Getty ImagesJust as the Big East experienced turnover in the latest round of conference realignment, the Big 12 had its own near-death experience — again — from conference shuffling that resulted in a mixture of departures and arrivals. Missouri and Texas A&M are out; TCU and West Virginia are in.
What does it all mean? Well, seeing the Horned Frogs and Mountaineers on the Big 12 schedule is going to be an adjustment, but there’s no denying the recent on-the-field success of the conference’s newest members. TCU and WVU have combined for four BCS victories in the past seven years; the Big 12 totalled five BCS wins in that same span.
The SEC has been the dominant conference as of late, but the Big 12 has some depth. Can it continue to be one of the top conferences again in 2012 (provided it doesn’t collapse for real, of course)? The answers to those questions start in spring practice.
Here’s what to watch.
Can Texas build on Holiday Bowl win?
Surprise, right? The Longhorns are, once again, at the top at the top our focus for spring practice. Texas might as well have been in diapers last season they were so young in key spots, but a Holiday Bowl win over Cal catapulted UT in to the offseason where coordinators Bryan Harsin and Manny Diaz can work their magic with a year under everyone’s belt. The biggest area of focus will undoubtedly be the quarterback battle, a two-player race between David Ash and Case McCoy. Who will emerge, if anybody, won’t be known until the fall depth chart is released. Both struggled significantly at times last season. Who knows, maybe freshman Connor Brewer will impress enough that he gets a shot on Game 1.
WVU starts over on defense
The Mountaineers didn’t just lose defensive playmakers like defensive end Bruce Irvin and linebacker Najee Goode to the NFL draft — they lost one of the better defensive staffs in the country when coordinator Jeff Casteel took D-line coach Bill Kirelawich and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood with him to Arizona. Now, the Mountaineers have to start over with a new defensive scheme and (likely) co-coordinators Keith Patterson and Joe DeForest. Put that in a conference known for scoring points and WVU will have its work cut out for it. Don’t be surprised if WVU’s box scores read “Final: 45-38″ more than a few times this season.
Replacing QB-WR combos
Some of the best quarterback and receiving talent in college football came out of the Big 12 in 2011. Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III put up amazing stats at Baylor, but also had deep threat Kendall Wright. Both are gone, as are Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden and two-time Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon. At Oklahoma, Landry Jones struggled down the stretch after Ryan Broyles suffered a season-ending knee injury. Can Kenny Stills be the go-to receiver for Jones this season? There’s talent in the Big 12 at quarterback and receiver. It just has to jell.
K-State no longer under the radar
Kansas State entered 2011 with fairly low expectations attached — at least in the opinion of one hack. They finished the season 10-3 with a Cotton Bowl appearance. Under the radar no longer are Bill Snyder‘s Wildcats. Tough-as-nails quarterback Collin Klein is back, as is running back John Hubert. Together, Klein and Hubert accounted for nearly all of K-State’s rushing yards and nearly half of the team’s total offense. But with K-State having everyone’s attention, the emphasis will be on diversifying the offense while maintaining a stingy defense and solid special teams. Becoming more complete in 2012 will be the key for overachieving Kansas State.
The older the Weis-er
Hiring Charlie Weis from his offensive coordinator job at Florida was an unexpected move from Kansas after they canned Turner Gill at the end of just his second season in Lawrence. Weis made an immediate splash when he brought in two transfer quarterbacks, Dayne Crist from Notre Dame and Jake Heaps from BYU. The Jayhawks were awful in 2011 with a 2-10 record and there’s nothing to suggest KU is going to blow anybody away this time around as they adjust to more NFL-friendly schemes. Nevertheless, Weis is a wild card who gets attention (although sometimes for all the wrong reasons). KU spring practices won’t be dull, that’s for sure.
Yawn……The Big 12 is on life support and no one outside of the conference cares about it. It continues to get weaker every year and will not be in existence in five years.
