Took a look at the Football preview and I was just going to share my thoughts about it.
Athlon ranks it: (Returning starters in parentheses per Athlon information)
1. OU (15)
2.Texas (16)
3. OSU (12)
4. KSU (13)
5. WVU (7)
6. TCU (16)
7. Baylor (8)
8. ISU (10)
9 Texas Tech (12)
10. Kansas (10)
I rank it:
1. KSU Cats are returning a lot of guys. I love the running back situation and expect to increase our per carry average and likely be in the top ten in Rushing yards (11th nationally last year) and Yards per carry (24th last year). Silmon and Barnes are ready to go and should make us an even better running team this year. We also should be near the top in Turnover ratio (4th last year nationally). Schedule is favorable with OU coming to our place as well as TCU who should also be good. Road game at Stillwater is my biggest concern. My hope is that Ertz gets fewer carries and that we make a bigger effort to get the ball to Pringle. Special Teams should be fantastic with tons of guys that can return punts and kicks. McCrane and Walsh are experienced and we should in the top 20 of almost every important category of special teams.
2. OSU Mason Rudolph and the pokes did a great job of taking care of the ball (10th nationally in turnover margin) while moving the ball (14th in total yards). The problem is that they give up a lot of yards on defense (92nd). I really like this team and their schedule (TCU, OU, and Kansas State at home) and think they have a good shot at the title as well.
3. OU With Bob Stoops out I am going to drop the Sooners a couple spots. They have to go on the Road to Stillwater and Manhattan. I suspect that Lincoln Riley will start forging his own path and some of Bob Stoops tricks will be ignored to OU's detriment. I am not sure how OU will handle all of the Offensive Coordinator duties but it seems that Lincoln will still play a large role and at least call the plays. Mike Stoops had some problems with the defense last year and I suspect that will continue. Baker Mayfield and that offensive line will still give OU a good chance to win the Big 12 though.
4. TCU Kenny Hill and Turpin should be extremely dangerous this year. Turpin is a super star and if he stays healthy Sonny Cumbie's offense is scary. Turpin is also a superstar on Kick returns. I think he is better than Tyler Lockett. This team has a very tough schedule starting out which will probably prevent them from having any national attention. They open at Stillwater and then come to Manhattan 3 weeks later. They also go to Norman. I suspect this will be a top 25 quality team at the end of the year but will have taken some lumps early as they figure things out.
5a. Baylor. Talented but not ready to make a big push. 1st year coach Matt Rhule has to figure out the QB situation and the defense. Terence Williams had 1048 yards last year and is back at running back. Their schedule is awful OU, @KSU, @ OSU to start it off. If he doesn't lose the team they should be able to bounce back and make a bowl game but that start is rough for a team with lots of things to work out.
5b. Texas Texas once again is extremely overranked by National Media. They are on their 6th Offensive Coordinator in 6 years and are coming off a 5-7 season. New coach Tom Herman has talent but plenty of things to fix. They bring back a Sophomore QB Shane Buechele but their leading returning rusher had 3 Touchdowns last year and their leading returning receiver had 3 TDs. Schedule is also front loaded with KSU, OU, OSU back to back to back (at least they are at home or in Dallas)
7. Iowa State They have Allen Lazard at WR who had 7 TDs last year and they seem to be settled on Jacob Park at QB. I won't be shocked to see them get into the Liberty Bowl but I don't think they will do more than that.
8. West Virginia They lost a bunch. Athlon has them at 7 returning starters. They have a decent running back in Justin Crawford who had 1,184 yards last year with 4 TDs but have to break in a new QB. The Defense lost 64% of its tackles for loss and and 59% of its tackles from last year according to Athlon.
9.Texas Tech Patrick Mahomes is gone and he was about the only thing going for them last year. They have some talent at Wide Receiver but the defense was awful last year and may not get much better this year.
10. Kansas They probably will be a little better than last year but they still might lose 10 games. I think they will beat SE Missouri State, Central Michigan and then maybe they will beat Tech or Ohio.
