The 2020 Big 12 Preview with the top players, biggest games, most important transfers, and thoughts on each team.
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5. Big 12 2020 Preview
The Big 12 is used to this.
While the other four Power Five are adjusting to the idea of their expanded conference seasons, this is just another campaign for a Big 12 conference that always plays a nine-game league slate.
That doesn’t mean the conference shouldn’t expand to 12 teams and do this right, but that’s for another day.
The unique aspect of the schedules will put the spotlight on the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC, but the Big 12 should have the most competitive fight from top-to-almost bottom.
A very good team is likely going to end up with three wins this year.
CFN Big 12 Preview
Teams: Surprise, Disappointments | Top Games
Players To Watch | One Thought On Each Team
– CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
Last year, West Virginia, Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas all had three Big 12 wins or fewer, and all four came up with two non-conference wins each. The other six teams went 16-2 in non-conference play, with the only two misfires the 18-17 Iowa State loss to Iowa, and the Texas defeat to an LSU team that turned out to be okay.
This year, the conference teams won’t have the benefit of two of those non-conference dates, so 5-5 will be a great year for most.
Oklahoma is still the runaway star with the most talent, the most depth, and the right system to keep the run of five straight Big 12 championships going.
But it’s not going to be a walk in the park.
Texas is more than good enough to pull off a win over the Sooners – either in the regular season or, potentially, in the Big 12 Championship – and Oklahoma State should be able to hang with anyone in America if that offense does what it’s supposed to.
Iowa State is too experienced and too good to be considered just a pesky annoyance, and Kansas State and TCU each have the upside to sneak into that No. 2 spot in the Big 12 Championship game if things get a bit muddled.
Baylor will take a step back, but it’s still a player, and West Virginia and Texas Tech are going to be far stronger – even if the records don’t necessarily show it.
And yeah, Kansas will pull off an upset somewhere. It’s going to take something quirky, but it’ll happen.
Take a potential blast of a conference schedule and throw in the most exciting brand of college football going, and it should be business as usual for the Big 12.
NEXT: Big 12 Teams That Will Surprise, Disappoint
4. Big 12 Surprise, Disappointment
Big 12 Team That Will Surprise
West Virginia
2019 was a rebuilding year, and 2020 should be a good next step – there’s no way a Neal Brown team will struggle that much for a second year in a row. The offense was bad, the defense was bad, and it was a bad year going 4-8. This year the defensive front will be far stronger, there should be more scoring explosion from the other side, and the coaching really should be stronger than Year Two.
2020 Big 12 Team Previews, 5 Things To Know
Baylor | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State
Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | TCU | Texas
Texas Tech | West Virginia
CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
Big 12 Team That Will Disappoint
Baylor
The cupboard is hardly bare for new head coach Dave Aranda, but it’s asking for way, way too much to recreate the magic of last year. To start, there won’t be the three cupcakes like Stephen F. Austin, UTSA and Rice to use as tune-ups. The defensive back seven is just okay, and worst of all, the Bears are scheduled to play at Oklahoma and Texas.
Overall, the Big 12 is better. Baylor won four conference games by five points or fewer – it won’t be on the right side of the non-Oklahoma games again.
NEXT: Big 12 Game of the Year, Hot Seat Coaches
3. Big 12 Games, Hot Seat Coaches
Big 12 Game Of The Year
Oklahoma vs. Texas
There might not be the normal feeling or atmosphere, but it’ll still be the rivalry game that could be the first of two meetings if these really are the top two teams in the conference. The loser of this probably won’t be knocked out of the Big 12 or CFP chases, but it’ll be in big, big trouble. Texas has lost four of the last five in the series.
5 Other Interesting Big 12 Games
This is all very, very fluid, but at the moment if the Big 12 slate stays relatively close to the original version (the dates will be added later once they’re a bit more solidified) …
1. Oklahoma State at Oklahoma
2. Texas at Oklahoma State
3. Oklahoma at Iowa State
4. Texas at Kansas State
5. Oklahoma at TCU
– 2020 CFN Big 12 5-Year Program Rankings
5 Big 12 Coaches On The Hot Seat
It’s not necessarily about who’s about to get fired – especially this year.
Think of it this way. Who has the most pressure to win, either because of way-high expectations, or to possibly move on to something bigger, or for some, to keep the gig? This year, though, there aren’t any true win-or-else coaches in the Big 12, but these five could use a good run.
