It is time for another preview as the start of college football season is just upon us. In this article, I will be previewing the Big 12. If you are looking for a specific team, they are listed in alphabetical order.

Baylor

Last Season

Baylor doubled their win total from 2017 two weeks into the season with wins over Abilene Christian and UTSA. The Bears then hit a bit of a rough patch as they lost four of their next six games. They lost to Duke but beat Kansas in the next game. They then lost to Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia but beat Kansas State to get to 4-4. A win over Oklahoma State put the Bears over .500 but losses to Iowa State and rival TCU pulled them down below the mark. They now needed a win over rival Texas Tech to be bowl eligible. Baylor was able to do just that as they beat their rival 35-24. They also ended the season on a high note by winning the Texas Bowl over Vanderbilt in exciting fashion to finish 7-6.

Offense

Baylor returns their starter at quarterback from last season in Charlie Brewer. Brewer had another solid showing in 2018, with 3,019 passing yards. Brewer also battled injuries through part of the season and saw some of his stats fall because of it. I think Brewer will be in the upper echelon of Big 12 quarterbacks this season. At running back, JaMycal Hasty and Trestan Ebner will likely split carries. Hasty ran for more yards and touchdowns last season but Ebner had more yards per carry. The two will likely have about an equal share of touches and will definitely make for a nice one-two punch at running back. Baylor loses their leading receiver from last season in Jalen Hurd but returns every other major contributor. Hurd will be missed in the receiving game but also as a dynamic runner as well. A gadget player like Hurd will always be nice to have. Denzel Mims is back at receiver and I think could have a breakout season in 2019. Mims had 794 receiving yards on 55 catches last season and led the team with eight receiving touchdowns. Mims is a bigger possession receiver that is great at bringing down contested catches. Chris Platt also is back after starting last season. There is a ton of buzz surrounding sophomore Josh Fleeks. Fleeks had a solid showing in camp and had been the subject of praise from head coach Matt Rhule. Tyquan Thornton will also see a lot of time at receiver. All in all, the receiving corps will be the strength of this offense and is the deepest position on the team. Baylor returns three starters on the offensive line but loses the entire right side of the line with the departure of Blake Blackmar and Patrick Lawrence, both of whom were three year starters. The best player on the line will be guard Sam Tecklenburg. Johncarlo Valentin is switching over from left guard to right tackle while Connor Galvin returns at left tackle.

Defense

On the defensive front, Baylor loses defensive tackle Ira Lewis and defensive end Greg Roberts. James Lockhart will fill in one of the spots while Deonte Williams will play in the other. James Lynch will be the best player on the defensive line after leading the team in tackles for loss and quarterback hurries in 2018. Lynch was named second team all-Big 12 last season and should only get better. Brayvion Roy will be back at nose tackle. Roy is a behemoth at 330 pounds and can stuff up the middle pretty well. Baylor returns their leading tackler from last season in middle linebacker Clay Johnston. Johnston racked up 99 tackles on the season despite missing two games. Blake Lynch is also back at outside linebacker. Lynch, who has played receiver and cornerback, should improve after having a full season at linebacker under his belt. Terrel Bernard and Jordan Williams will battle it out for the other starting gig at outside linebacker. Williams started most of the season in 2018, but the two put up similar numbers. Either way, both of them will be getting some reps. Derrek Thomas and Harrison Hand are both gone at cornerback after starting last season. With them gone, the depth at the position definitely decreases. Raleigh Texada will be back and will take the spot of number one cornerback. Texada led the team in interceptions last season. Grayland Arnold will start at the other cornerback spot. Arnold was a starter in 2017 but went down after the fourth game of the season with an ankle injury. Verkedric Vaughns was a definite impact player at safety in 2018 and will also be gone. In his spot will be Henry Black who does have starting experience. At the other safety spot, Chris Miller will be back after finishing second on the team in tackles last season. Another player to watch at safety will be John Lovett. Lovett saw a lot of time at running back last season for the Bears and led the team in rushing yards. With the emerging depth at the position, Lovett elected to switch to safety. It will be interesting to see if he can make an impact at his new spot. Baylor will need to find a new punter after Drew Galitz graduated. Galitz was a good punter and leaves big shoes to fill for redshirt freshman Isaac Power. Connor Martin returns at kicker and hopes to improve upon a shaky performance in 2018

Coaching Staff

Matt Rhule is back for his third season in Waco as head coach. Rhule came over from Temple and took over the program at Baylor when they were in a pretty tough spot and has dug them out of it pretty impressively. Rhule has been rumored to be in consideration for multiple NFL jobs, so his coaching prowess is clearly known. I think Rhule can also take Baylor to new heights if given more time. Glenn Thomas and Jeff Nixon return for their third season as co-offensive coordinators. Phil Snow also returns as defensive coordinator for his third season and his sixth season as defensive coordinator under Rhule.

Final Prediction

Baylor is very much on an upward trajectory after improving from 1-11 in 2017 to 7-6 last season. Matt Rhule has done a very good job of rebuilding the program and establishing a new culture. Baylor has the talent offensively to succeed this season with a good quarterback and a solid group of receivers. I think one of the biggest keys to this team is having good play from their secondary. The Big 12 has many teams with great passing attacks and Baylor needs someone in their secondary to step up and prevent their defense from being easily thrown on. They also have new faces at defensive end. Someone there emerging as a pass rushing threat would help out their pass defense as well. Baylor is an improving program but I think they still have not hit their ceiling. I expect Baylor to improve more this season and go 8-4.

Iowa State

Last Season

Iowa State got off to a rocky start in 2018. They lost the Cy-Hawk Classic to rival Iowa in the opener, and then were unable to pull off another upset over Oklahoma. A loss to TCU in the Big 12 opener put them at 1-3. The Cyclones found their footing though as they beat two consecutive ranked opponents in Oklahoma State and then undefeated West Virginia. Wins over Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Baylor extended the win streak to five games and set up a matchup at Texas that had Big 12 Championship hopes on the line. Sadly, the Cyclones fell short and limped to the finish line with two close wins in games that should have been blowouts. Still, the Cyclones set a school record for most conference wins in a season with six. In the Alamo Bowl, Iowa State sadly fell to Washington State in an exciting game. The Cyclones finished 2018 with an 8-5 record.

Offense

Quarterback Brock Purdy burst onto the scene during his freshman season in 2018. In just eight starts, Purdy threw for 2,250 yards while completing 66% of his passes and throwing for over 10 yards per attempt. He also ran for 308 yards and five touchdowns. Purdy will be asked to do a bit more for the offense this season, but I think he will be up to the task. While he is not gunning for Purdy’s job, there has been some positive buzz about backup quarterback Re-al Mitchell. Mitchell is a bit small for a quarterback, but has some serious wheels and could see some time in certain packages this season. The Cyclones have to replace a two time all-Big 12 running back in David Montgomery. Montgomery was a workhorse back who ran for over 1,000 yards two seasons in a row. Despite nursing a shoulder injury for part of the season in 2018, he still ran for 1,216 yards and four touchdowns. Iowa State does not have a running back on their roster who ran for over 200 yards last season. True freshmen Jirehl Brock and Breece Hall will be relied upon more than Iowa State would probably like. Kene Nwangwu has the most rushing yards of any returning back and will surely get some carries too. Regardless, it looks like Iowa State will have to break off from using one back and go running back by committee for this season. Iowa State also loses their best receiver by far from 2018 in Hakeem Butler. Butler was a surprisingly fast receiver for his 6’6” frame and could always outmuscle cornerbacks for catches. Butler had 1,318 receiving yards last season and their next best receiver had 417. He will be tough to replace. Tarique Milton is back at receiver after finishing second on the team in receiving yards. Milton is more a smaller speedy receiver who will burn opposing cornerbacks if they have a lapse in coverage. Deshaunte Jones is also back at receiver after starting in 2018 and finishing second in catches and third in yards. Arkansas transfer La’Michael Pettway will likely fill in Butler’s spot. For the Razorbacks, Pettway was mostly a backup but has eight starts under his belt. Pettway has also been the subject of praise by coaches in his time at Ames. Charlie Kolar is back at tight end after being named second team all-Big 12 last season. Iowa State returns all five offensive line starters from last season. Tackle Julian Good-Jones will be the best player on the line and will enter his fourth season as a starter on the line. Guards Josh Knipfel and Collin Olson will also be solid.

