Every Big 12 football team’s biggest concern for 2023: Can Tyler Shough stay healthy?

Houston: Depth in the trenches

Losing their top quarterback and wide receiver can have its challenges. The Cougars did an excellent job with the former, grabbing former Texas Tech QB Donovan Smith out of the portal.

Especially moving into the Power 5 ranks, Houston’s biggest problem is depth along the offensive and defensive lines. On offense, their depth chart has been completely reshuffled after losing nine to the portal.

D’Anthony Jones led the Cougars in sacks last year but graduated. Derek Parrish was a multi-year starter who was also out of the program. Providing skill players a chance to succeed, the Cougars will need to play well on both sides and up front could become a big problem.

Iowa State: A running game

Although Cyclone fans should be excited about Hunter Dekkers’ progression, a severe problem arise with how the skilled talent will help him.

It was obvious Iowa State had to go one-dimensional during critical parts of 2022, with the worst rushing offense in the league.

After great seasons from David Montgomery and Breece Hall have become main stables in the program over the past five seasons, it was a hard pill to swallow to see the ground game take a step back.

Senior Jirehl Brock is expected to be the go-to back in a critical 2023 season for Matt Campbell and none of the backs behind him have a ton of experience.

There’s no All-Big 12 caliber offensive lineman up front and although Easton Dean is a good tight end, his priority is not in blocking.

Kansas: Defense

The Jayhawks took over college football last season through Jalon Daniels, formidable receivers and an excellent running game. The media recognized it and pegged four Jayhawks on the preseason All-Big 12 team.

However, the other side of the ball still has rough edges to patch out. They ranked last in defensive scoring, over 2.5 more per game than West Virginia. They finished 10th in run defense and eighth in sacks.

Cornerback Cobee Bryant has become a cornerstone for the secondary, and safety Kenny Logan Jr. is using his COVID year after collecting 100+ tackles last year. The Jayhawks added a few pieces along the defensive line.

If the offense can perform an encore, how much can the Jayhawks’ defense help them out?

Kansas State: Should expectations be tampered with?

The Wildcats might be one of the least talked about conference champions in a while, with TCU receiving the CFP bid and making the conference’s first National Championship game in the playoff era.

A good chunk of Kansas State’s core pieces are off to the NFL, but the roster is still in great shape to repeat. Running Back Treshaun Ward is making up for the loss of Vaughn after getting a ton of carries the past few seasons at Florida State.

Offensive Lineman Cooper Beebe is widely considered a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and critical senior defensive lineman Khalid Duke, linebacker Daniel Green and safety Kobe Savage leave optimism for the defense not to take a step back.

It’s a massive season concerning the league’s future, with Oklahoma and Texas’ departure. If the Wildcats repeat, being the league’s standard could fall in Manhattan.