1. Matt Wells, Texas Tech
2. Tom Herman, Texas
3. Neal Brown, West Virginia
4. Les Miles, Kansas
5. Gary Patterson, TCU
NEXT: Big 12 Key Players To Know
2. Big 12 Key Players To Know
5 Big 12 Transfers Who Will Matter
Five players who made the jump and now should be a big deal.
1. DE William Bradley-King, Baylor from Arkansas State
2. OG Josh Sills, Oklahoma State from West Virginia
3. WR JD Spielman, TCU from Nebraska (if eligible)
4. WR Theo Howard, Oklahoma from UCLA
5. WR Dee Anderson, LSU to Oklahoma State
5 Big-Time Big 12 Players Who Deserve A Bigger Spotlight
Five players who deserve to be known and loved on a national level, but should rise up and be among the season’s best players.
1. DE Wyatt Hubert, Jr. Kansas State
2. C Creed Humphrey, Jr. Oklahoma
3. LB Garret Wallow, Sr. TCU
4. S Greg Eisworth, Sr. Iowa State
5. LB Terrel Bernard, Jr. Baylor
5 Best Pro Prospects From The Big 12
1. OT Sam Cosmi, Jr.
Texas
2. S Caden Sterns, Jr. Texas
3. RB Chuba Hubbard, Jr. Oklahoma State
4. WR Tylan Wallace, Sr.
Oklahoma State
5. QB Brock Purdy, Jr. Iowa State
– 2020 CFN Preseason All-Big 12 Team
5 Biggest Big 12 Shoes To Fill
1. QB Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma for Jalen Hurts
2. LB Brian Asamoah, Oklahoma for Kenneth Murray
3. LB Krishon Merriweather, Texas Tech for Jordyn Brooks
4. DE Gabe Hall, Baylor for James Lynch
5. WR Jake Smith, Texas for Devin Duvernay
NEXT: One Honest Thought On Each Big 12 Team
1. One Honest Thought On Each Big 12 Team
Click on each team for the preview and 5 things to know
Baylor
It’s not that Baylor is going to be significantly worse than last year without head coach Matt Rhule and with a few of the key parts done, but it’s more about the rest of the Big 12 being a tad stronger. The Bears made a lot of their own breaks, but it’s a far more even conference.
Iowa State
Is Brock Purdy the best quarterback in the Big 12? The pro scouts think so at the moment, but the Cyclones are more than their veteran passer. This is a loaded team full of excellent veterans across the board – this might be Matt Campbell’s best defense.
Kansas
What can the Jayhawks do right in the second year under Les Miles? They’re significantly worse than the other nine teams in the league – at least that’s how they look going into the season – but as long as they can create an identity to build around for 2021, it’ll be a decent step. (By the way, that’s all a nice way of saying the team has to find anything positive it can get.)
Kansas State
Call this the fall-through-the-cracks team. There might not be anything too amazing about the Wildcats, but they’re rock-solid across the board with a good veteran quarterback in Skylar Thompson and a strong secondary. That’s enough to win with in the Big 12.
Oklahoma
Don’t fall for the idea that the Sooners are going to slip just because Spencer Rattler isn’t Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray or Jalen Hurts quite yet. The lines are the best in the Big 12 by far, and the rest of the skill parts are once again fantastic.
Oklahoma State
Oh this will be fun. The Cowboys have a decent-looking defensive back seven, but they’re going to be about the firepower from their great group of skill parts. It’s going to take 35 points just to get into the discussion with them.
TCU
It’s time to fix the glitches. Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs don’t have two straight mediocre seasons – until they just did. The 2019 team lost six games by a touchdown or less – it’s time for the defense to be back to the normal form under Patterson.
Texas
Texas is allowed to lose to Oklahoma, and that’s it. There’s too much overall talent to have a brain-cramp like last year’s 37-27 loss at TCU. There’s absolutely no excuse – outside of any potential real-world health issues – to finish with five losses again.
Texas Tech
Matt Wells got the offense going in his first season, and he’s got the passing game parts to have an even more explosive 2020. The hidden gem, though, might be the special teams that should be right there with Oklahoma’s as the Big 12’s best.
West Virginia
How good will the offensive line be? The defensive front is great and there should be a whole lot more from the passing game and offense as a whole, but it all has to start from the line that’s missing a sure-thing star.
2020 Big 12 Team Previews, 5 Things To Know
Baylor | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State
Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | TCU | Texas
Texas Tech | West Virginia
CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
