The 2017 season is nearly upon us for all Big 12 football teams, so we will take a look at the first edition of our power rankings.
The Saturday Blitz staff makes projections for every Power 5 conference prior to the season, giving us our starting point for these rankings. You can find our predictions for all conferences here, but let’s dig deeper into the Big 12.
Things fell into three separate tiers: the contenders, the pretenders, and the bottom-feeders. There weren’t many surprises, and the usual suspects landed at No. 1.
The votes projected the Kansas Jayhawks to finish 10th, the Iowa State Cyclones ninth, the Texas Tech Red Raiders eighth, and the Baylor Bears seventh. Replacing all-time players is a task for some, while others on this tier are building and rebuilding their respective programs.
The middle tier included everyone you’d expect it to: TCU Horned Frogs are projected to finish sixth, followed by the Kansas State Wildcats fifth, the Texas Longhorns fourth and the West Virginia Mountaineers third. All these programs have exceptional players, but the coaching and traditions are just as important.
Standing together atop the Big 12 are the two schools from Oklahoma. The Cowboys received seven first place votes, but the Sooners edged them out with eight; the Longhorns received one vote as well.
David Beaty and the Kansas Jayhawks open the 2017 season against Southeast Missouri State. Kansas will be defending their home turf in Lawrence, and Beaty is hoping to get off to a hot start in his third season. He’s a combined 2-22 at the helm of the Kansas football program, with both wins coming last year against Rhode Island and Texas. The Jawhawks opened the 2016 campaign with a 55-6 win over Rhode Island.
One particular player to keep an eye on is Kansas defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. He was voted the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year heading into this season, and finished second in the Big 12 in sacks a year ago.
More: Is Dorance Armstrong Jr. the real deal?
Even with a convincing win over the Redhawks though, don’t expect Kansas to rocket up the power rankings. This is still a team with lots to prove. They followed up last season’s opening weekend victory with a 37-21 loss to Ohio University, starting their streak of nine consecutive losses. The 7 p.m. kickoff is scheduled to air on ESPN3.
The Cyclones start the 2017 season defending their home-field in Ames against the Northern Iowa Panthers. Another night game for the Big 12, Iowa State and Northern Iowa kick things off at 8 p.m.
Head coach Matt Campbell is looking to turn the corner in his second season as the Cyclones lead man. He coached the Cyclones to a 3-9 record in his inaugural campaign, including two conference victories (Kansas, Texas Tech). Although they’ll be integrating a new quarterback, the main target on offense remains star wide receiver Allen Lazard.
More: Is Allen Lazard college football’s top wide receiver?
Northern Iowa opened the 2016 season in a similar fashion, traveling to Ames, Iowa, for a showdown with the in-state Cyclones. And the Panthers walked away victorious, beating Iowa State by a score of 25-20. Expect Campbell and Co. to get the ship straight against the Panthers, but if they’re unable to do so, Iowa State has an argument to be in that 10 spot.
Kliff Kingsbury enters his sixth season in Lubbock, Texas, as the head coach of the Red Raiders. With an unflattering record of 24-26 over that span, Kingsbury could at least claim a top offense; 2017 may be a different story.
Replacing first round pick Patrick Mahomes at quarterback is not an easy task, but the Red Raiders only won five games with the gunslinger a year ago. Couple that with the usual defense Kingsbury deploys, and Texas Tech could be in for a long, tumultous season. Dakota Allen returns to Lubbock after spending a season on the Netflix hit “Last Chance U,” but he can’t solely turn them into contenders — or even pretenders.
More: Can Dakota Allen be an impact player for the Red Raiders defense?
The Eastern Washington Eagles finished 12-2 in the Big Sky a year ago and prepare for a 4 p.m. kickoff against Texas Tech. Would this even be considered an upset if Tech lost? This game will be broadcast on FSN.
Still recovering from the Art Briles-era, Baylor will introduce new head coach Matt Rhule to college football against the Liberty Flames in Waco, Texas.
Zach Smith returns for his sophomore campaign with some game experience, but graduate-transfer Anu Solomon arrives from Arizona looking to make an impact. Gone are KD Cannon, Kyle Fuller, Shock Linwood and Seth Russell from last year’s offense, but Rhule gets an opportunity to build the program from the ground up.
Hosting Liberty at 7 p.m., the Bears will open the Rhule-era in a night game. As you can tell, Saturday night will be a busy one for Big 12 fans with a full slate of games coming their way. Baylor versus Liberty will broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs aren’t in the bottom half of the Big 12, but they’re hovering throughout the middle with lots of company. They’ll get things kicked off at 8 p.m. when hosting Jackson State Saturday night.