Defense

Iowa State returns all three starters on the defensive line. Nose tackle Ray Lima was named second team all-Big 12 last season and will be nice to have back. Lima will likely be the best player on the defensive line and should free up the defensive ends some with the attention he will get from opposing offensive lines. Eyioma Uwazurike is back at defensive end after starting last season as is JaQuan Bailey who led the team with eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Lima and Bailey will be a very strong duo. 6’7” defensive end Matt Leo will be another player to watch as he will likely play a rotational role. This defensive line unit will be the best in the Big 12 this season. Willie Harvey departs at linebacker after finishing first on the team in quarterback hurries and second on the team in tackles and sacks last season. In his spot will be redshirt freshman Will McDonald. Mike Rose is back at middle linebacker. Rose finished third on the team in tackles in 2018 but also can make some big plays behind the line as he had nine tackles for loss last season. Marcel Spears is back at outside linebacker and is a very versatile playmaker. The Cyclones return their leading tackler from last season in Greg Eisworth. Eisworth plays a linebacker/safety hybrid and was named first team all-Big 12 last season. Both starting safeties from last season are back for Iowa State as well. Braxton Lewis will be nice to have back at strong safety. Lewis finished fourth on the team in tackles and led the team with three interceptions. Lawrence White is also back at free safety. Another safety to watch will be Justin Bickham who was a starter for Rice before coming to Ames this offseason to play for the Cyclones. Brian Peavy will be gone at cornerback and will be a tough player to replace as he was clearly the best one on Iowa State’s roster the last two seasons. D’Andre Payne also started at cornerback last season and will be gone. In their place will be a pair of sophomores in Anthony Johnson and Datrone Young. Both Johnson and Young started some last season and were rotational players. Iowa State brings back punter Corey Dunn who pinned an impressive 23 punts inside the 20 yard line last season. The Cyclones are also having a battle at kicker Connor Assalley started last season but struggled beyond 30 yards. Redshirt freshman Brayden Narveson has a chance to steal the job if he does well in fall camp. Tarique Milton and Kene Nwangwu will back as the punt and kick returners respectively.

Coaching Staff

Matt Campbell is back for his fourth season with the Cyclones after rumors circulated that he would take a job at a bigger program. Campbell, who was hired from Toledo, has definitely done great things for Iowa State. Campbell has already led Iowa State to their first eight-win season since 2000 and won eight games back to back for the first time since 1977-78. The Cyclones were once a doormat in the Big 12 and now are legitimate threats in the conference. Iowa State fans just need to hope they can hold onto Campbell. Tom Manning is back as offensive coordinator. Manning held the offensive coordinator job in Ames in 2016 and 2017 but left for a year to coach tight ends for the Indianapolis Colts. John Heacock returns for his fourth season as defensive coordinator and sixth under Campbell.

Final Prediction

Iowa State’s rise as a program has been one of the most interesting stories in college football the last couple seasons. Matt Campbell has done an excellent job in his three seasons in Ames of building up a long dormant program and making them someone that opposing Big 12 teams dread playing. With two consecutive eight win seasons, the Cyclones should not be overlooked by anyone, which is something they might have to get used to. On offense, Iowa State needs to find playmakers at running back and receiver. They leaned heavily on David Montgomery and Hakeem Butler last season and have seemingly no star power at either position. Somebody will need to step up for this team to really reach their potential. Brock Purdy is a great quarterback but he can not do everything. Iowa State should have the best defense in the Big 12. I expect the Cyclones to improve even more in 2019 and go 9-3.

Kansas

Last Season

Kansas looked to be in for another rough season in 2018 after they lost to FCS foe Nicholls State in their first game. The Jayhawks were able to rebound with a win over Central Michigan (their first road win since 2009) and a dominant 55-14 win over Rutgers. Kansas fell in their first two conference games to Baylor and Oklahoma State but looked encouraging by keeping it close with West Virginia. Against TCU, Kansas took home their first conference win since 2016, snapping a 14 game conference losing streak (I wonder what terrible team would have lost to them because it surely was not my beloved Texas Longhorns). The Jayhawks fell back to earth with a loss to Iowa State. Kansas kept it close in the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State and also did the same against Oklahoma and Texas to end the season with some moral victories. Kansas finished the season 3-9 which actually was their best season since 2014.

Offense

Kansas is in the midst of a three-way battle at quarterback. Peyton Bender took the majority of snaps last season and will be gone. The favorite to take the job right now is junior college transfer Thomas MacVittie. MacVittie originally enrolled at Pittsburgh but spent 2018 playing at Mesa Community College. There, MacVittie showed some promise throwing for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns in six games. MacVitte was a four-star recruit out of high school. Carter Stanley saw some time last season and looked solid, but did not look too great when he played more extended time in 2016 and 2017. Miles Kendrick also saw some time in 2018 and looks to be the best runner but the least accurate passer of the group. I think the Jayhawks will go with MacVittie, but it is likely multiple quarterbacks see time. Whoever plays quarterback will have the benefit of Pooka Williams returning at running back. Williams was named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year last season after he ran for 1,125 yards on seven yards per carry and also made an impact as a pass catcher. Williams will have to shoulder a heavy load this season, but looks up to the task. Khalil Herbert will also be back at running back and did well in his backup role last season. Kansas loses their two leading receivers from last season in Steven Sims and Jeremiah Booker. Sims led the team in receiving yards for three straight seasons and his production will be tough to replicate. Stephon Robinson is back and will likely be the number one receiver on the team. Dylan Charlot was a highly touted recruit out of high school that committed to Alabama before transferring to Kansas. Although things have never quite materialized with him, there is still hope he can do well this season. Junior college transfer Ezra Naylor and Andrew Parchment will also be guys to watch for. Two other players to keep an eye on will be Quran Hampton and Evan Fairs. Both did quite well last season when healthy, but missed over half of the season due to injury. Mavin Saunders is gone at tight end and will be replaced by Jack Lauvasa. I also think James Sosinski will see some time at tight end as well. Sosinski is most known for walking on to Kansas’s basketball team a season ago due to mass injuries, but could also make his mark on the gridiron this season. Kansas returns three starters on the offensive line and also returns first team all-Big 12 Hakeem Adenji. Adenji will anchor an offensive line that has some limited depth with Dwayne Wallace and Alex Fontana graduating.

Defense

Kansas will have a lot of new faces on the defensive front this season. Defensive tackle Daniel Wise led the team in sacks and tackles for loss last season and will be tough to replace. JJ Holmes also will be gone at defensive tackle. In Wise’s spot will likely be Jelani Brown who was a backup last season. Codey Cole and junior college transfer and Caleb Sampson could also get reps at the position. Defensive ends KeyShaun Thomas and Brian Lipscomb also are gone after starting last season. In their spots will be Willie McCaleb and junior college transfer Malcolm Lee. Lee has generated some buzz in camp and could be a breakout player on the line. At linebacker, the Jayhawks will be without Joe Dineen Jr. who led the Big 12 in tackles for the second season in a row with 147. Dineen also added 11 tackles for loss and has been the leader of the defense for multiple seasons. Dineen was a second team all-American and leaves as Kansas’s all time leader in tackles for loss. He will not be easy to replace. Keith Loneker will also be gone at linebacker. With the switch to a 3-4 defense, Kansas will have to plug in more new faces at linebacker. Outside linebacker Kyron Johnson is the lone returning starter. Azur Kamara will take the other outside linebacker spot after being s rotational player last season. I would also be surprised if true freshman Steven Parker does not see significant time. Parker was a blue chip recruit and the highest rated player to sign with Kansas in this recruiting class. Denzel Feaster and Dru Prox will battle it out for one of the inside linebacker spots while Joe’s brother Jay Dineen will take the other. Where Kansas does return a lot of players from last season is in the secondary. Shakial Taylor will be a tough loss at cornerback, but Hasan Defense (perfect name) and Corione Harris will return. Defense led the team in interceptions and pass deflections last season while Harris did well in his true freshman season. Bryce Torneden was second on the team in tackles last season and will be nice to have back at safety. Mike Lee will be back at the other safety spot after starting last season. Kansas will be rolling out a new kicker this season in Liam Jones who has spent most of his time in Lawrence as a kickoff specialist. Kyle Thompson is back at punter and is a very nice asset to have as he averaged 43 yards per punt last season and pinned 26 inside the 20.

