Big 12 Football Preview 2012 |
Big 12 Recruiting Class Rankings#1. Texas
#2. Oklahoma #3. Texas Tech #4. Oklahoma State #5. Baylor #6. West Virginia #7. TCU #8. Iowa State #9. Kansas State #10 Kansas Big 12 Top Freshman 20121. Johnathan Gray RB Texas
2. Trey Metoyer WR Oklahoma 3. Jevonte Mcgee DE Baylor 4. Wes Lunt QB OK State 5. Devonte Fields DE TCU Big 12 Coaching Rankings#1 Bob Stoops Oklahoma
#2 Mack Brown Texas #3 Mike Gundy Oklahoma State #4 Gary Patterson TCU #5 Tommy Tuberville Texas Tech #6 Dana Holgorsen West Virginia #7 Bill Snyder Kansas State #8 Charlie Weis Kansas #9 Art Briles Baylor #10 Paul Rhoads Iowa State Big 12 Awards 2012Offensive Player of the Year
Geno Smith QB West Virginia Defensive Player of the Year Alex Oakfor DE Texas Coach of the Year Dana Holgorsen West Virginia Offensive Freshman of the Year Trey Metoyer WR Oklahoma Defensive Freshman of the Year Devonte Fields DE TCU Big 12 2011 Final Standings#1 Oklahoma State
#2 Kansas St. #3 Baylor #4 Oklahoma #5 Missouri #6 Texas #7 Texas A&M #8 Iowa State #9 Texas Tech #10 Kansas My Big 12 2011 Predictions#1 Oklahoma State-Correct
#2 Oklahoma-Wrong #3 Texas A&M-Wrong #4 Baylor*-Wrong #5 Texas-Wrong #6 Missouri-Wrong #7 Texas Tech-Wrong #8 Kansas State-Wrong #9 Iowa State-Wrong #10 Kansas-Correct How I Ranked Using the Stassen Rating2nd out 14 with 18 points.
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Big 12 Football Predictions 2012
#1 West Virginia
Coach: Dana Holgerson Returning Starters: 15; 7 offense, 6 defense, kicker, punter Stadium: Mountaineer Field (60,000) #5 in Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: Geno Smith leads the high powered Mountaineers offense into Big 12 play. Smith threw for over 4,000 yards last year. His top targets return, Bailey and Austin, both exceeded a 1,000 yards receiving last season. Three starters return on the line and Josh Jenkins returns after sitting out last season with an injury. Dustin Garrison emerged as the starting RB last season and will return after a late season injury cut his 2011 season short. Defense: The Mountaineers will be without defense star LB Bruce Irvin. They bring in Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Joe DeForest. DeForest will bring a 3-4 defense with him. Oklahoma State's defense led the nation in turnovers last season. If this year's WVU defense can force a lot of turnovers the Mountaineers should be at the top of the BIG 12. The pass rush will be led by Will Clarke. If he can create pressure up front, things should open up for the LB's. Senior Terrance Garvin who led the team in tackles two years ago will be the key to WVU's success. The secondaries key players are returning starters Pat Miller and Darwin Cook. Special Teams: Austin is back to return kicks and is one of the more explosive players in the country. Tyler Bitancurt is back as a 3 year starter at kicker. Punter Corey Smith will get the first shot at the punter job. Overview: The Mountaineers are poised for success in year one in the Big 12. The offense will put up plenty of points. If the defense can force turnovers similar to DeForest 2011 OKST squad this team is going to succeed. Oklahoma will come into Mountaineer Field on Nov. 17 the winner of that game will have Big 12 champs all over it. #2 Oklahoma
Coach: Bob Stoops Returning Starters: 17; 8 offense, 7 defense, kicker, punter Stadium: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial (82,112) #2 Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: Landry Jones is back at QB, but the NCAA's all time leader in receptions, Ryan Broyles, is not. Without Broyles in the lineup last year the passing game suffered immensely, with zero touchdown passes. Kenny Stills and Jaz Reynolds are returning starters that will need to make an impact. Keep an eye on WR Trey Metoyer to be a go to guy by the end of the year. The running game will be led by former walk on Dominque Whaley who had a pretty good season before an injury occurred. The line brings back four of five starters and will be a strength of the team. Defense: The Sooners will miss key pieces from the 2011 squad, but bring back a talented secondary. The secondary is led by Hurst and Colvin. The line is inexperienced at the end position, but deep at the tackle position. LB's Nelson, Wort, or Ibiloye will be asked to fill Travis Lewis spot, which won't be easy. Special Teams: All-American punter candidate Tress Way is back after landing over half his kicks inside the 20. Hunnicutt has had an up and down career for the Sooner and they will need him to have a repeat performance of his 2011 season. Overview: The Sooners will need Jones to find his new go to WR and fast. The defense will keep OU in games if the offense is struggling. The Texas game is huge this year. If OU wants the Big 12 title it starts with a win over the Longhorns. #3 Texas Coach: Mack Brown Returning Starters: 15; 8 offense, 7 defense Stadium: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial ( 100,119) #1 Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: The running game may become one of the best in the country with Sophomore Malcom Brown and Joe Bergeron leading the ground game. Freshman RB Jonathan Gray comes in to Austin with a lot of hype and will get a chance to live up to it this season. Under center possess the real issue for the Longhorns. Ash looks to be the starter, but