Big 12 Football: Preseason power rankings for next season
By Austin Lloyd
#9: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Allow me to paint a picture for you: within the last fifteen years, this program has had the offensive talents of head coach Mike Leach, followed by the dynamic playmaking of quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes. Ultimately, the Red Raiders got nothing out of any of them, and have only worsened since their times with such powers. However, there is no chance that I will blame anyone other than the school itself for just sucking.
#8: West Virginia Mountaineers
A huge jump in quality here from ninth to eighth, as the Mountaineers were able to pull a winning season out of the COVID-riddled 2020. There is very little to say about them; the Mountaineers will merely not be better than any other teams in the Big 12 for 2021. But they are a strong team nonetheless, at least on a good day.
#7: Baylor Bears
In the history of collegiate football, a common occurrence is that of a team experiencing a change at head coach, but not truly enduring the consequences of it until year two.
This upcoming season will be Baylor’s second without the noble Matt Rhule, and they already saw a humongous drop in 2020. Not good for the Bears.