Coaching Staff

Les Miles was hired on to be the head coach for the Jayhawks this past offseason. Miles was a head coach for 16 seasons at Oklahoma State and LSU and did quite well at those stops. Miles is one of five coaches in the country to have won a National Championship as a head coach. It should be noted though that his Championship with LSU was in 2007 and he was later fired from LSU for not modernizing his coaching style enough. Despite that, I think he was a good hire and can do good things for Kansas although it will take awhile. Les Koenning will be starting his first season as offensive coordinator after holding the same job at UAB previously. DJ Eliot is in his first year as defensive coordinator but has held the same job at Kentucky and Colorado. Eliot will be switching up the defense a bit this season.

Final Prediction

Les Miles has stepped into what I believe is the hardest coaching job in FBS football. Kansas’s football program has gone downhill and has completely snowballed in the last five years. The Jayhawks are not beyond repair but it will take a bit to rebuild this program. Still, I think Les Miles has the coaching pedigree to pull it off. It will still take time. On offense, Kansas will probably have to lean on Pooka Williams quite a bit, especially while whoever plays quarterback is figuring things out. Williams and Khalil Herbert are two backs that Miles can tailor an offense around. Defensively, Kansas just needs to find some playmakers. Defensive coordinator DJ Eliot will have his work cut out for him and he needs to find a creative way to success that can narrow the talent gap. I think Kansas will show signs of improvement this season but still go 3-9.

Kansas State

Last Season

Kansas State started off 2018 in a bit of a concerning manner as they struggled to beat FCS foe South Dakota. The concern was raised when they were blown out by Mississippi State. The Wildcats also did not get off to a good start in conference play as they lost their first three games to West Virginia, Texas, and Baylor. Kansas State secured their first win in Big 12 play against Oklahoma State, but fell back to their losing ways against Oklahoma and fell just short against TCU. At 3-6, Kansas State needed three wins in a two to end their season and be bowl eligible. The Wildcats looked up to that challenge at first after wins over Kansas and Texas Tech, but had their hopes of a bowl game end when they lost 42-38 against Iowa State in the Farmageddon game. The Wildcats finished 5-7, missing a bowl game for the first time since 2009. To add insult to injury, longtime head coach Bill Snyder retired at the end of the season.

Offense

Skylar Thompson is back at quarterback after winning the starting job last season. While he did win the job, Thompson still had some struggles with accuracy as he only completed 58% of his passes last season. Thompson is a good dual threat though as he ran for 373 yards last season and five touchdowns. Thompson will likely be asked to do more this season as running back Alex Barnes is gone. Barnes practically carried Kansas State’s offense at times last season. On the season, he ran for a Big 12 leading 1,355 yards and 12 touchdowns. Barnes was a stronger and physical back that will definitely leave a big hole at the position. The Wildcats brought in two graduate transfers to fill in his spot. Jordon Brown started some at North Carolina and was the third leading rusher for the Tar Heels last season. James Gilbert was a starting running back at Ball State and also transferred to Kansas State this past offseason. Gilbert and Brown will likely split carries. Kansas State will be one of few teams to regularly use a fullback in their offense. The starter will likely be Adam Harter but true freshman Jax Dineen could also see time at the spot. The Wildcats lose their best receiver from last season Isaiah Zuber. Zuber not only led the team in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns, but he also was the primary kick and punt returner for the Wildcats last season. Dalton Schoen will likely be the go to target for Kansas State this season. Schoen was second on the team in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns. Chabastin Taylor will fill in Zuber’s spot but Hunter Rison and Malik Knowles will play some as well. Blaise Gammon returns at tight end and is a reliable run blocker at the position. The Wildcats return three starters on the offensive line. Tackle Dalton Risner was a second round pick and will be a very tough guy to replace. Center Adam Holtorf will probably be the best player on the line while tackle Scott Frantz will also be a contributor.

Defense

Kansas State returns all of their starters from last season on the defensive line. Trey Dishon is a great anchor to the defensive line at nose guard. Dishon is entering his fourth season as a starter and is a very savvy player at his position. At defensive tackle, Joe Davies and Jordan Mittie will both see time and I think they will both be solid. Wyatt Hubert and Reggie Walker will make up one of the best duos at defensive end in the conference. Walker led the team with 12.5 tackles for loss last season while Hubert finished close behind him with 8.5. They each also added five quarterback hurries. Kyle Ball will be another rotational player to watch at defensive end. The defense was hit with some disappointing news when they found out linebacker Justin Hughes will likely miss all of this season with a torn ACL. In his place, Elijah Sullivan will start. Sullivan played a key backup role at linebacker in 2017 but missed all of last season with an injury. Da’Quan Patton returns at the other linebacker spot after leading the team in tackles last season. Cornerback Duke Shelley and safety Eli Walker will be gone after starting last season. Shelley made the all-Big 12 team twice and led the team in pass deflections and interceptions last season. Walker finished second on the team in tackles. Kendall Adams also played a big role in the secondary and will be gone. Redshirt freshman Wayne Jones will look to step in at safety but junior college transfer Jonathan Alexander could see time. Denzel Goolsby will be back at safety and will fill in the free safety position. Johnathan Durham, Walter Neil, and AJ Parker are back at cornerback after being primary starters last season. Durham will play the nickel back role while Parker and Neil will be a nice duo at cornerback. Devin Anctil returns at punter for the Wildcats while Blake Lynch is also back at kicker.

Coaching Staff

After the resignation of longtime coach and Kansas State legend Bill Snyder, there will be high expectations for whoever the Wildcats hire. I think fans should definitely be happy with the hiring of Chris Klieman. Klieman is definitely used to winning in his career as he won four FCS National Championships in five years as head coach of North Dakota State. Klieman did inherit a winning program, but definitely kept it afloat and more. Courtney Messingham is the first year offensive coordinator for the Wildcats. Messingham previously worked for Klieman at North Dakota State and has previously been the offensive coordinator at Iowa State. Scottie Hazelton was a big hire at defensive coordinator. Hazelton was the defensive coordinator at Wyoming, working for another former North Dakota State head coach in Craig Bohl.

Final Prediction

Kansas State has had a changing of the guard this past offseason. Bill Snyder has coached in Manhattan for 27 years and with his resignation, the program is going to look different than what people are used to. While Snyder has made it look easy, the path to success at Kansas State is not an easy one. That being said, I think Chris Klieman was a very good hire. Klieman has had success recruiting kids who have been turned down by bigger schools and turning them into stars, and Kansas State has had success doing similar things. Offensively, they need to find an identity. The Wildcats pounded the ball with Alex Barnes, and now they need to change things up with him gone. The defense might have to get used to doing the heavy lifting for the team this season. While I think Kansas State will be fine with Klieman, I think this is going to be a rebuilding season. I think the Wildcats will go 4-8 but show positive signs for the future.

Oklahoma

Last Season

Oklahoma had a good start to 2018, tearing apart FAU and UCLA in their first two games. The Sooners then faced a bit of a scare at Iowa State, and then the fright of their lives against Army as they needed overtime to win. A big win over Baylor temporarily calmed their nerves, but then Oklahoma lost to Texas in the Red River Shootout (coming from the perspective of a Longhorns fan, that game was awesome). They rebounded well with blowout wins over TCU and Kansas State. Oklahoma again had the fear of life put into them in a trip to Texas Tech but managed to survive with 51-46 win. More of the same happened against Oklahoma State as they were a two-point conversion away from losing. Looking shaky against lesser teams became a trend (look at Oklahoma always copying Texas) as the Sooners beat Kansas but had their defense lit up, and then won a 59-56 shootout at West Virginia to close out the regular season. This all set up a rematch with Texas for the Big 12 Championship which Oklahoma won 39-27 (coming from the perspective of a Longhorns fan, that game was not awesome). Oklahoma’s excitement over a Big 12 title and playoff berth was short lived as they found themselves down 28-0 to Alabama in the first half of the Orange Bowl. The Sooners clawed back a bit but still fell 45-34.