don't count out Case McCoy. Both players started at QB last season. Four starters come back on the offensive line. The WR position will be looking for more big plays and touchdowns. Davis and Shipley combined for four TD last season. Defense: Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat provided plenty of pressure on the QB last season they combined for 15 sacks. The secondary should be tops in the Big 12. They return all 4 starters. Jordan Hicks is going to have a big year at LB for Texas. The big question is who else will step up at LB? Special Teams: Questions all across the board for special teams play. Freshman Nick Jordan could be their best option at kicker. Will Russ and Ben Pruitt will be competing for the punter spot. Overview: The running game should be excellent. The problems lie at the QB position. Linebacker could be a weakness, but with all the talent in the secondary and defensive line it shouldn't be a major problem. Huge game vs. West Virginia Oct 6. If the defensive can hold WVU offense down they should be in the game. #4 TCU Coach: Gary Patterson Returning Starters: 12; 7 offense, 5 defense Stadium: Amon G. Carter (45,000) #10 Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: The Horned Frogs are deep at the playmaker positions having their top four RB's back and three of four top WR's. The running game is by committee and each back ran for over 700 yards last season. The line is thin with only two starters returning, but look for tackle Tayo Fabuluje to make an immediate impact after sitting out last season. Casey Pachall will be under center after a 25 touchdown seven interception season last year. Defense: Having lost Tank Carder to the NFL and Tanner Brock to disciplinary reasons really hurt TCU. LB's Kenny Cain and Deryck Gildon will have to rise to the occasion. The defensive line will be the strength of the team, but D.J. Yendrey getting kicked of the team hurts. A young and talented secondary will be introduced this fall with no returning starters. Special Teams: TCU loses a 4 year starter at both kicking and punting. Skye Dawson will return kicks and he is extremely fast. Overview: The losses of Brock and Yendrey hurt TCU from having a great defense this year. They still have the potential to be good, but it will be tough to overcome the losses. Offensively TCU should have no problems moving the ball. The Horned Frogs are ready for the shootouts that occur in the BIG 12 after being 9th in the nation in scoring last season. #5 Kansas State Coach: Bill Snyder Returning Starters: 16; 8 offense, 6 defense, kicker, punter Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000) #8 (tie) Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: It all starts with QB Collin Klein. Last season Klein set a record for most rushing TD's by a QB with 27. Klein will look to get the ball to play-makers Tyler Lockett and Chris Harper. Three year starter TE Travis Tannahill will play a key role in this year's offense. The running game is led by John Hubert, but look for 5'4 Robert Rose to get some touches. Defense: Arthur Brown leads the defense for the Wildcats. He was the Big 12 new comer of the year and could be the Big 12 defenseive player of the year in 2012. Tre Walker the other returning starter at LB will join him. The defensive end position will be solidbut defensive tackle poses problems for the Wildcats. They will need to find newcomers to fill the void. Two year starter Ty Zimmerman and corner Nigel Malone will give the Wildcats a good secondary. Special Teams: Kicker Anthony Cantele and Punter Ryan Doerr return. Overview: If Colin Klein improves his passing game the Wildcats could be in for another big year. Klein could make a run for the Heisman this year. The defensive will have to fill holes, but should be fine. The schedule is tough, with trips to WVU and OU. #6 Oklahoma State Coach: Mike Gundy Returning Starter: 16; 6 offense, 8 defense, kicker, punter Stadium: Boone Pickens Stadium (60,218) #4 in Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: Replacing Weeden and Blackmon will be difficult this year. The Cowboys have to start somewhere and they will have true freshman Wes Lunt under center. Tracy Moore will be the go to guy at WR, but how will he fare without all the attention on Blackmon. The running game will be called upon more this year. Junior Joseph Randle returns after a big year. He had a total of 26 TD's last year and will be even more of a focus in 2012. The O-line is depleted; they have 3 experienced players to fill the holes. Defense: 8 starters return from the number one takeaway team in the nation. The secondary will return Gilbert and Brown who combined for 10 interceptions. Strong Safety Lowe returns after leading the team in tackles last year. All three linebackers return. Last year the group forced 7 fumbles. The D-line will have to find a way to replace the DE positions which produced 12 sacks last year. Special Teams: Its the Quinn Sharp show on special teams and he could be an All-American at both punter and kicker. Overview: Last year I was very high on OKST. I had them winning the BIG 12 and winning the national championship. This year I'm not. The defense will need to improve overall, they will not force as many turnovers this year. The offense may struggle and become more one dimensional. #7 Baylor Coach: Art Briles Returning