Big 12 football predicted order of finish
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. TCU
4. Oklahoma State
5. Iowa State
6. Baylor
7. West Virginia
8. Kansas State
9. Texas Tech
10. Kansas
Baylor isn’t getting a lot of love after losing Matt Rhule to the NFL, but they still have a senior Charlie Brewer under center. However, this is a brand new offense he’s trying to learn, with a first-time head coach in Dave Aranda. He was stellar as the defensive coordinator at LSU, but things change once you’re in charge. Add in a pandemic, and it appears Baylor is on its way down.
West Virginia will look better in its second season under head coach Neal Brown, but questions under center will lead to another less-than-stellar finish. They could win some games they aren’t supposed to, but there is just too much overwhelming talent for them to win with either Austin Kendall and Jarret Doege under center. Eventually, freshman Garrett Greene could take over the job. Although, grad transfer Tony Fields is going to be someone to watch at linebacker.
Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and TCU look like real contenders at times during the season, but they eventually give each other a loss and take themselves out of contention. They all have marquee talent at different positions, but they don’t have the right talent to put it all together. They aren’t teams like Texas and Oklahoma are.
The big disappointment here is Kansas State. After a surprising eight-win season in Chris Klieman’s first season, the team falls apart. Returning just nine starters from a team that overachieved is never a good look. Skylar Thompson should have a decent season, but he’s replacing the entire offensive line. It’s going to be rough to start, and the chemistry won’t come until it is too late.
That leads us to the top. Oklahoma and Texas are going to fight for the lead in the Big 12. This prediction actually has Oklahoma winning the Red River Showdown, but Texas comes back to win every other game of the season. Oklahoma could lose to an offense like Iowa State, then one of those games they pulled out of their hat last year ends with a loss. Just look at the schedule. OU pulled out close wins against Iowa State, TCU, both Baylor games, Texas, and then lost to Kansas State.