Offense

For the second season in a row, Oklahoma will be replacing a Heisman trophy winner at quarterback. Kyler Murray was a dynamic offensive player who threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns in 11.6 yards per attempt. Murray added to that with 1,001 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Murray was an outstanding quarterback for the Sooners, and will definitely be a tough player to replace. Thankfully for Oklahoma, they are not starting from scratch at the position. The Sooners dipped into the transfer market yet again as they signed Jalen Hurts from Alabama. Hurts was a two-year starter for the Crimson Tide but could not beat out Tua Tagovailoa for the starting gig. Despite that, Hurts is a very talented player. While he does not have the arm strength that Murray or Baker Mayfield before him had, he still is an accurate passer and a very good runner. He might be a step below what Oklahoma fans have recently been used to, but Hurts is a very good quarterback. After an early season ending injury to starter Rodney Anderson, Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks did very well at running back. Sermon led the team in touchdowns and is a bit more of a power runner. Brooks ran for a team leading 1,056 yards on 8.9 yards per carry. Sermon and Brooks will make up for a very good duo at running back. Sophomore TJ Pledger was a very highly touted recruit and might be too good to leave off the field. Oklahoma loses their fullback from last season in Carson Meier who did very well in run blocking and pass catching. His replacement will likely be Brayden Willis. The Sooners lose their best receiver from last season in Hollywood Brown. Brown was an absolute burner who could often blow the top off opposing defenses. Brown had 75 catches for 1,318 yards last season. The good news is that Oklahoma does return someone who will be ready to take on the role of number one receiver in CeeDee Lamb. Lamb had 65 catches for 1,158 yards last season. Lamb is a very good all-around receiver and also pretty good as a blocker (this is mostly based off the nasty block he put on Mack Wilson in the Orange Bowl). Lee Morris will also be back at receiver after finishing third on the team in receiving yards last season. Morris plays bigger than his listed size of 6’2” 215 pounds and has a nose for the end zone as eight of his 21 catches last season were for touchdowns. Morris will likely rotate between receiver and tight end this season. Last year’s starting tight end, Grant Calcaterra is back and will be one of the best in the country at his position. Blue chip true freshman Austin Stogner could also get some looks at tight end. AD Miller is also back at receiver after initially entering the transfer portal. Mykel Jones and Nick Basquine are battling it out for the other starting spot that Morris held last season but both should see time. Charleston Rambo has been the recipient of some positive buzz (not just because of his cool name) and could see time as well. Oklahoma landed two huge recruits at receiver as well. Jadon Haselwood was a five-star recruit and top five player in the country. Haselwood is the highest rated recruit to sign with Oklahoma since Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar in 2004. Theo Wease was also a five-star recruit at receiver. Haselwood and Wease both have insane talent but could struggle to see time on such a loaded unit. On the offensive line, Oklahoma loses four starters. Cody Ford, Bobby Evans, Dru Samia, and Ben Powers all were selected in the first four rounds of the NFL draft and made up possibly the best offensive line in the country last season. The good news is center Creed Humphrey, the lone returning starter, will be one of the best offensive linemen in the conference. Guard RJ Proctor transferred in from Virginia and should be solid.

Defense

Oklahoma will have to replace Amani Bledsoe at defensive end. Bledsoe was a solid starter who also had an apt for swatting down passes at defensive end. Neville Gallimore is back at defensive tackle in what will be his fourth season starting. Junior college transfer LaRon Stokes will fill in at defensive tackle as Oklahoma switches to more of a 4-2-5 defense. Redshirt freshman Jalen Redmond could also see time at the spot. Ronnie Perkins and Kenneth Mann will battle it out for the starting defensive end spot. Mann has been a starter for multiple years and led the entire defensive line in tackles, but Perkins impressed in his freshman season and led the defensive line in sacks and tackles for loss. Mark Jackson will play the rush position, which will be a bit of an outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid. Oklahoma will lose a tackling machine at linebacker in Curtis Bolton. Although it was only good enough for second on the team, Bolton racked up an eye popping 139 tackles. Oklahoma was hit with more bad news when Caleb Kelly, the next man up at the spot, tore his ACL during spring practice. While there are reports that Kelly’s rehab is ahead of schedule, their best hope is for him to take a redshirt year and come back late. For the meantime, that spot will be filled by sophomore DaShaun White. At the other linebacker spot, Oklahoma returns their leading tackler from last season in Kenneth Murray. Murray racked up 155 tackles last season and also added 12.5 tackles for loss. Murray has an amazing nose for the ball and showed tremendous grit by consistently stepping up to make a play. The secondary was hit with rough news when Tre Norwood went down with a torn ACL last week. Thankfully for the Sooners, it is a position of experience. Tre Brown and Parnell Motley will still make up a solid duo at the spot. The two combined for 23 pass deflections and both finished top five on the team in tackles. Jordan Parker is another player to watch for at cornerback as well. Brendan Radley-Hiles is back as the nickel back after starting as a true freshman. Safety Kahlil Haughton needs to be replaced. In his spot will be Patrick Fields, who played a backup role as a true freshman in 2018. Robert Barnes has starting experience at strong safety and could possibly also make the positional switch. Delarrin Turner-Yell is back at strong safety. Oklahoma will have to replace one of the best special teams players in the country in Austin Seibert. Seibert was a rare player who both kicked and punted last season and did very well at both. At kicker redshirt freshman, Gabe Brkic will get the nod. Brkic kicker off in a couple games last season, but only has one PAT attempt to his (if it makes you feel better, he made it). Reeves Mundschau will take over at punter. CeeDee Lamb and Tre Brown return as punt and kick returners respectively.

Coaching Staff

Lincoln Riley is back for his third season as head coach and has done pretty well so far with a 24-4 record. Riley is an offensive guru that has led a very high powered and explosive offense the last four seasons (Riley was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners for two seasons before becoming head coach). Bill Bedenbaugh and Cale Gundy are back for their third season together as co-offensive coordinators. The big hire for Oklahoma this offseason was hiring Alex Grinch as defensive coordinator. Grinch was a co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State last season, but is better known for his time at Washington State. In the three years he spent in Pullman, the Cougars defense improved tremendously each year and went from putrid to above average in his time there. Grinch clearly has experience building up defenses and should be just what Oklahoma needs right now.

Final Prediction

In his two years as head coach, Lincoln Riley has taken Oklahoma to the playoff twice. The Sooners have established themselves as an elite program but are hoping they can take the next step forward and win a game in the playoff. On offense, Oklahoma is replacing most of an amazing offensive line and a Heisman trophy winning quarterback. The offensive line play can not dip down too far and they need to tailor the offense to Jalen Hurts and his skill set. On defense, Oklahoma needs to find a way to get better this season. They have many key players back. Alex Grinch is going to need to make some improvements with the unit if they truly want to contend for a National Championship. I expect Oklahoma to go 11-1 in the regular season but lose to Texas in the Big 12 Championship.

Oklahoma State

Last Season

Oklahoma State got off to a good start in 2018 by blowing out two cupcake opponents (sorry Missouri State and South Alabama). Their first big test was when Boise State came to town. Oklahoma State looked to have passed the test as they won that game 41-17. The high of that win was short lived as the Cowboys lost three of their next four games. Oklahoma State was blown out by Texas Tech, got a win over Kansas and then lost to Iowa State and Kansas State. In a time where things looked bad, Oklahoma State found a way to soldier on as they beat then sixth ranked Texas in their next game. Once again, the high of that was short lived as the Cowboys lost to Baylor one week later. In the Bedlam game against Oklahoma, the Cowboys scored to go down one with a minute to go. Instead of kicking an extra point to tie it, they went for two. They missed. While that loss was disappointing, they collected themselves enough to upset then sixth ranked West Virginia (I called that upset just so you know). A loss to TCU in the regular season finale put the Cowboys at 6-6 going into their Liberty Bowl matchup with Missouri. The Cowboys came out on top in that game and were able to end a pretty down year with a winning record at least.

