Times are changing in the BIG-12. Bob Stoops is gone from Oklahoma and Tom Herman takes over at Texas. Oklahoma State and Kansas State are being picked as dark horses to win the conference, and Baylor finally decided that beating and sexually assaulting women wasn't kosher. The biggest change of all, however, is that the BIG-12 is no longer a battle for first place, as the conference is going back to a championship game format at AT&T Stadium on December 2, meaning that second place in the conference is just as good as No. 1.
Personally, I think it's a mistake that the BIG-12 is doing a conference championship with only 10 teams and no divisional format. If a 10-2 Oklahoma team meets up with a 12-0 Oklahoma State down in Arlington and OU comes out victorious, it'll basically put an end to the conference's hopes of putting a team in the playoff. Or, there's the scare of West Virginia and Oklahoma facing off in their final BIG-12 regular season game and resting everybody and then playing the following week down at Jerry's World.
But, to all the BIG-12 purists, don't worry. Kansas is still a dumpster fire, so not everything in the BIG-12 is getting a make over in 2017. Let's do this.
Baylor began last season 6-0 surprisingly, including a win at home against Oklahoma State. However, the Bears fell in each of their final six regular season contests but were still able to earn an invite to the Cactus Bowl, where they defeated Boise State (31-12) to end the season above .500 at 7-6. It's hard to say what one should really expect from the Bears in 2017 considering the fact that the program and school as a whole are in the midst of a massive culture change. Matt Rhule was hired from Temple to come in and clean up the mess that was left behind by Art Briles and Ken Starr, so hopefully, 2017 will be the beginning of a resurgence in the Baylor football program, both on and off the field.
At quarterback, Baylor actually has a handful of options. One, being Arizona graduate transfer Anu Solomon, and the other being sophomore Zach Smith. Solomon's skillset as a scrambler certainly fits into Baylor's spread up-tempo style of offense, but Smith's ability to throw the ball could put him over Solomon and earn him the starting spot. A battle in camp will ultimately have the final say. At receiver, Baylor will need to adjust with the departures of top pass-catchers KD Cannon and Ishmael Zamora. However, the Bears do return a young corps of wideouts that are extremely versatile in redshirt junior Chris Platt, redshirt sophomore Blake Lynch, and redshirt sophomore Pooh Stricklin. At running back, Baylor returns one of the best one-two punches in the country with redshirt junior Terence Williams and redshirt sophomore JaMychal Hasty. Baylor's offensive line also returns three starters including senior left guard Ishmael Wilson.
Defense has never been Baylor strong suit, but the Bears return a significant number of starters and big-time playmakers in 2017 beginning with redshirt junior defensive end and Cactus Bowl MVP Greg Roberts. Also back on the Baylor front seven are senior All-BIG-12 left end K.J. Smith and four-year starting linebacker Taylor Young. Baylor's secondary will be young but loaded with talent as a pair of versatile sophomore corners in Grayland Arnold and Jameson Houston serve as the unit's anchors with redshirt sophomore Henry Black providing coverage over the top as the deep safety.
Baylor gets to host Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia this season but will have to go on the road to Stillwater and Lawrence to face Oklahoma State and K-State. It might a while until Baylor is back competing for a conference title, but with so many starters returning on both sides of the ball and the hiring of a new coach who emphasizes the creation of a clean and winning culture, there is no reason why the Bears shouldn't improve upon last season's 7-6 record. 8-4/7-5 is a pretty reasonable expectation.
A 25-20 opening weekend loss at home to FCS opponent Northern Iowa set the tone for a pretty lousy season in 2016 for Iowa State. The Cyclones played Oklahoma State (38-31 loss) and Baylor (45-42 loss) tough to go along with wins over San Jose State (44-10), Kansas (31-24), and Texas Tech (66-10), but the negatives heavily outweighed the positives last season, as Iowa State finished at 3-9 and placed ninth in the BIG-12. In order to compete with the high octane offenses present in the BIG-12, Iowa State needs to improve significantly with their offensive efficiency, as the Cyclones finished last season ranked No. 71 nationally in scoring offense. Matt Campbell enters his second season at the helm in Ames with the goal of making some significant improvements, but with a tough conference schedule that features road matchups against Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kansas State, and Baylor, the improvements may not show up in the W/L column.
