Big 12 Football: Season preview and final standings predictions

The Saturday Blitz staff goes on the record with their Big 12 football picks for the 2017 season. Can anyone challenge Oklahoma for the title this year?

The Big 12, unlike the other five conferences, doesn’t have two divisions. However, they do have a title game again for the first time in several years. While that should theoretically open the door for more a better chance at the College Football Playoff, don’t be shocked if the Big 12 champion gets bounced when they lose a rematch at the end of the season.

As the ballots came in, three distinct tiers emerged. Big 12 football appears to be that polarized in 2017. There are the true title contenders that have aspirations on a College Football Playoff birth. Next up are the decent to above average squads that could find themselves playing in the Big 12 championship game and even winning it if everything goes right. Then there’s the Kansas tier. Sorry Jayhawks, but there are a few teams that don’t stand any chance at doing much at all in 2017.

The bottom tier

Projected order of finish – Baylor (7th), Texas Tech (8th), Iowa State (9th), Kansas (10th)

We won’t spend too much time on these squads. The Red Raiders, Cyclones and Jayhawks in particular are longshots to make a bowl, let alone reach .500 in the conference. Baylor is more interesting. They have a lot of new faces on offense. However, if quarterback Zach Smith stays healthy they could win a shoot out or two and sneak into a bowl game if they take care of business in the non-conference slate.