Offense

Oklahoma State is currently in the midst of a quarterback battle. Taylor Cornelius, last year’s starter, has graduated after doing a solid job in 2018. Cornelius had to win a quarterback battle to earn the job and now the people he beat out are fighting for the job. Dru Brown was a two-year starter at Hawaii before transferring over to Stillwater after the 2017 season. In 2017 at Hawaii, Brown completed 61% of his passes for 2,785 yards and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 18/8. Brown might not have dazzled at Hawaii, but he has experience. The other competitor in this battle is redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders. Sanders was a four-star recruit in the class of 2018 and redshirted last season. Sanders has a very strong arm and is a good athlete, but has not thrown a pass in a college game while Brown has two seasons of being a starter to his name. I probably would go with Brown at first, but it is hard to really say since neither of them played a down last season. At running back, Justice Hill will be gone after leading the team in rushing yards last season. While Hill’s departure is disappointing, Cowboys fans should feel a bit better since Chuba Hubbard is back. Hubbard, a Canadian native, split carries with Hill in 2018 and really started to come along strong at the end of the season. I think Hubbard should be able to keep that production up and could emerge as one of the best running backs in the Big 12. Jahmyl Jeter, LD Brown, and junior college transfer Dezmon Jackson will all be battling it out to play the secondary running back role. At receiver, the Cowboys return a Biletnikoff Award finalist in Tylan Wallace. Last season, Wallace hauled in 86 catches for 1,491 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wallace has great hands and has the agility and elusiveness to be scary in open space. He could definitely be hearing his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft next spring. Oklahoma State loses their second leading receiver from last season in Tyron Johnson. In his place, redshirt freshman CJ Moore will probably get the nod. Dillon Stoner is back at receiver after starting last season. Stoner finished third on the team in receiving yards last season. Landon Wolf will also be a contributor in the receiving corps. At tight end, Jelani Woods returns after starting last season. Woods is a massive target at 6’7” and 265 pounds, and should be a key player in Oklahoma State’s receiving corps. On the offensive line, Oklahoma State returns four starters. Guard Marcus Keyes will likely be the best player on the line after being named second team all-Big 12 the last two seasons. Tackle Teven Jenkins will also be solid.

Defense

Oklahoma State loses a tremendous amount of depth on the defensive line from last season. Jordan Brailford was the leader of the unit at defensive end as he racked up 16 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and seven quarterback hurries en route to a first team all-Big 12 nod. Jarell Owens also started at defensive end and will be gone after putting up 11 tackles for loss. Defensive tackles Enoch Smith and Trey Carter both started last season and will need to be replaced. Brendon Evers will take one of the defensive tackle spots after playing a key backup role last season. Junior college transfer Sione Asi will likely take the other spot. Mike Scott saw time at defensive end last season and will fill in one of the starting roles while the other will go to former backup Brock Martin. True freshman Trace Ford could also see some playing time at the spot. The Cowboys lose their leading tackler from last season in linebacker Justin Phillips. Devin Harper was solid in his backup role last season, but will have work to do to match the production Phillips had. Linebacker Calvin Bundage is back after starting last season and will probably be the best player on this defense. Bundage fills his role as the outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 defense well, but also makes some big plays as well. Where the Cowboys do have some production back on defense is in the secondary. Safety Kenneth Edison-McGruder was a solid player who will need to be replaced but other than that, all starters return. Cornerback AJ Green (unfortunately not the Bengals receiver) was named first team all-Big 12 last season and will be a nice piece to have on defense against spread happy Big 12 offenses. The same goes for fellow cornerback Rodarius Williams. Williams and Green combined for an impressive 19 pass deflections last season. Malcolm Rodriguez is back at safety and had the most tackles last season of any returning player. Rodriguez is a player I could see having a breakout season in 2019. Jarrick Bernard is shifting from nickel back to safety to fill in Edison-McGruder’s spot. At nickel back, the starter be Kolby Peel. Matt Amendola returns as the kicker for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State will need to find a new punter as both ones who punter last season are gone. It looks as though Tom Hutton, the 28 year old freshman from Australia will get the nod.

Coaching Staff

Mike Gundy is back for his 15th season as head coach in Stillwater. Gundy, a former quarterback for the Cowboys, is a legend in Stillwater (and not just because of his mullet). Gundy has a 121-59 record as the head coach and has kept Oklahoma State as a consistently good and contending program in the Big 12. Last year’s offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich took the same job at Ohio State which led to an intriguing hire for the Cowboys in former Princeton offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson. Gleeson led one of the highest scoring offenses in the FCS at Princeton for the last two seasons. Gleeson will definitely bring in new ideas to Stillwater and showed that he can adapt his offense as he molded it around a completely different quarterback in 2018 than he did in 2017. Gleeson was a risky hire that I have a feeling will work. Jim Knowles returns for his second season as defensive coordinator.

Final Prediction

2018 was a bit of a weird season for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were 2-1 against teams ranked in the top 10 and were 4-1 against teams ranked in the top 25. Against unranked teams, the Cowboys were 3-5. The goal for 2019 clearly needs to be consistency. Oklahoma State has been a good program for awhile but they need to not take games off. Oklahoma State will trot out a new quarterback this season but they have the skill position talent to ease that process. Where I am concerned for Oklahoma State is one defense. The Cowboys have just five starters back from a unit that was not too great in 2018. Improvements must be made or else they will find themselves in a ton of shootouts. The Cowboys will be a fun team in 2019 but I do not know if it will translate to wins. I expect them to go 7-5 and show improvements as the season goes on.

TCU

Last Season

The Horned Frogs got off to a good start in 2018, blowing out two lesser opponents. Sadly, once their schedule picked up, the losses piled on. After hanging with them for a bit, TCU lost to Ohio State, then met the same fate against Texas. A win over Iowa State looked to set the Horned Frogs on the right track, but they dropped three straight games after that. They lost a sloppy game to Texas Tech, were blown out by Oklahoma, and then fell to Kansas. This put TCU at 3-5 on the season and 1-4 in Big 12 play. After splitting their next two games, TCU needed to win two straight to make a bowl game. The Horned Frogs were able to do just that as they beat rival Baylor and Oklahoma State. In the Cheez It Bowl against California, the Horned Frogs again came out on top in an ugly game to end the season 7-6.

Offense

Since Shawn Robinson, last season’s starter, transferred to Missouri, TCU goes into this season with possible the country’s most interesting quarterback battle that features five players. Alex Delton got beat out for the starting job at Kansas State last season, and graduate transferred to TCU. Delton completed just 56% of his passes and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 5/4 but he does have some starting experience. After Robinson went down, Mike Collins stepped in for four starts before he also went down. Collins completed 56% of his passes for a touchdown to interception ratio of 6/2 on 7.6 yards per attempt. Justin Rogers was the highest rated recruit to ever sign with TCU but still is recovering from a brutal knee injury he suffered in high school and a drop-foot issue he had. If Rogers can fully recover, he will be the most talented option. Matthew Baldwin signed with Ohio State in the class of 2018 as a four-star recruit but did not play as he was recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in high school. Baldwin elected to transfer to TCU after last season and won his appeal for immediate eligibility. Max Duggan was a four-star recruit who just signed with the Horned Frogs in the class of 2019. Of all the options, Delton has the highest floor and Rogers likely has the highest ceiling. I think TCU will go with Delton but it is a truly wide open race. At running back, TCU returns their two leading rushers from last season in Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua. Anderson is a solid back who has been battling injuries his whole career while Olonilua is a great power back that was MVP of the Cheez It Bowl. TCU returns their best receiver from last season in Jalen Reagor. With the large number of injuries, Reagor was relied upon more and more on offense as the season went along. He did quite well in that role as he had 72 catches for 1,061 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on the season. Taye Barber is also back at receiver after starting last season. KaVontae Turpin and Jarrison Stewart are gone after starting last season. Dylan Thomas and TreVontae Hights will fill in those spots. TCU returns all five starters on the offensive line from last season. Tackle Lucas Niang will be the best player on the line. Fellow tackle Anthony McKinney will also be solid.