Starters: 16; 7 offense, 7 defense, kicker, punter Stadium: Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000) #8 (tie) in Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin is gone, Nick Florence will have big shoes to fill. Florence, will have talent around him at WR. Terrance Williams will be the go to guy. In 2011 Williams had 957 yards for 11 TD's. Reese and Sampson combined for over 1,400 yards and 10 TD's. The loss of running back Terrance Ganaway will provide a hole until someone steps up. Oregon transfer Lache Seastrunk could be the man for the job. The offensive line will be strong, they bring back 3 starters and talented young tackles. Defense: Last year's defense was one of the worst in the nation. The defensive end position is very deep, but the production from the tackle position will be key to Baylor's success. The linebacker positions are holes that need to be filled. Ahmad Dixon is one the teams leading tacklers at the nickel back position. The pass defense should be much improved as all 4 starters return. Special Teams: Kicker Aaron Jones returns after a below average year. Spencer Roth returns at punter after a solid freshman campaign. Overview: The Bears will take a step back this year. The offensive won't be as explosive and the defense should improve, but not enough to be at the top of the big 12. Baylor fans will have a new stadium to call home after plans for a new stadium were revealed. Baylor's opening game vs. SMU will be telling. #8 Texas Tech Coach: Tommy Tuberville Returning Starters: 10; 5 offense, 4 defense, kicker Stadium: Jones AT&T Stadium (60,454) #3 in Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: The Red Raiders return QB Seth Doege and receiver Eric Ward who will more than likely be over the 1,000 yard receiving mark in 2012. The other two receivers will get more playing time and both had over 500 yards last season. The running back position was filled with injuries last season. Both Eric Stephens Jr. and DeAndre Washington went down with injuries. Both are set to return and Stephens Jr. could have a big year. The line should have a pretty good year returning 3 starters and one graduate student transfer from Texas A&M. Defense: The Red Raiders will have to improve on one of the worst run defenses in the country. They allowed over 258 yards a game a year ago. The good news is the 4-2-5 and defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow resigned. Five JUCO players arrive at Tech and will get plenty of looks for playing time. Pete Robertson is a player to watch and could make a big impact at DE. Special teams: JUCO kicker Ryan Bustin looks to be the new kicker for Tech. Ryan Erxleben returns as the Punter. Overview: The defense is still a work in progress, but should be improved. The offense is going to be great. They get Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia at home. An upset could send the Raiders up the BIG 12 standings. #9 Iowa State Coach:Paul Rhoads Returning Starters: 12; 6 offense, 5 defense, punter Stadium: Jack Trice Stadium (55,000) #6 Big 12 stadium capacity Offense: The quarterback position is up for grabs. It's between familiar faces Jared Barnett and Steele Jantz. The running game should be called upon a lot with James White and Jeff Woody in the backfield. The WR position is pretty deep and a lot of new faces could see the field. The line is still experienced despite losing two talented linemen. Defense: The Cyclones are great at linebacker with the duo of Knott and Klein. Upfront they will need to prove themselves, only one starter returns. Jeremy Reeves returns at corner the other spot will be filled after fall ball. Jacques Washington was third in tackles last year and will need to repeat last year's performance. Special Teams: Punter Kirby Van Der Kamp returns as a three year starter. Cole Netten will likely be the kicker. Overview: The passing game is below average. Defensively the Cyclones couldn't stop the run or pass or force turnovers. Getting to a bowl game may be the goal this year. #10 Kansas Coach: Charlie Weis Returning Starters: 13; 5 offense, 6 defense, kicker, punter Stadium: Memorial Stadium (50,071) Offense: QB Dayne Crist joins new coach Charlie Weis at Kansas. Three seniors will lead the receiving core. Sophomore RB Tony Pierson could be their most dangerous option on the ground and through the air. The line should be good and give Crist enough time in the pocket. Defense: The defense was the worst in the country last year. The defense brings back 6 starters, but will mostly be made up of transfer and a freshman. This team will need to see vast improvements in order to look forward to next season. Special Teams: Ron Doherty is taking over at kicker as well as his normal duties as punter. Overview: Last year the Jayhawks won 2 games. This year looks to be a 3-4 win season. Anything better will be a great season for Charlie Weis. They could be 3-1 after the Northern Illinois game. |
Big 12 Games to Watch 2012Oklahoma St. vs. Texas Sat, September 29
Kansas St. @ Oklahoma Sat, September 22 Baylor vs. SMU Sun, Sept 2 Oklahoma vs. Texas Sat, Oct 13 Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame Sat, Oct 27 Oklahoma @ West Virginia Sat, Nov 17 Iowa St. @ Iowa Sat, Sept 8 Texas Tech @ Iowa St. Sat, Sept 29 Kansas vs. TCU Sat, Sept 15 TCU vs. Virginia Sat, Sept 22 WVU @ Texas Sat Oct 6 |