The centerpiece of Iowa State's offense in 2017 will be wideout and likely early-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Allen Lazard, who is coming off a 69-reception, 1000+ yard, seven-touchdown effort in 2016. Redshirt junior Jacob Parker is back under center after winning the starting job last season. The chemistry formed between Parker and Lazard in camp is going to be critical in order for Iowa State to stay relevant in the BIG-12, but another name to keep an eye out for is sophomore wideout Deshaunte Jones, who figures to serve as the team's No. 2 man out of the slot.
Defensively, Iowa State should see some major improvements up front with the editions of three highly touted junior college transfers in nose tackle Ray Lima, defensive tackle Kamilo Tongamoa, and defensive end Matt Leo. Sophomore end JaQuan Bailey is another name to look out for after racking up 3.5 sacks in 2016 as a true freshman. A major weak point of this defense, however, will be at linebacker as the Cyclones only return one starter from last season in junior WLB Willie Harvey. The secondary will be anchored by senior safety Kamari Cotton-Moya while redshirt juniors Brian Peavy and D'Andre Payne do their parts at corner.
This program is definitely trending in the right direction, but there are still a lot of things that Matt Campbell and his staff need to address in both play-calling, personnel, and recruiting to get Iowa State where it wants to be. Four or five wins is a reasonable expectation, but holes at linebacker and a young offensive line will likely keep the Cyclones out of a bowl game.
The gap in talent between Kansas and the rest of the BIG-12 is insane. It's now been a full decade since the Jayhawks went 12-1 and defeated Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl back in 2007, and ever since, the program has free fallen into irrelevance. The Jayhawks have won just two total games throughout last two years, with a 24-21 win in overtime over Texas to "improve" to 2-9 at the time serving as last season's Super Bowl. Strides are being made to get Kansas football back on the map, but there is still a long way for this program to climb.
KU's tradition of quarterback instability continues in 2017, as the Jayhawks enter camp without a definitive starter. Junior college transfer Peyton Bender is currently listed as the No. 1 quarterback on the team's depth chart, but he'll have to fight off redshirt sophomore Carter Stanley in camp to solidify his place under center. At receiver, Kansas returns some solid talent from last season in Texas A&M transfer LaQuivonte Gonzalez, junior Steven Sims, and sophomore Daylon Charlot. Both Gonzalez and Sims had 700+ yards receiving in 2016, so both are sure to build upon that and become the centerpieces of KU's offensive attack this season. The Jayhawks will likely lean towards a committee approach at running back made up of sophomore Khalil Herbert, junior college transfer Octavius Matthews, sophomore Taylor Martin, and highly touted incoming freshman recruit Dom Williams. Herbert, who is returning from a season-ending foot injury last season, figures to get the bulk of the carries to begin the season. KU's offensive line returns four starters including sophomore All-BIG-12 honorable-mention left tackle Hakeem Adeniji.
The majority of Kansas' issues reside on the defensive side of the ball, as the Jayhawks return none of their four starters from a season ago. The strength of the Jayhawk defense, if there is one, will be its front seven, highlighted by redshirt junior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr who returns from a hamstring injury that cut his 2016 season short. All-BIG-12 defensive tackle Daniel Wise and 10-sack defensive end from last season Dorance Armstrong Jr are both back as well.
We'll see whether or not Kansas is able to surprise anybody this year and win a couple of games in the BIG-12, but again, the gap in talent is pretty significant compared to the rest of the conference. The way Kansas' schedule is set up having to face K-State, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State to end the season does them zero favors. Four wins is a generous ceiling for this team.