ROFLMAO!!!!!! Makes the rest of us wonder if you were born stupid or just working hard at it! I’ve go $25k that not only says you’re an idiot, but says the Big XII will be alive and Very Well in 5 years! Thanks for the laugh anyway,…….JackAss!
Before calling someone stupid maybe you need to learn how to construct a sentence. The Big 12 is now on the same level as the Big East…WAC….and MWC. If it was so great why have four teams bailed out?? The truth hurts!
Dude, have you been living under a cow patty or does your ass simply have a tight grip on the top of your head? Anyone who has followed college football even a little bit knows that Nebraska, Colorado, Mizzou and Texas A&M left the Big XII because of Texas and the unfair distribution of money. And if you followed any part of the drama in the Big XII you would also know that Oklahoma came very close to leaving for the SEC and the PAC-12, but neither conference wanted a package that included Okie State! So, either go take an enormous dump and free your head from your ass or simply shut the hell up and start commenting on something you know even a little bit about! Class over! Geeze…..Is this butt munch an idiot or what? lmao…….!
I am very aware of what and why Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri, and A&M left the Little 12. So what does have to do with the current strength of the conference??? It is a weak conference and on the level of the Big East and MWC. I guess that GED you earned isn’t helping you much as you don’t have a grasp on this topic.
Yo……Puthy Boy! The fact that A&M and Mizzou have been replaced with WV and TCU has strengthened the conference. The only departure that hurt a little bit was Nebraska, based only on past history, who is having a tough time in the Big 10! You’re obviously just another SEC bitch and if you had done your homework, you would have known that the Big XII was barely ranked behind the SEC this year in conference strength! If the Big XII is so weak, then why is the Big XII the only conference with members scheduling big non-conference games? But then that is similar to your confusion between your GED and my Phd! So…..Wake Up Puthy Boy and talk about truth and facts or shut the hell up! (and we all pray you choose the latter!)
West Virginia and TCU make the conference stronger??? Give me a break! TCU is coming from a Non AQ conference that previously played in the MWC and WAC. And West Virginia is coming from another VERY weak conference that will be dropped as an AQ school at the end of the 2013 season. Doing well in a weak conference means very little. Losing A&M and Missouri was a huge loss for Little 12. Oaklahoma will be the next school to jump ship after they get tired of being in a conference that is owned by one school (UT). Incidentally, UT is another weak overrated school as evidenced by their recent record.
Hark……Blow Hole timh1955 Breaks Wind Again! So you are saying that where someone came from determines their strength and worth? Yet another display of your ignorance and utter stupidity! TCU was a viable team in the old SWC that was ditched when Texas destroyed the SWC. Although I can’t stand TexAss, am I to understand you to say that just because a school, team, etc., has a down or rebuilding couple of years makes them an Overrated School? I retract my previous statements……You are not stupid, you are a blubbering stupid fricking idiot who doesn’t know a damn thing about college football! Now go away you stupid little idiot and don’t come back until you learn something! (which would obviously be never based on your above utterances!)
snooper how do you define strengthening the conference? If it’s just on football rankings you have a little credibility. But with A&M and Mizzou leaving along with Nebraska and Colorado, the average crowd size of a big 12 game will plummet. bottom line is the big 12 is going the way of the dodo bird and the passenger pigeon
Top 10 teams any given year:
Texas
Oklahoma
Texas Christian
West Virginia
Top 25 teams any given year:
Oklahoma St
Kansas St
Texas Tech
Baylor
The Big 12 will have 6-7 teams in the top 25 week in and week out.
The Big 12 will have 2 pre-season top 10 teams
The Big 12 was 6-2 in 2012 bowl games.
The Big 12 has put a team in the BCS National Title 7 of 14 years.
The Big 12 has 4 Heisman trophy winners in the last 10 years.
The Big 12 hasn’t been ranked below #2 in power ranking in the last 5 years.
The Big 12 isn’t going anywhere. If you really think the Big 12 will collapse next year or soon after, you really need to read more. There are several articles detailing the steps the Big 12 has taken to stabilize. The Big 12 has gone from the verge of collapse to one of the most stable.