Athlon ranks it: (Returning starters in parentheses per Athlon information)
1. OU (15)
2.Texas (16)
3. OSU (12)
4. KSU (13)
5. WVU (7)
6. TCU (16)
7. Baylor (8)
8. ISU (10)
9 Texas Tech (12)
10. Kansas (10)
I rank it:
1. KSU Cats are returning a lot of guys. I love the running back situation and expect to increase our per carry average and likely be in the top ten in Rushing yards (11th nationally last year) and Yards per carry (24th last year). Silmon and Barnes are ready to go and should make us an even better running team this year. We also should be near the top in Turnover ratio (4th last year nationally). Schedule is favorable with OU coming to our place as well as TCU who should also be good. Road game at Stillwater is my biggest concern. My hope is that Ertz gets fewer carries and that we make a bigger effort to get the ball to Pringle. Special Teams should be fantastic with tons of guys that can return punts and kicks. McCrane and Walsh are experienced and we should in the top 20 of almost every important category of special teams.
2. OSU Mason Rudolph and the pokes did a great job of taking care of the ball (10th nationally in turnover margin) while moving the ball (14th in total yards). The problem is that they give up a lot of yards on defense (92nd). I really like this team and their schedule (TCU, OU, and Kansas State at home) and think they have a good shot at the title as well.
3. OU With Bob Stoops out I am going to drop the Sooners a couple spots. They have to go on the Road to Stillwater and Manhattan. I suspect that Lincoln Riley will start forging his own path and some of Bob Stoops tricks will be ignored to OU's detriment. I am not sure how OU will handle all of the Offensive Coordinator duties but it seems that Lincoln will still play a large role and at least call the plays. Mike Stoops had some problems with the defense last year and I suspect that will continue. Baker Mayfield and that offensive line will still give OU a good chance to win the Big 12 though.
4. TCU Kenny Hill and Turpin should be extremely dangerous this year. Turpin is a super star and if he stays healthy Sonny Cumbie's offense is scary. Turpin is also a superstar on Kick returns. I think he is better than Tyler Lockett. This team has a very tough schedule starting out which will probably prevent them from having any national attention. They open at Stillwater and then come to Manhattan 3 weeks later. They also go to Norman. I suspect this will be a top 25 quality team at the end of the year but will have taken some lumps early as they figure things out.
5a. Baylor. Talented but not ready to make a big push. 1st year coach Matt Rhule has to figure out the QB situation and the defense. Terence Williams had 1048 yards last year and is back at running back. Their schedule is awful OU, @KSU, @ OSU to start it off. If he doesn't lose the team they should be able to bounce back and make a bowl game but that start is rough for a team with lots of things to work out.
5b. Texas Texas once again is extremely overranked by National Media. They are on their 6th Offensive Coordinator in 6 years and are coming off a 5-7 season. New coach Tom Herman has talent but plenty of things to fix. They bring back a Sophomore QB Shane Buechele but their leading returning rusher had 3 Touchdowns last year and their leading returning receiver had 3 TDs. Schedule is also front loaded with KSU, OU, OSU back to back to back (at least they are at home or in Dallas)
7. Iowa State They have Allen Lazard at WR who had 7 TDs last year and they seem to be settled on Jacob Park at QB. I won't be shocked to see them get into the Liberty Bowl but I don't think they will do more than that.
8. West Virginia They lost a bunch. Athlon has them at 7 returning starters. They have a decent running back in Justin Crawford who had 1,184 yards last year with 4 TDs but have to break in a new QB. The Defense lost 64% of its tackles for loss and and 59% of its tackles from last year according to Athlon.
9.Texas Tech Patrick Mahomes is gone and he was about the only thing going for them last year. They have some talent at Wide Receiver but the defense was awful last year and may not get much better this year.
10. Kansas They probably will be a little better than last year but they still might lose 10 games. I think they will beat SE Missouri State, Central Michigan and then maybe they will beat Tech or Ohio.