Coming off a nine-win season in 2016 and Texas Bowl victory over Texas A&M, Bill Schneider’s Wildcats have high hopes headed into 2017. Early-season losses at Stanford (26-13) and at West Virginia (17-16) kept K-State out of the College Football Playoff picture, but the Wildcats still were well within the hunt for a BIG-12 title. However, losses to Oklahoma (38-17) and Oklahoma State (43-37) dropped Kansas State to 5-4 and out of the BIG-12 race. The Wildcats finished the year on a four-game win streak including the bowl victory over the Aggies in Houston.
In 2017, K-State returns quarterback Jesse Ertz as well as four of their five offensive linemen. A weak non-conference schedule (Central Arkansas, Charlotte, Vanderbilt), as well as a favorable BIG-12 slate that includes home matchups with West Virginia and Oklahoma, has a lot of KSU fans thinking big. The bread and butter of K-State’s offense is their passing attack, but the ground game featuring the legs of Ertz (1,012 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns), junior running back Justin Silmon, and fullback Winston Dimel should work wonders behind a strong Wildcat offensive line and give Bill Schneider’s team some much need versatility.
KSU’s BIG-12 best defense from a season ago returns six starters, highlighted by redshirt sophomore defensive end Reggie Walker and redshirt junior defensive back D.J. Reed. Defense is often something that BIG-12 teams lack given the high octane offenses present throughout the conference (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas Tech), but Kansas State seems to be the exception heading into this season. If this defense plays up to the level it proved capable of last season, the Wildcats could make a lot of noise in the BIG-12.
The implementation of a BIG-12 championship game is huge, as the conference is now a fight for No. 2 rather than No. 1. If it isn’t an OU/OSU matchup in the BIG-12 title game, you can bet that it’ll be one of the two Oklahoma schools taking on Kansas State for the conference crown on December 2 in Arlington. With so many starters returning on defense, a dynamic returning starter at quarterback like Jesse Ertz, and a very favorable schedule, K-State is capable of winning 10+ games in 2017.
The 2016-2017 offseason cannot come to an end sooner (pun intended) for Oklahoma. First, there was Baker Mayfield’s arrest. Then, came the backlash for the now infamous Joe Mixon punch to a female coed. Bob Stoops then decided to step down as head coach, followed by all three of Oklahoma’s top offensive weapons from 2016 departing early for the NFL Draft (RB Samaje Perine, RB Joe Mixon, WR Dede Westbrook). No matter what way you put it, this offseason has just flat out sucked for Oklahoma fans.
The 2016 season began in disappointment, as the Sooners fell in two of their first three contests to Houston (33-23) and at home against Ohio State (45-24). Oklahoma responded with nine straight conference wins, including Texas (45-40), TCU (52-46), Kansas State (38-17), West Virginia (56-28), and a 38-20 dub over the Pokes in ‘Bedlam’ for the BIG-12 title. The two losses to Houston and Ohio State kept the Sooners out of the playoff, but they ended their season on a positive note with a 35-19 win over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl to finish 11-2 and at No. 5 in the AP.
Now, with the dust of a rather messy offseason finally settled, we can finally get back to talking football. And, while the Sooners may have lost some of their most lethal offensive weapons, they still have Baker Mayfield, who finished third in the 2016 Heisman voting with 3,965 passing yards and 40 touchdowns. Mayfield’s arrest was obviously a bad look, but it looks like he won’t miss any time as OU’s starter and should be ready to go for September 2. We all know by now how good Baker Mayfield is. The question is who is he going to throw to? Senior Jeffrey Mead and senior Kentucky transfer Jeff Badet currently sit atop the OU depth chart with junior Nick Basquine not far behind. There may no longer be a Dede Westbrook present in the Sooner offense, but Badet put up some solid numbers throughout his three seasons at Kentucky (82 catches, 1,385 yards, and seven touchdowns) while buried on the depth chart, so it shouldn’t be a shock if he becomes Mayfield’s go-to guy in an offense that is in desperate need of a No. 1 wideout.