@mgm36
What is your point? You realize he actual schools won’t go anywhere right? You do get that? That the Big 12, the SEC, the Pac 12, they are just names and groupings.
If the Big 12 does collapse, then these schools will go to other conferences. Most likely to your conference. Then what? Who will you be able to randomly insult? How will you feel better about yourself?
Oh, look……..little Timmy has an ignorant friend!Hmmm……So you’re saying those 4 schools leaving makes the average crowd size plummet? Hardly, if anything it raises the interest in the conference as a whole, adds two teams that have accomplished more than A&M, Mizzou & Colorado, adds credibility to baseball & basketball as well…..so I suggest you remove your head from little Timmy’s arse because he appears to be contagious! The both of you should wander on back to the SEC…………..lmao!
@snooper007
Dont feed the trolls. When it comes to the Big 12 the SEC is very insecure.
ROFLMAO!!!! Insecure Indeed,… At Best! But how amuzing it is to pass the time at work by watching these idiots post crap they know nothing about! Looks like that “Assume” rule was made for the two of them!
My distinguished friend from Stoolwater makes a valid point! The Big XII is a very stable conference and all of the jealous fools to the south were hoping and praying the Big XII would collapse, then they could try to build their super conference with the Big II’s Super Powers! The NC will be heading to back to the Big II very soon!
All of the hate is coming from mizzou and atm fans who don’t yet qwualify to weigh in on sec blogs. So they continue to pester us with non sense. mu couldn’t fill their stadium and fan upport was on life support….why do you think they want to continue playing Kansas? That is the only sellout they ever have. Sounds like you will be at the very bottom of the barrel in athletic spending in the sec…..ond.
staf off our blogs, stop reading our stories. Why are you still interested? if we are so down? You still feel the need to read and respond. Chant sec and get the hell off our blog. Troll!
I look at the ACC article and I am a little frustrated. Why can’t we talk about Big 12 teams, what their chances are. Instead we have to have a debate over the validity of the Big 12. It’s asinine and irrelevant and I am guilty of it just the same.
So I would like to talk about the Big 12 teams
Oklahoma St:
projected 9-3 with their schedule allowing an outside shot at 11-1. We do have to replace three key play makers. Weeden and Blackmon, while I love them, will be the easier two to replace. Our offensive scheme allows for an average QB to hold down the fort. And our stable of receivers will help ease the pain of losing Blackmon. Blatnick was a beast. Our defense was seriously underrated (look at any stat line other than yards given up). Having a play maker on defense will be the key to next year.
Oklahoma:
Odds on favorite to win the conference, but they were last year too. I am interested to see if teams take up OSU’s game plan of blitz like crazy. Once rattled Landry has a real hard time getting back in the game. His sophomore season was better than his junior season. Stiles, while I don’t care for his off the field antics, has been a very talented receiver. That is until Broyles was injured and defenses focused on him. Whether or not he can be the guy remains uncertain. I understand why OU is the favorite, but I would be surprised if they dropped 2 games this year.
Texas:
8-4 with a shot at 10-2. I believe they will be much improved. They have a lot of talent coming back, and I think Mac Brown is one of the best coaches in the country. Ultimately I believe poor QB play will keep them out of the conference championship hunt.
West Virginia:
9-3 with a shot at 11-1. They looked very dangerous as the season went on, and everyone saw what they did in the bowl game. They do have some factors to over come though. Replacing your defense staff is never an easy transition. Also a tough schedule, and having to prepare for someone new every week will be challenging. Will they be OSU like with a prolific offense and under-rated defense? Or will they be more Texas Tech with an offense that doesn’t hold up against equal or better teams, and no defense at all?
Texas Christian:
With the best purple in college football (sorry K-State) how will they do? I believe a tough schedule and new opponents will keep them around 8-4 or 7-5 this season, but expect a 9-3 team next year.
Those are the teams that I think will be contenders for the Big 12 championship next year. Agree or disagree?