Defense

TCU loses a pair of defensive ends that were very effective last season as they both were named first team all-Big 12 and went in the first two rounds of the draft. Ben Banogu put up 18 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and eight quarterback hurries. While Banogu used his elite athleticism to shred through opposing offensive lines, LJ Collier had a breakout season where he showed off his abilities as a very powerful pass rusher. Collier had 11.5 tackles for loss on the season and also swatted down four passes. The two were a very good combination at defensive end and will be tough to replace. Redshirt freshman Ochuan Mathis will fill in one of the spots while South Carolina transfer Shameik Blackshear will fill in the other. Blackshear was a backup for the Gamecocks for the last couple seasons but will provide experience that other defensive ends on the team sorely lack. Junior college transfer Parker Workman and true freshmen Adam Plant and Colt Ellison will rotate in as well. Ross Blacklock is back at defensive tackle. Blacklock was named freshman All-American and Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2017 but missed all of last season with injury. Corey Bethley will be back after he started last season and did quite well with five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Terrell Cooper started some in Blacklock’s place last season and should get reps as well. The Horned Frogs loss the leader of last year’s defense in linebacker Ty Summers. Summers missed part of the season but did quite well when he was playing. Montrel Wilson was slated to fill in the spot, but left the team in fall camp. This leaves two redshirt freshmen to battle it out in DeMauryon Holmes and Jacoby Simpson. Fellow linebacker Arico Evans led the team in tackles last season and will also be gone. Garrett Wallow is back at linebacker and leads all returning players in tackles from last season. The best player on the defense will likely be cornerback Jeff Gladney. Gladney led the team with 13 pass deflections and two interceptions en route to an all-Big 12 nod at cornerback. Julius Lewis also started at cornerback last season and will be back. TCU will have to replace every starting safety from last season. TCU will have to replace Ridwan Issahaku who was the second leading tackler on the team and getting a second team all-Big 12 nod. Markell Simmons and Niko Small will also have to be replaced. Innis Gaines started last season before going down with an injury six games in and will be back. Vernon Scott and Trevor Moehring will fill in the other two spots. TCU will have to find a new punter in 2019 and will likely turn to Jordan Sandy, a 25 year old freshman from Australia. Cole Bunce and Jonathan Song rotated at kickers and will both be back. It is probably in TCU’s best interest to declare a starter.

Coaching Staff

Gary Patterson is one of the longest tenured coaches in the FBS as he is now entering his 18th season as head coach for TCU. Patterson inherited a program in good standing and did more than maintain their success in his early days there and then kept that program in great standing as they transitioned to the Big 12. Patterson consistently keeps the Horned Frogs in the thick of the Big 12 Championship hunt and might be the best coach in the conference. Sonny Cumbie and Curtis Luper are entering their third season together as co-offensive coordinators. The two have done the job pretty well, and now Cumbie has been looked at to be the head coach of some G5 programs. Chad Glasgow returns for his fifth season as defensive coordinator.

Final Prediction

2018 was far from an ideal season for TCU. The Horned Frogs got bit by the injury bug worse than any other team I can think of. At one point, 35 scholarship players were out with injuries. While the injuries were not good for them last season, it can actually be a bit of a blessing in disguise for their team in 2019 as they have many more players with game experience. TCU will have a new starting quarterback in 2019, but they hope they can lean on their running back duo and an outstanding receiver in Jalen Reagor. They also have a very good group of offensive linemen back. If they can just get decent play at quarterback, their offense will be good. On defense, they have to replace a lot of players but I have faith in Gary Patterson’s ability to coach up a defense. I think the Horned Frogs will have a bounce back season in 2019 and go 9-3 with the potential to do even better.

Texas

Last Season

Texas had a very rough start to their 2018 season. The Longhorns fell to Maryland in their opener and struggled to beat a not very good Tulsa team in week two. Thankfully for Texas, they rebounded with wins over a ranked USC and TCU. Texas faced their next test against Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Texas almost gave up their lead but came out on top in an exciting game 48-45. Unfortunately, the high of that win was short lived as they won their next game, but then lost at Oklahoma State. Texas could not stop the bleeding in their next game as they lost against West Virginia. A win over Texas Tech was nice to have, but it was not very convincing. The Longhorns settled their fans with a more convincing 24-10 win over Iowa State. A win over Kansas set up a rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, they did not come out on top this time and lost 39-27. The season was able to end on a good note still as Texas took down Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to finish 10-4.

Offense

At quarterback, Texas returns one of the most exciting players in the country in Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger completed 64% of his passes last season while throwing for 3,292 yards and a touchdown to interception ratio of 25/5. He also added 482 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Ehlinger is a very good dual threat quarterback who plays with the fearlessness and grit that can infect the rest of the offense. I think Ehlinger is a player more people need to talk about when it comes to Heisman candidates. The one concern for Ehlinger is his injury history. Texas needs to try and run with him less and preserve his health. The transfer of reliable backup quarterback Shane Buechele also eliminates the safety net that Texas could pull when Ehlinger went down. Thankfully for the Longhorns, Keaontay Ingram is back at running back. Ingram became a very solid power back for the Longhorns during his freshman season and carved out more and more of a role in the offense as the season went on. The loss of Tre Watson at running back is not ideal, but there have been good reports about true freshman Jordan Whittington. Whittington was recruited as a receiver and could play there some this season, but has been getting some reps at running back in camp. Whittington will definitely be a nice gadget player to have. Daniel Young and Kirk Johnson could also get some carries. Texas loses their leading receiver from last season as Lil’Jordan Humphrey elected to enter the draft early. Humphrey (who had the highest passer rating on the team since he threw a touchdown on a trick play) had 86 catches for 1,176 yards and used his bigger frame to outmuscle opponents for catches. Texas does return their second leading receiver from last season as Collin Johnson elected to return to school. Johnson, a 6’6” possession receiver similar to Humphrey, (similar in that they could not be covered when running slants by Oklahoma’s cornerbacks) had 985 receiving yards and seven touchdowns of his own in 2018. Johnson looks more than ready to be the number one receiver and will be one of the best receivers in the Big 12. Devin Duvernay is also back after starting at the z-receiver position last season. The person to fill in Humphrey’s spot at h-receiver will likely be true freshman Jake Smith. Smith won Gatorade National Player of the Year as a high school senior and was a blue chip prospect. Joshua Moore could also see time at the spot. Texas has plenty of depth at receiver and has plenty of backups that could get looks in 6’7” redshirt freshman Malcolm Epps, senior leader John Burt, and sophomore Brennan Eagles. Andrew Beck will be gone at tight end. Beck was a solid player and respected leader on the team. In his spot will be Cade Brewer. Texas loses three starters on the offensive line from last season. Guard Patrick Vahe and tackle Calvin Anderson especially will be tough to replace. Center Zach Shackelford returns after getting a second team all-Big 12 nod last season. Samuel Cosmi started at right tackle in 2018 and will transition over to left tackle for this season. The Longhorns made a huge signing on the transfer market as the signed guard Parker Braun from Georgia Tech. Braun was a three year starter for the Yellow Jackets and was a first team all-ACC guard last season.

