coming weekend. Obviously Bama-Texas should be…fun! But Houston-Tech, Iowa State-Iowa, Mizzou-Kansas State and Baylor-BYU all catch my eye.

[SBBear]

Good weekend for the conference, going 9-1 with the only loss being WV’s close loss in the Backyard Bowl to Pitt.

Baylor looks like they found a QB. Sounds like Ewers showed some signs of life in Austin. Okie State may need to find a defense. OU defense looks like they may know how to tackle for the first time in years.

Some really intriguing matchups this coming weekend. Obviously Bama-Texas should be…fun! But Houston-Tech, Iowa State-Iowa, Mizzou-Kansas State and Baylor-BYU all catch my eye.

I actually like what big 12 teams are doing with their schedules over the last couple of years but hope it continues after the 2 leave. That is some good games coming up, iron sharpens iron

[yankee]

Woof, Ewers out for 4-6 weeks is a tough loss for Texas. Hudson Card, at least from an outside perspective, seems like a decent enough backup to have. But just from what I saw from him (albeit quite hobbled), the ceiling for his play doesn't seem near as high as Ewers'. Anyway, a truly valiant loss from the Horns despite Bama doing their best to just give the game away. Has to be one of the few times that an unranked team loses and yet jumps into the AP top 25.

As for the rest of the conference. Tough loss for Baylor against BYU in a classic battle of the whitest and most sober college fanbases on earth. But in all reality, that looked like a couple of tough, physical and defensive teams going at it. Baylor is going to be near the top of the heap again in the conference.

Big win for Joey McGuire and Texas Tech over the fightin' Red Bulls of Houston. Hard not to really like McGuire. Matt Campbell finally gets a win against Iowa. Sunflower state showed out in their two big wins this weekend. Surely time is almost up for Neal Brown at West Virginia.

For OU, tough first half offensively. Didn't score until right before halftime but we imposed our will in the second half pretty well. Still pretty vanilla on both sides of the ball and it's a strange feeling for this Sooner to think the defense is stronger than the offense. No idea what to expect of our showdown with Nebraska in Lincoln this weekend. Clearly Nebraska isn't very good but you can usually throw form out the window with a big rivalry game and no idea if they'll be pumped up or toned down now that Frost is out. Big road test in what should be a noisy atmosphere, think we'll learn a lot about this OU team.

[slcdragonfan]

Woof, Ewers out for 4-6 weeks is a tough loss for Texas. Hudson Card, at least from an outside perspective, seems like a decent enough backup to have. But just from what I saw from him (albeit quite hobbled), the ceiling for his play doesn't seem near as high as Ewers'. Anyway, a truly valiant loss from the Horns despite Bama doing their best to just give the game away. Has to be one of the few times that an unranked team loses and yet jumps into the AP top 25.

As for the rest of the conference. Tough loss for Baylor against BYU in a classic battle of the whitest and most sober college fanbases on earth. But in all reality, that looked like a couple of tough, physical and defensive teams going at it. Baylor is going to be near the top of the heap again in the conference.

Big win for Joey McGuire and Texas Tech over the fightin' Red Bulls of Houston. Hard not to really like McGuire. Matt Campbell finally gets a win against Iowa. Sunflower state showed out in their two big wins this weekend. Surely time is almost up for Neal Brown at West Virginia.

For OU, tough first half offensively. Didn't score until right before halftime but we imposed our will in the second half pretty well. Still pretty vanilla on both sides of the ball and it's a strange feeling for this Sooner to think the defense is stronger than the offense. No idea what to expect of our showdown with Nebraska in Lincoln this weekend. Clearly Nebraska isn't very good but you can usually throw form out the window with a big rivalry game and no idea if they'll be pumped up or toned down now that Frost is out. Big road test in what should be a noisy atmosphere, think we'll learn a lot about this OU team.

I really like Joey M as well. Hope he does well out there, he has one of our better WR.

[yankee]

Nebraska is not a good football team, especially defensively. But man, it’s so good to see an OU defense that swarms to the ball and plays with a physicality and smartness I haven’t seen in a very long time. And against a Nebraska offense that’s supposed to be pretty decent, I’m seriously impressed with the improvement over the last 8-12 months.

Thought the UTSA game might be a trap game for UT and looks like they hung around for a little bit before Texas found their feet and put them away. Sarkisian’s ‘mind games’ with the media and player availability/depth chart just smacks of small man syndrome and major insecurity. Lincoln used to pull the same crap with OU and it drove fans up the wall. Y’all might find it amusing now, but just give it a little bit.

Is KU the best team in Kansas?! Lance Leopold got those boys playing some real good football.

[CENTEX_96]

We just can't beat Kansas State.

[yankee]

They've got our number, that's for sure. Not surprised we lost, just more in the manner which we lost. A lot of the good things we saw from the defense the first few games just kind of went away. Was like K-State came out, punched us in the mouth, kept punching, and we just kind of sat there and took it. Martinez is far from the last dual threat QB we'll see this season, so things are going to need to get patched up quickly. Keep thinking about that 3rd and 16 that they got at the end of the game that clinched it for them. Nauseating stuff.

The slow starts by the offense is something that needs to get fixed and fixed quickly too. Finding ourselves in a hole early on is not something I like and will only get tougher to come back from as the season wears on.

[AusMOJO]

Nebraska is not a good football team, especially defensively. But man, it’s so good to see an OU defense that swarms to the ball and plays with a physicality and smartness I haven’t seen in a very long time. And against a Nebraska offense that’s supposed to be pretty decent, I’m seriously impressed with the improvement over the last 8-12 months.

Thought the UTSA game might be a trap game for UT and looks like they hung around for a little bit before Texas found their feet and put them away. Sarkisian’s ‘mind games’ with the media and player availability/depth chart just smacks of small man syndrome and major insecurity. Lincoln used to pull the same crap with OU and it drove fans up the wall. Y’all might find it amusing now, but just give it a little bit.

Is KU the best team in Kansas?! Lance Leopold got those boys playing some real good football.

Turns out the trap game was in Lubbock this week, lol. Looks like we both got punched in the mouth....

[chhspantherfan]

TCU up 27-10 over OWho at end of first quarter

[Eagle2]

TCU up 27-10 over OWho at end of first quarter

Now 41-17 Did not see nor expected this one.