Wow … did this article get hijacked or what?
@gopokes nice job adding a lot of thoughtful info.
The final word on the Big12 strength will come when the Conference receives TV money on par with the other three super conferences: SEC, PAC & Big10 (the Networks already told the ACC what they think of the second best show in the southeast US).
I lost track of all the conference reshuffling and lost rivalries and traditions. Who represented the SWC (Southwest Conference) in the Cotton Bowl this year?
The University of Arkansas. They did well for themselves. Hopefully they have a big year next year.
Sorry but Arkansas has NOT been in the SWC since the early 90′s nor does the SWC exist anymore just as the Big 12 will not exist in five years. You guys can thank UT for that.
you said this already. move along
timh1955… you are hell bent in hoping the big 12 goes under. Why don’t you get on a sec blog and spewyour hate there. Personally I don’t give a damn about you or your thoughts. You feel the need to dominate this blog with stupidity. I am glad the Big 12 stayed together and i believe it will last forever. It is the best conference in the country housed in the midwest. We deserve a great conference in the heartland…..stop being an ass…..just becauseyou decided to go to the sec….ond. Please go and stay the F*** off our comment section of our articles. Sour grapes. Just get the He** out. Our conference is so much better with the subtractions…..and additions. everyone here wants to be here. MUCK FIZZOU
LOL….The truth hurts!
Since Missouri has been brought up, Maybe timh1955 can give some insight.
I dont understand how a team says, “We don’t care about winning as long as we get paid”. It seems to be like a big slap in the face for the fans. This is how the fans get treated after home field advantage alone upset OU in 2010? Furthermore I question the example it sets for the student athletes, “Go out there and give it your best shot, but we are in it for the paycheck” …”oh, and if someone offers you some cash, you can’t take it.” “That would be wrong”.
Oh well, I doubt the staff at Mizzou cares much. Gary Pinkel showed his class by voting OSU 4th. Talk about going out of your way to show your team sportsmanship and integrity. But I can’t hold it against him, I would like to think he wouldn’t have voted that way sober.
Arkansas! Great, so the Big 8 rep K State lost, eh? Doesn’t anyone appreciate my sarcasm? Tradition, rivalry’s, etc. have been gone for a while. The raison d’ etrie for the BCS and relevance of major conference alignments in scheduling and Bowl selections haven’t really existed for more than a decade.
timh1955….You wouldn’t know the truth if it hit you in the head. I wish I were close enough to do you a favor and put you out of your missery.
rhollinshed – I live in Atlanta and I welcome you to visit anytime. Also, you may want to learn how to spell (misery).
@rhollinshed says……….You’re better off just ignoring the pathetic little prick. Hisd only reason for being here is to piss people off and talk his bullshit! Just be satisfied in the fact that Ignorant Little Puthy Boy has a tampon up his ass because his pathetic little Mizzou can’t hang in the Big XII…..Personally, I just sit here and laugh at the asswipe, knowing he has so many tearful days ahead withy Mizzou becoming the “Doormat To The SEC!”…………Just ignore Puthy Boy timmy! LMAO@timh1955
Ahhh….the smell of ignorance…it is bliss.
Big 12 has a new negotiation coming up. ESPiN, ABC, NBCSports, FoxSports, CBS……they all want a piece of the Big 12. And with the Big 12 membership ALL in agreement about a 6 year deal to sign over all television rights to the conference, kinda cements a partnership for 6 years. You can leave, but we own your TV rights, so you can play in the Pac14 but we get all the monies generated by TV. hehehe Nope, ain’t nobody going nowhere. And the bidding is going to be hot and heavy for Tier 1 and Tier 2 rights. Figures to be tossed around….20 to 40 mill per team. Nothing breeds conference unity like a fat paycheck.
As for the WVU crack…..from the Misery fan of all people……3 and 0, biatch. That’s 3 BCS wins versus 0 losses. SEC champ, Big 12 Champ and ACC champ. Misery and aTm have how many?? COMBINED?? LOL……