Defense

Texas loses all three starters on the defensive line from last season. Defensive end Charles Omenihu took home Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and had 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Omenihu was a force at defensive end and his production will be tough to replace. Breckyn Hager was frustrating to watch at times but was still a key part of the defensive line for multiple seasons. Malcom Roach will start at defensive end and has some starting experience at outside linebacker. Roach probably is the best and for sure the most proven commodity on the defensive line. Ta’Quon Graham will start at the other defensive end spot. Junior college transfer Jacoby Jones will also see some time. Nose tackle Chris Nelson is also gone. In his spot will likely be redshirt freshman Keondre Coburn. In the linebacking corps, Texas also loses all three starters. Gary Johnson led the team in tackles with 90 and added 16.5 tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hurries. Anthony Wheeler also will be gone after starting last season. Filling in at middle linebacker will be redshirt freshman Ayodele Adeoye but junior college transfer Caleb Johnson could give him a run for his money. Jeffrey McCulloch is the most proven of any of the new starters at linebacker as he has been a rotational player since his freshman season. Joseph Ossai will fill in the other spot. The Longhorns lose both of their starting cornerbacks from last season in Kris Boyd and Davante Davis. Boyd had an impressive 16 pass deflections while Davis had eight of his own. Anthony Cook cracked the rotation as a freshman and will start at one of the cornerback spots. The other will go to Jalen Green but Kobe Boyce, converted receiver D’Shawn Jamison, and true freshman Kenyatta Watson could all see some playing time though. PJ Locke will be gone at nickel back after being a staple in Texas’s defense for the last couple years. BJ Foster is moving from safety to nickel back to fill Locke’s spot. Foster was a highly touted recruit and looked good in spots. Foster had to step up and become a starter after injuries piled on, and showed a lot of potential in the time he played. Josh Thompson could also play some at nickel back after starting because of injuries last season. Finally, we go to the safeties, a position where Texas returns their starters. Brandon Jones turned down the NFL Draft which will be great for Texas’s defense. Jones racked up 70 tackles and picked off two passes in just 10 games last season. Alongside Jones is Caden Sterns who burst onto the scene his freshman season. Sterns led the team with four interceptions and played a major impact in the secondary en route to a first team all-Big 12 and freshman all-American nod. Sterns and Jones will make up possibly the best safety duo in the Big 12 and will be the strength of this defense. Cameron Dicker is back at kicker after a strong freshman season where he made one of the biggest kicks in recent memory for Texas. The Australian punter Ryan Bujcevski also had a solid freshman season and will be back. While he is not quite as good as his cousin and best Longhorn football player of all-time (I am only slightly joking) Michael Dickson, he should be a solid punter for the Longhorns.

Coaching Staff

Tom Herman is back for his third season at the helm for Texas. Herman inherited a Texas program that was not in a particularly good place and has turned around their fortunes quickly the last two seasons. While Herman has done a great job at Texas and does very well at getting his teams ready to play in big games, he still has a problem with overlooking opponents. This strength and weakness of Herman’s have carried over from his job at Houston and he needs to shake the bad habit if he wants Texas to take the next step forward. Tim Beck and Herb Hand are going to be co-offensive coordinators. Beck had the job by himself the last two seasons and was a co-offensive coordinator at Ohio State before that. Beck could be a solid offensive coordinator if he could learn to run with the quarterback less. Hand has plenty of experience as an offensive line coach for multiple different programs. Todd Orlando is back for his third season as defensive coordinator and fifth season working under Herman. Orlando looked amazing in 2017, but seemed to slip a bit in 2018.

Final Prediction

Texas exceeded expectations in 2018 and are back to prominence faster than some would have predicted. While 2018 was a great season, they need to work on some things. Texas needs to find ways to generate big plays. The Longhorns did not have a single gain of over 50 yards last season. They need to make sure their offensive line play does not dip back down again for the sake of the run game and Sam Ehlinger’s health. On defense, they need to find some playmakers on the defensive line and linebacker units that have been left a bit barren. Todd Orlando needs to make sure teams can not run all over Texas. Most importantly, they need to stop overlooking lesser opponents. This problem will continue to hamper Texas on their path to success if it is not solved. I might be being a bit of a homer, but I have high hopes for my Longhorns in 2019. I expect them to go 11-1, win the Big 12, and sneak into the College Football Playoff.

Texas Tech

Last Season

Texas Tech got off to a rough start in 2018 as they fell to Ole Miss in their season opener. The Red Raiders were able to rebound as they thrashed FCS foe Lamar, beat Houston in a shootout, and beat down a ranked Oklahoma State. Their comeback against West Virginia fell short, but they took care of business against TCU and Kansas to put themselves at 5-2. The Red Raiders started to stumble as they lost to Iowa State. They put up a great fight, but lost to Oklahoma. The Texas game was more of the same stuff. Losses to Kansas State and Baylor ended their season with a five game losing streak, causing them to finish 5-7 and miss a bowl game.

Offense

Texas Tech returns one of the country’s most exciting quarterbacks in Alan Bowman. Due to the fact that he was not the starter entering the season and he faced injuries, Bowman only played in eight games and missed time in some of those games. Still, Bowman threw for 2,638 yards which is good for 330 yards per game while completing 69.4% of his passes. Bowman perfectly fits the mold of many past Texas Tech quarterbacks. The biggest concern with him is health as he suffered a collapsed lung in two different occasions in 2018. If he can stay healthy, he will wreak havoc on Big 12 defenses. The Red Raiders also have an experienced backup in Jett Duffey who does not have the best field awareness but is a very good runner (they also signed a recruit at quarterback named Maverick McIvor which I mention only because that is an amazing name for a quarterback in Texas). Texas Tech returns their two leading rushers from last season. While one of them was a backup quarterback, the other will be playing the position you expect. Ta’Zhawn Henry is just 5’7” and 170 pounds, but had a good showing in his freshman season for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech also landed a graduate transfer at running back in Utah’s Armand Shyne. Shyne ran for 512 yards last season playing mostly a backup role for the Utes, but stepped up to a starting role after an injury to their starter. Shyne and Henry will have to battle it out for the number one spot, but both will get their fair share of carries. At receiver, Texas Tech loses their two best targets from last season. Antoine Wesley was a first team all-American who amassed 1,410 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 88 catches. Wesley used his 6’5” frame to get contested catches but also had some speed to him. Ja’Deion High did pretty well too as he had 62 catches for 804 yards. Wesley and High were a very good duo that is not going to be easy to replace. TJ Vasher does return and is likely the best receiver in the team this season. Vasher had 54 catches for 687 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Seth Collins also started at receiver last season and will return. McLane Mannix started for two years at Nevada and put up 875 receiving yards last season for the Wolfpack making the move to Texas Tech. Mannix could very well end up being Texas Tech’s best receiver. RJ Turner started at ULM before transferring to Texas Tech and will be a player to watch. The same goes for speedster KeSean Carter. The Red Raiders will incorporate a tight end into their offense, something they did not do often under their previous coaching regime. The man to take the job will be Donta Thompson but junior college transfer Travis Koontz is another player to watch for. On the offensive line, Texas Tech returns four starters. Guard Jack Anderson was named second team all-Big 12 last season. Tackles Travis Bruffy and Terence Steele will also be good.

Defense

Texas Tech loses some depth at defensive end from last season. Joseph Wallace, Kolin Hill, and and Tony Jones are all gone after being rotational players. Nick McCann will fill in the open spot. Eli Howard has been the recipient of positive buzz this offseason after starting last season at defensive end. Howard will have to step up this season as the best defensive end on the team and he looks up to it according to the coaching staff. Broderick Washington is back for his third season starting at nose guard. Washington has more than proven he can be relied upon to clog the middle of the line. With the move from a 4-2-5 to a 3-3-5 defense, creating another linebacker spot that needs to be filled. The Red Raiders lose Dakota Allen at linebacker who was named all-Big 12 twice. Allen was a very good player and also a leader on the team who will be tough to replace. His spot will likely go to Riko Jeffers who played a rotational role last season. Jeffers is a physical and hard-nosed player who will not be fun for opposing offensive lineman to step up and block. Evan Rambo, a graduate transfer from California will fill in the other spot. Rambo saw some time for the Golden Bears in 2018 and should be able to do well in Lubbock. Texas Tech’s best linebacker will be Jordyn Brooks. Brooks enters his fourth season starting and was a second team all-Big 12 player last season. Brooks led the team with 84 tackles and added 7.5 tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries. Texas Tech loses two of their best safeties from last season in Jah’Shawn Johnson and Vaughnte Dorsey. Dorsey picked off four passes while Johnson had some solid numbers himself in an injury shortened season. Douglas Coleman will be filling in at safety. Adrian Frye, the lone returning starter at safety, was a first team all-Big 12 player last season. He also did this as a true freshman with only four starts. Frye, a true ball hawk at free safety, picked off five passes and had 13 pass deflections. Adam Beck, a graduate transfer from Minnesota, will get the starting gig at nickel back. Justus Parker will also get some reps. Desmon Smith is back at cornerback after starting last season. DaMarcus Fields started last season and had 11 pass deflections, but will have to beat out Penn State graduate transfer Zach McPhearson for his spot. Texas Tech will have to find a new punter and kicker this season. Austin McNamara will start at punter and while he is a true freshman, he was a USA Today All-American as a high school senior. Junior college transfer Jonathan Garibay will start at kicker. Garibay was an all-conference kicker in both his seasons playing junior college ball.