Oklahoma also returns all five starting offensive linemen from 2016, highlighted by redshirt senior center Erick Wren. Getting your starting quarterback to return is one thing, but having all five linemen returning puts the Sooners in business to make a serious run at yet another BIG-12 title and possibly even the CFP. This veteran line will try and pave the way for a pair of sophomore running backs (Abdul Adams, Rodney Anderson) to fill the massive voids left behind by Mixon and Perine. Oklahoma’s run game may not be what it was a year ago with two NFL caliber backs handling the rock, but this offensive line should open up enough holes to keep it a factor.
Senior corner Jordan Thomas and sophomore Jordan Parker highlight an otherwise very inexperienced Oklahoma defense. Senior Steven Parker and junior Will Sunderland figure to man the safety positions while redshirt senior Matt Romar and Neville Gallimore (both DT’s) anchor the front seven. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Caleb Kelly will man the outside linebacker spots, while competition in camp between underclassmen Jon-Michael Terry, Addison Gumbs, and Kenneth Murray will likely determine the inside linebacker position.
Road trips to Ohio State, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State certainly do not favor the Sooners whatsoever. But, this is a program that should never be counted out, even with a new head coach. The BIG-12 is realistically a three-team race in 2017 between OU, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State. We’ll see whether or not Mayfield and the gang have it in them to make a run to the playoff early in the season when they travel to the Horseshoe, but 10 or 11 wins is a pretty realistic expectation to have for Oklahoma in a rather weak BIG-12 despite the tough road slate.
A lot of Oklahoma State fans are still bitter about that controversial 30-27 loss to Central Michigan in week two on a wild Hail Mary as time expired, and they deserve to be. However, despite that brutal farce of a loss to the Chippewas, the Cowboys were still able to control their own destiny in the BIG-12 for almost the entirety of the season, which included wins over Pittsburgh (45-38), Texas (49-31), Iowa State (38-31), Kansas (44-20), West Virginia (37-20), Kansas State (43-37), Texas Tech (45-44), and TCU (31-6). Unfortunately, losses at Baylor (35-24) and at home against Oklahoma (38-20) in ‘Bedlam’ resulted in a second-place finish in the BIG-12. The Cowboys took down Colorado rather handily 38-8 in the Alamo Bowl to end the season at 10-3 and No. 11 in the AP.
In 2017, Oklahoma State returns senior quarterback Mason Rudolph and their top wideout in senior James Washington. This was a pairing that worked a ton of magic last season, connecting 78 times for over 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns. Poke fans are hoping for a repeat performance in 2017 from these two, as they will be the obvious nucleus of OSU's offense. Junior Jalen McCleskey and senior Marcell Ateman should also see their reps increased as featured receivers in this offense, as the pair hold a combined 15 total touchdowns during their time in Stillwater.
After leading all freshmen running backs in yards (1,142) last season, Justice Hill returns for his sophomore campaign and will run behind three returning starters on the offensive line (RT Zachary Crabtree, RG Larry Williams, C Brad Lundblade). OSU also added some much-needed depth at left tackle in Cal graduate transfer Aaron Cochran, especially after second-team All-BIG-12 selection Victor Salako’s departure for the NFL. The rushing attack has never and never will be the focal point of Oklahoma State’s offense, but in a conference filled with weak defenses, it helps to have that versatility between a lethal aerial attack and a reliable ground game.
Defensively, both Jarrell Owens and Jordan Brailford are back for 2017, but Brailford is still recovering from an injury and is definitely something to monitor as the season approaches. Junior Darrion Daniels would be the most likely candidate to see an up in playing time if Brailford can’t go against Tulsa on August 31. Senior Chad Whitener enters his third season as OSU’s starting middle linebacker. Junior Justin Phillips, senior Tucker Kirk, and sophomore Calvin Bundage figure to round out OSU’s linebacking corps. The Cowboy secondary is also solid heading into 2017, highlighted by senior safeties Tre Flowers and Ramon Richards. OSU also added Clemson graduate transfer Adrian Baker at cornerback, giving them three experienced guys back there to defend the pass in a conference that features a lot of gun-slinging offenses.
