Big 12 preseason power rankings: Can Iowa State stop Oklahoma?

Neal Brown has his West Virginia Mountaineers vying for top 25 inclusion

Neal Brown can coach, as illustrated by his great run at Troy prior to arriving in Morgantown. While his program is still probably a year away, the West Virginia Mountaineers are certainly capable of upsetting a few teams and getting into the mix to come out of the Big 12 this year. While they are not reaching the College Football Playoff, they can beat the team who will and be a top-25 team.

Mike Gundy loses a ton of talent from his Oklahoma State Cowboys program

Given how well Mike Gundy has recruited at his alma mater, the Oklahoma State Cowboys will never be down for all that long. However, this is not the year the Pokes get to Arlington. They have lost so much talent to the NFL of late. With that in mind, Oklahoma State will win around eight or nine games this year and remain a fixture as one of the top 25 best teams in the country this fall.

Steve Sarkisian will be #AllGasNoBrakes turning around the Texas Longhorns

It will not be easy, but it appears that the Texas Longhorns have the right head coach in Steve Sarkisian. Texas will vie for Big 12 Championship Game inclusion but are destined to be on the outside looking in. While they have more talent top-to-bottom than say Iowa State, this is a new regime in Austin and these sorts of things take time. Texas has a ceiling this year of about 10 wins.

Matt Campell has his Iowa State Cyclones’ eyes set on reaching the playoff

Last year was no fluke, as Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones are one of a handful of teams who have serious College Football Playoff aspirations this year. In fact, they are one of a few teams that can make the four-team tournament for the first time in school history in 2021. Offensively, this team is legit, but we do wonder about Iowa State’s ability to win multiple high-stakes games.

Lincoln Riley, Spencer Rattler have Oklahoma Sooners thinking national title

Not only are the Oklahoma Sooners the favorite to win the Big 12 for the seventh year in a row, but this is potentially the best team Lincoln Riley has ever had at Norman. With a Heisman Trophy frontrunner at quarterback in Spencer Rattler, anything short of a national championship game appearance would be seen as a colossal failure for this program and a major wasted opportunity.

Overall, Oklahoma and Iowa State are good enough to make the playoff. Texas is a dark horse, but not quite there. Teams like Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia are capable of finishing in the top 25 at the season’s end. As for the other four schools in the Big 12, it is really going to come down to coaching. The winners will be celebrated, while losers will have the stern finger pointed at them.

Ultimately, the Big 12 will get a team into the playoff and should have several teams bowling.

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