Saturday Blitz
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Blitz Podcast: Big 12 football season preview for 2019

By Zach Bigalke

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 17: Brock Purdy #15 of the Iowa State Cyclones throws a pass before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 17: Brock Purdy #15 of the Iowa State Cyclones throws a pass before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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While Oklahoma is a resounding favorite in Big 12 football, John and Zach talk about some surprises that might be in store for the league in 2019.

It is hard to believe that Lincoln Riley is entering just his third season as the head coach at Oklahoma after taking over for Bob Stoops. In his first two years, the neophyte head coach led the Sooners not only to back-to-back Big 12 championships but a pair of appearances in the College Football Playoff and two Heisman winners.

This season they pulled off one of the biggest coups of the offseason when they landed former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts on a graduate transfer. After calling on a pair of Heisman-caliber transfers the past two years at the position, Hurts has the chance to bring a different but equally dangerous skill set to the position.

Behind them in the Big 12 race, things get a bit more muddled. There are several teams that could land a spot in the conference championship game this season, and it should be a fascinating race to land that coveted spot that will most likely come opposite the Sooners.

Will Texas live up to the inevitable hype that built as soon as they downed Georgia last postseason? Can Iowa State remain among the contenders in the league race after so many years of irrelevance in the loop? And how will four head coaches fare in their first years at new schools?

In this week’s Saturday Blitz Podcast, we break down each of the 10 teams in the Big 12 individually before offering our suggestions about how things might shake out throughout the standings from top to bottom. We also offer up our selections for the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

Next. 25 most sought NFL Draft quarterback prospects of all time. dark

The Saturday Blitz Podcast is part of the FanSided Radio Network at Spreaker. The show goes live every Wednesday morning. You can reach John Mitchell at @jlmitchell93 and Zach Bigalke at @zbigalke on Twitter.

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