This is my sleeper team to win the BIG-12, especially since the Pokes are getting both Oklahoma and Kansas State at home. I think Mason Rudolph and James Washington put up video game-like numbers together and help lead Oklahoma State to 10 or 11 wins. ‘Bedlam’ comes early this year, as OSU and OU face off in Stillwater on November 4, a game that will in all likelihood decide the fate of the conference and possibly even a spot in the playoff.
The lone highlight of 2016 for Texas came in week one with a 50-47 win over Notre Dame, and then it was all downhill from there. Charlie Strong’s fate was sealed following the 24-21 road loss to Kansas (2-10) and Texas finished the season 5-7 with a 31-9 loss at home to TCU on Black Friday.
Todd Herman now takes over the reigns in Austin, and while the alumni and boosters at UT might have expectations of a BIG-12 title and run to the College Football Playoff, that doesn’t seem all too rational. However, 2017 should serve as a bounce-back season for Texas football. Shane Buechele returns for his sophomore season after a predictable up-and-down freshman campaign. Todd Herman has a history of developing good quarterbacks (Cardale Jones, Braxton Miller, JT Barrett, Greg Ward Jr), so don’t be surprised if and when Shane Buechele starts leading the Longhorns back into relevance.
The loss of starting running back D’Onta Foreman to the NFL hurts, but Texas does have a committee of running backs ready to compete for the starting job. Kyle Porter, Kirk Johnson (returning from injury), and Roderick Bernard (also returning from injury) should all see their fair number of touches. As far as pass-catchers go, tight end Andrew Beck appears to be the nucleus of Texas’ offense heading into the season. The Longhorn wide receiver corps is young, highlighted by a pair of sophomores (Collin Johnson, Devin Duvernay) so it may take a while for this offense to get rolling.
Like the receiving corps, the Longhorn defense is extremely young. However, it is also littered with talent. Senior nose tackle Poona Ford should serve as an anchor on the defensive front while juniors Malik Jefferson, Anthony Wheeler, and Breckyn Hagerman fill the linebacking spots. Juniors Davante Davis and Kris Boyd figure to be the team’s top-two corners while junior DeShon Elliott and sophomore Brandon Jones serve as the last line of defense at safety.
Texas was still able to win five games last season under Charlie Strong, and made a significant upgrade at head coach with Todd Herman, meaning there is really nowhere to go but up from here. It might take a few weeks into the season to get going, and a BIG-12 title seems a little out of reach, but 8-4/7-5 seems pretty reasonable for Texas in 2017.
Much of TCU's inconsistencies last season revolved around the up-and-down play of quarterback Kenny Hill. Despite a handful of gut-punching defeats (Texas Tech, Arkansas, Oklahoma) the Frogs were still able to finish the season 6-6 but fell to Georgia (31-23) in the Liberty Bowl. A season that began with such high hopes of competing for the BIG-12 title ended with a sub-.500 record and a series of question marks involving the future of TCU's defense and the job security of Gary Patterson.
Kenny Hill will need to improve upon his 17/13 touchdown/interception ratio from last season in order for TCU to have any chance in the BIG-12 in 2017. Senior Iowa Western transfer Taj Williams figures to lead the TCU receiving core along with longtime starter and junior KaVontae Turpin, and senior LSU transfer John Diarse. On the ground, the Frogs will need to lean on senior running back Kyle Hicks after Shaun Nixon suffered an undisclosed season-ending injury. The loss of Nixon is a big one as he was a versatile playmaker capable of running routes lined out wide and catching balls out of the backfield. Gary Patterson and company are hoping that sophomore Darius Anderson will be able to step into a similar role, but the void of Nixon will have its effects. The TCU offensive line returns three starters (all seniors) in left tackle Joseph Noteboom, center Austin Schlottman, and right guard Matt Pryor.
