Big 12: Image issue
QUESTIONS ABOUT LONG-TERM VIABILITY, PLAYOFF WORTHINESS STILL LINGER
League needs to earn a spot in national playoffs to restore its luster.
A new-look Big 12 must confront the same old problem this season.
While the league’s flagship schools Texas and Oklahoma are under new management, the Big 12 still faces questions about its long-term future and status as the weakest of the Power Five conferences. After two successful seasons at Houston, Tom Herman was hired Nov. 26 to replace Charlie Strong, who went 16-21 in three seasons that continued the Longhorns’ slide dating back to 2009. In June, Bob Stoops announced his sudden retirement, ending a run that included one national title and record 10 Big 12 titles. The Sooners stayed in-house, promoting 33-year-old offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who became the youngest FBS head coach.
It marks the first time since 1947 both Texas and Oklahoma are breaking in new coaches at the same time.
While the Big 12 would benefit from good seasons by its two largest and most successful programs, Herman said he does not consider himself a torchbearer for the league.
“Is it my job to take care of the Big 12? No,” Herman said. “It’s none of our jobs to take care of the Big 12.”
For the first time since 2010, the Big 12 championship game returns and will feature the top teams in the conference.
But again the Big 12 will be faced with the burning question: can it crack the four-team College Football Playoff? So far that has not been the case, with the Big 12 left out twice in the playoff ’s three-year existence.
“Obviously that’s where we want to be,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. “It’s a high-stakes game of musical chairs. There are at least five suitors and only four seats.”
Sooners the favorite again
Of the league’s three new head coaches (Matt Rhule is in his first season at Baylor), Riley enters the most stable situation with OU the preseason pick to win a third straight title.
“If you don’t enjoy that sense of pressure and those expectations, then it’s probably not the place for you,” Riley said of replacing Stoops.
The Sooners return quarterback Baker Mayfield, a Heisman Trophy finalist, the entire offensive line and feature AllBig 12 safety Steven Parker and cornerback Jordan Thomas in the secondary. But OU has sizable holes to fill in the backfield with the departures of Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon and wide receiver Dede Westbrook.
At Bedlam rival Oklahoma State, there’s more than just talk about the length of coach Mike Gundy’s mullet. After consecutive second-place finishes, the Cowboys could be the best shot to dethrone OU. The Cowboys should have one of the nation’s most potent offensive attacks with quarterback Mason Rudolph and running back Justice Hill, whose 1,142 yards broke Thurman Thomas’ freshman rushing record.
After offseason treatment for throat cancer, Bill Snyder, 77, returns to the sideline for a 25th year at Kansas State. The Wildcats were one of the Big 12’s hottest teams down the stretch last season, winning six of the last seven games.
At TCU, the Horned Frogs are coming off just the fourth non-winning season in 16 years under Gary Patterson and will need improvement from QB Kenny Hill.
On the hot seat, Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury must replace QB Patrick Mahomes and improve a defense that was one of the worst in the nation.
Rhule will look to move Baylor past the sexual-assault scandal that has engulfed the school and lead the Bears to a bowl for the eighth year in a row.