Coaching Staff

The firing of Kliff Kingsbury was a tough but very necessary move for the Red Raiders to make. They should also feel good about their new hire in Matt Wells. Wells coached Utah State for six seasons and led them to five bowl games and an 11-2 record last season. Wells will bring some stylistic changes to Texas Tech, most notably abandoning the air raid offense fans have grown accustomed to. Still, I think he will do great things in Lubbock. David Yost was hired on as offensive coordinator after working for Wells at Utah State the last two seasons. Keith Patterson was hired on as defensive coordinator after working for Wells last season. Patterson was the defensive coordinator at Arizona State before that.

Final Prediction

Texas Tech suffered a bit of a collapse last season. The firing of Kliff Kingsbury was a tough thing to do. Kingsbury can coach up quarterbacks very well and is an offensive mastermind, but his inability to improve their defense was just too much to ignore. The Red Raiders bring in Matt Wells and are looking to step away from the air raid offense that they have had for so long in favor of a more pro style scheme. The Red Raiders have a very good quarterback in Alan Bowman, he just needs to stay healthy. They have a good group of receiving corps, but they need to find a new number one threat. They also need to find a running threat. On defense, Texas Tech took steps forward in 2018 but lost a lot of players. Their defense needs to be good enough to not get destroyed like it did before last season. Texas Tech has big upside in 2019, and I think Wells was a very good hire. I expect the Red Raiders to make strides in 2019 and go 7-5.

West Virginia

Last Season

West Virginia entered 2018 as the recipient of a ton of hype. They looked to have lived up to it at first as they torched Tennessee in their season opener. After winning their next two games, the Mountaineers looked a bit vulnerable. They held off a comeback from Texas Tech, and failed to separate themselves from a not very good Kansas team. Unfortunately for West Virginia, their good fortunes ran out as they lost to Iowa State. They rebounded with a blowout win over Baylor, an exciting win over Texas, and a blowout over TCU. At 8-1, the Mountaineers had a clear path to the Big 12 Championship. Unfortunately, they hit a stumbling block as they fell to Oklahoma State. In a game against Oklahoma where the winner advanced to the Big 12 Championship, the Mountaineers fell short again. They also failed to end the season on a high note as they lost the Camping World Bowl to Syracuse.

Offense

West Virginia will have to replace a very good quarterback in Will Grier. Grier threw for 3,864 yards while completing 67% of his passes and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 37/8. Grier was a clutch quarterback who had amazing field vision and will not be easy to replace. To find a new quarterback, West Virginia hit the graduate transfer market. Austin Kendall was a backup at Oklahoma for the last three seasons. While he never did start for the Sooners, he has played in one of the most stacked quarterback rooms in recent memory. Kendall will be a solid starter and has a very strong arm. The Mountaineers return top their three leading rushers from last season. Kennedy McKoy led the team with 802 rushing yards while Martell Pettaway and Leddie Brown were also contributors in the backfield. All three will return. Where West Virginia undergoes a ton of attrition is at receiver. The Mountaineers lose David Sills, Gary Jennings, and Marcus Simms at receiver. Sills had 986 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns last season, Jennings had 917 yards and 13 touchdowns, and Simms had 699 yards of his own. First team all-Big 12 tight end Trevon Wesco is also gone. Of the 37 touchdown passes thrown last season, the recipients of 32 of them are gone. Tevin Bush is concerting from running back and will take one of the receiver spots. TJ Simmons was a backup last season and will fill in another. Redshirt freshman Sam James will take one of the other spots. Jovani Haskins will fill in at tight end. On the offensive line, West Virginia returns just two starters. Guard Josh Sills was named second team all-Big 12 and tackle Colton McKivitz made third team all-Big 12 last season. Tackle Yodny Cajuste will be tough to replace as he took home Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year last season.

Defense

West Virginia loses quite a bit of production on the defensive line. Defensive ends Jabril Robinson and Ezekiel Rose both started last season and will have to be replaced. The same goes for defensive tackle Kenny Bigelow. Junior college transfer Tajih Alston will take over one defensive end spot. Alabama transfer VanDarius Cowan will play the bandit position which is a defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid. Cowan was a blue chip recruit who originally signed with Alabama but transferred out after his freshman season. Darius Stills will take Bigelow’s spot at defensive tackle. The lone returning starter on the defensive line is Reese Donahue, but he could lose his spot to Dante Stills. Either way, they both will get some playing time at the position. The Mountaineers lose their leader in tackles as tackles for loss last season in linebacker David Long. Long, a first team all-Big 12 linebacker, second team all-American, and winner of Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, had 111 tackles and 19 tackles for loss on the season. Josh Chandler fills in Long’s spot and has big shoes to fill. Dylan Tonkery is back at middle linebacker. Tonkery started the first six games at middle linebacker before missing the rest of the season with an injury. Shea Campbell filled in his spot and will also be back. After moving to linebacker due to injuries last season, JoVanni Stewart is going back to the secondary and taking the nickel back spot. Stewart finished fourth on the team in tackles and second in sacks and tackles for loss. Last year’s starter at nickel back, Dravon Askew-Henry, is gone after being a multi year starter. Safety Toyous Avery also needs to be replaced. In his spot will be Derek Pitts. Free safety Kenny Robinson was named first team all-Big 12 last season as he was second on the team with 77 tackles and led the team with four interceptions. Robinson will likely be the best player on this defense. Joshua Norwood and Hakeem Bailey both started at cornerback last season and will be back. Norwood led the team with 11 pass deflections. Keith Washington saw a lot of time at cornerback, picking off three passes last season, and will also return. Evan Staley is back at kicker and will also take over punting duties this season as Billy Kinney has graduated. Also I must mention that West Virginia has a kicker in their roster named Casey Legg which is amazing.

Coaching Staff

After Dana Holgorsen took the head coaching job at Houston, West Virginia hired Troy head coach Neal Brown. Brown did very well in his time at Troy, leading the Trojans to three straight seasons with 10 or more wins. I think this was a very good hire for West Virginia and Brown could be able to spark something up in Morgantown. Chad Scott and Matt Moore will be co-offensive coordinators. Scott coached tight ends for West Virginia the last three seasons while Moore was Brown’s offensive coordinator at Troy the last four seasons. Vic Koenning was hired as defensive coordinator. Koenning was Brown’s defensive coordinator at Troy and is going to be running multiple different schemes with the Mountaineers.

Final Prediction

West Virginia had a bit of a disappointing season in 2018. 8-4 was a nice record, but they were thought of as a darkhorse Big 12 Championship contender. This season, the Mountaineers look to be starting over. There will be a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball, and they have a first year head coach. West Virginia needs to find threats at receiver this season. They also need some players to step up in defense and make sure the unit can hold its own. The Mountaineers have a pretty tough non-conference schedule this season which grants them no favors. I think 2019 will be a rebuilding year and West Virginia will go 4-8.

Here are my final standings predictions:

Texas 11-1 Oklahoma 11-1 Iowa State 9-3 TCU 9-3 Baylor 8-4 Texas Tech 7-5 Oklahoma State 7-5 West Virginia 4-8 Kansas State 4-8 Kansas 3-9

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