Defensively, TCU got overpowered up front last season due to their mismatches in size compared to opposing offensive lines such as Oklahoma and Kansas State. The Horned Frogs will rely on a new wave of pass-rushers and run-stuffers to try and get their defense where it needs to be. Senior Chris Bradley, redshirt freshman Ross Blacklock, and junior Joseph Broadnax will man the defensive tackle spots while sophomore Brandon Bowen, Louisiana-Monroe transfer Ben Banogu, and senior Matt Boesen will set up at the ends. Senior Travin Howard, who's highly regarded as one of the top linebackers in the country, will be the nucleus of TCU's defense after coming off back-to-back 100-tackle seasons. Howard will be joined by junior Montrel Wilson, junior Ty Summers, and redshirt senior Sammy Douglas to form one of the deepest linebacking sets in the BIG-12. TCU also returns a multitude of starters to its secondary, including team interception-leader in 2016 and senior safety Nick Orr. Ranthony Texada and Julius Lewis will both resume their spots as the team's top corners.
TCU has the offensive firepower to compete in the BIG-12, and their defense has some major strong points at linebacker and in the secondary. However, unless the Frogs can improve their pass-rush and ability to stuff the run, 2017 could see a similar fate as the one we saw last season where the Frogs get pushed around on the line of scrimmage. Kenny Hill hasn't lived up to expectations, and he needs to be better this season in order for the Frogs to improve from 6-7. Eight wins is a reasonable expectation, but road dates with Arkansas, Kansas State, and both Oklahoma schools as well as home matchups with Baylor, Texas, and West Virginia make six or seven wins sound more realistic.
Replacing Mahomes under center will be redshirt senior Nic Shimonek. The former transfer from Iowa will finally get his shot after riding behind Mahomes the past two seasons, but let's remember that there was a multitude of reasons behind that, with one being his lack of mobility compared to Mahomes. Granted, few quarterbacks in the country possessed the explosive breakaway speed that Patrick Mahomes did, but comparing Mahomes to Shimonek from a rushing perspective is apples and oranges, so expect a drop off in rush yards from the Red Raider play-callers in 2017. Shimonek's best attribute is his arm strength, and with it, he should thrive in Tech's high-octane passing attack. At receiver, Texas Tech does return three of their top-four pass-catchers from 2016 in junior Keke Coutee, senior Dylan Cantrell, and senior Cameron Batson. Highly touted senior Derrick Willies, who battled injury for much of last season, is expected to be back and at 100%. Even with Jonathan Giles (top wideout from 2016) transferring to LSU, this receiving core is absolutely loaded with talent and make Shimonek's life a little bit easier.
The line and running back positions are the downfalls of Tech's offense. Last season, Mahomes led the team in rushing touchdowns as the Red Raiders had seemingly zero ability to keep opposing defenses honest with the run with an actual running back. Sophomore Da'Leon Ward, who accumulated just 428 yards throughout all of last season as a true freshman, needs to have a big year as the team's top tailback in order for Texas Tech to be any sort of threat in the BIG-12. The Tech offensive line is extremely young and best suited on passing downs so it may be hard for Ward to find many holes to run through.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury considers linebacker Dakota Allen, a guy who was once caught literally robbing people and kicked off the team, a vocal leader of the defense, which serves as a fitting metaphor as to how criminally bad the Red Raider defense played in 2016 (placed last in the nation in total and scoring defense). Anyways, Allen is back in Lubbock after playing in junior college in 2016 and finishing 2015 as one of Tech's leading tacklers. Also back at linebacker for Texas Tech is sophomore Jordyn Brooks, who recorded 86 tackles a season ago as a true freshman. The defensive line returns two starters in redshirt sophomore Broderick Thomas and sophomore Joe Wallace, but it still remains a massive weak point despite the addition of defensive end Eli Howard, who transferred from North Texas. The Red Raider secondary returns none of its starters from a season ago, but that could be for the better after how poorly the unit played in 2016. It'll be up to a handful of underclassmen, including sophomore nickel Douglas Coleman to try and clean things up on the back end.