The Horned Frogs are expecting a big bounce-back season for Kenny Hill, with lots of returning weapons on the outside. Senior running back Kyle Hicks is back after turning in over a thousand rushing yards and 12 touchdowns a season ago.
There are plenty of new faces throughout the defense for TCU as well with the departures of Josh Carraway and Aaron Curry. Patterson’s known for his defensive-mindedness, so don’t sleep on the Horned Frogs to pull things together.
For Jackson State, this is the only game on their schedule with listed media programming (FSN). And that’s only because they’re playing TCU. Most of the games opening weekend are already lopsided heading into the contest; big programs versus these small, non-Power 5 contenders. One thing is for certain though: not every favorite pre-game is celebrating post-game.
Bill Snyder is looking to let his Wildcats loose in 2017 after starting the season .500 through Week 6 last year. The Wildcats fell to the Oklahoma schools and West Virginia too, but took care of business against the Texas A&M Aggies in the Advocare Texas Bowl.
Eight starters return from last season’s offense that scored 32 points per game, including quarterback Jesse Ertz. He’ll be guarded with an experienced unit up front. The Wildcats’ defense lost its top tackler and sack man, but a Snyder always seems to figure things out.
Kansas State is another Big 12 school with a late kickoff, starting at 7:10 p.m. versus the Central Arkansas Bears. While the Wildcats are the most well-known school on their schedule, don’t expect Snyder’s squad to take them likely. A convincing win to open the season could go a long way in this Big 12.
The Texas Longhorns received one preseason vote to win the Big 12, but land at No. 4 in our first power rankings. New head coach Tom Herman’s expectations seem to rise every day, but there’s plenty of talent in Austin for the ‘Horns to capitalize.
Sophomore Shane Buechele returns with 12 games under his, including 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He’ll avoid that second number from creeping up while improving upon the first. Malik Jefferson will be the catalyst for the Longhorns defense and elevate them to a level not seen recently in Austin.
The Longhorns are the first Big 12 team of the weekend to open with a viable opponent. When the Big Ten’s Maryland Terrapins crawl into town, they’ll have to be ready for a noon kickoff. Texas time, that’s early. But having to travel from the East Coast to play a noon game? That’s an early Saturday morning. Texas could make a big impression in these power rankings with an impressive showing.
Dana Holgorsen and the Mountaineers are the only Big 12 team to go on the road opening weekend, but their opponent will be traveling too. This neutral-site matchup between the West Virginia Mountaineers and Virginia Tech Hokies will take place at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland — also home to the Washington Redskins of the NFL.
The ‘Eers are eager to get on the field and show off their new weapon at quarterback, Florida transfer Will Grier. Tony Gibson and the defense are reloading again, but his DAWGS are always ready. Dravon Askew-Henry will make his return to the defense too.
More: Game-by-game predictions for WVU Football
Virginia Tech will be thrusting Josh Jackson into the fire at quarterback opening night, with all eyes on the young signal-caller. Did I mention this game — the biggest game in the Big 12 in Week 1 — will be played on Sunday night on ABC? Originally scheduled for Saturday, the game was pushed forward a day, slotting the two former Big East-foes against one another in prime time. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys open things up Thursday night at 7:30 when they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. While other’s must wait till the weekend, the Pokes get an early start.
With Big 12 title games and College Football Playoff scenarios swirling, Mike Gundy and the Cowboys get to set the tone for the 2017 college football season. Will Mason Rudolph stake his claim for the Heisman in Week 1? How will James Washington perform after his recent injury concerns?
More: Is Mason Rudolph the best QB in the Big 12?
It’s not all about the Cowboys, though. The Golden Hurricanes won 10 games last year, including victories over Cincinnati, Fresno State, Memphis and SMU. They squared off against Ohio State last year as well, but get to play the real OSU in 2017.
Well, here we are. Another college football season, another year for Big 12 teams to chase the Sooners. Bob Stoops isn’t around anymore, but new head coach Lincoln Riley looks to seamlessly make the transition and pick up where the Stoops left off.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield hopes to do the same, but he’ll be without his former head coach and a number of weapons on offense. Gone is the running back duo of Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine, but also Mayfield’s Heisman date – Dede Westbrook; Westbrook hauled in 17 touchdowns a year ago. Mark Andrews is still spending time in Norman though, leaving Mayfield with one target everyone in the country envies.
More: Is Mark Andrews the best-kept secret in college football?
The Texas El Paso Miners aren’t really known for their football prowess, but managed four wins last season. This university, prior to being renamed the University of Texas at El Paso, was simply Texas Western. Texas Western is the subject of the famous basketball movie Glory Road. Don’t expect the Miners to come out victorious in this one, though. The 3:30 p.m. kickoff will be the Sooners first test of the season.