Overall, don't expect a lot out of Texas Tech in 2017. This is a program that is coming off one of the worst defensive seasons in the history of the BIG-12 and is years away from competing for the conference crown. If Tech is lucky, they'll win five games this year, but every bit of victory this team had last season was because of Patrick Mahomes, and he's now gone. Without Mahomes, it's more realistic to a predict a drop off in the W/L column than see any type of improvement.
A lot of people slept on West Virginia heading into last season, and the Mountaineers got out to a 6-0 start that included wins over Missouri (26-11), BYU (35-32), and Kansas State (17-16). Despite a 37-20 defeat in Stillwater at the midway point of the season, West Virginia was still in position to control their own destiny in the BIG-12 following back-to-back wins against Kansas (48-21) and at Texas (24-20). But, a lopsided loss at home in the snow to Oklahoma (56-28) put an end to West Virginia’s hopes of winning the conference. The Mountaineers finished the regular season with wins at Iowa State (49-19) and at home against Baylor (24-21) but fell in the Russell Athletic Bowl to Miami (31-14) to finish the year at No. 18 in the AP.
Outside of the tough bowl loss to Miami, many considered 2016 to be a massive success for West Virginia, and one that could have finally put Dana Holgerson over the hump. But, 2017 isn’t going to be any easier for the Mountaineers, especially following the departures of two of their three top wideouts, their entire starting offensive line, their top three pass-rushers, and three of their starters in the secondary.
A big bright spot for West Virginia heading into the 2017 season is the edition of Florida transfer quarterback and redshirt junior, Will Grier. The departure of Skyler Howard means that the starting job is all but Grier’s to lose and he should be able to provide the stability that will keep this offense in rhythm. Another key returnee for the Mountaineers is senior running back Justin Crawford, who rushed for over 1,100 yards in 2016 and figures to be West Virginia’s workhorse with a pair of sophomores (Kennedy McCoy, Martell Pettaway) spelling him.
On defense, West Virginia is going to need their linebackers to play stout to make up for the holes on their line with seniors Al-Rasheed Benson and Xavier Preston leading the way. The only returning starter in the Mountaineer secondary is corner Elijah Battle, so obviously, some second-stringers from last season such as redshirt junior safety Avery Toyous and senior cornerback Mike Daniels are going to need to step up.
Expectations are high for West Virginia headed into 2017, but with the number of holes on their roster, it is going to be hard to improve upon last season’s 10-2 record. 8-4/9-3 in a weak BIG-12 seems pretty reasonable, but winning the BIG-12 and making a push for the CFP might be a bit of a stretch.
Preliminary Predictions1. Oklahoma (10-2, 8-1)
2. Oklahoma State (10-2, 7-2)
3. Kansas State (9-3, 6-3)
4. West Virginia (8-4, 6-3)
5. Texas (7-5, 5-4)
6. Baylor (7-5, 4-5)
7. TCU (6-6, 4-5)
8. Texas Tech (5-7, 3-6)
9. Iowa State (4-8, 2-7)
10. Kansas (2-10, 0-9)
Biggest Conference Games
1. Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State (11/4)
2. Texas vs. Oklahoma (Dallas, 10/14)
3. Kansas State vs. Oklahoma (10/21)
4. Texas vs. Oklahoma State (10/21)
5. West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State (10/28)
6. Texas vs. Kansas State (10/7)
7. Oklahoma vs. West Virginia (10/25)
8. Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State (11/18)
9. Kansas State vs. West Virginia (11/11)
10. West Virginia vs. Texas (11/18)
Biggest Non-Conference Games
1. Oklahoma @ Ohio State (9/9)
2. Texas @ USC (9/16)
3. West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech (Landover, MD, 9/3)
4. Oklahoma State vs. Pittsburgh (9/16)
5. TCU @ Arkansas (9/9)
6. Texas vs. Maryland (9/2)
7. Texas Tech @ Houston (9/23)
8. Baylor @ Duke (9/16)
9. Texas Tech vs. Arizona State (9/16)
10. Kansas State @ Vanderbilt (9/16)
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