2008 Big Twelve Prediction- South Division Preview

The Big 12 has always lived in the shadow of the SEC when it came to being the best conference in college football. They are ready to prove the world wrong this year. The powerhouses have re-loaded and have their eye on the BCS championship with some of the tough teams in the country in Texas and Oklahoma. Don’t sleep on the rest of the conference either as the Big 12 will prove this is the year they should be considered one of the elite conferences in the country.

Texas Longhorns: The Longhorns have been the victim of an up and down season in the past two years, losing to teams they should not have lost to. Colt McCoy needs to have an outstanding year and play up to his hype and have a better year than last year. The Horns brought in a new defensive coordinator to get the defense in line. This conference and perhaps even the championship will come down to the game against Oklahoma. Projected Finish: First in the South; 11-1

Oklahoma Sooners: Oklahoma has plenty to look forward to this year after winning the second straight title in the big twelve. The problem is they followed that up with a big loss in the bowl game where it seemed they didn’t even show up. Bob Stoops will have his team ready as he always does but getting by Texas may prove harder than it seems this year. The Sooners return eight starters on offense but just five on defense. That will lead to some growing pains and an up and coming Texas Tech will put the pressure on. Projected Finish: Second in the South; 10-2

Texas Tech Red Raiders: The Red Raiders have always been proud of their explosive offense and this year it will have the same look and feel it did last year. This is mainly because the high octane offense returns ten starters from last year’s squad. Outstanding wide out Michael Crabtree will be back again to lead the offense and this team has huge momentum coming into this game on a come from behind bowl win. This is the year they make noise in the big twelve. Projected Finish: Third in the South; 9-3

Oklahoma St. Cowboys: Last year the offense was handed over to Zac Robinson at quarterback and it paid huge dividends. He turned into a duel threat running and passing and he will be back to run the offense again this year. The area of improvement will have to be on defense as the Cowboys had problems stopping almost anyone on the field and return just six starters from last year which could be a good thing. Projected Finish: Fourth in the South; 8-4

Baylor Bears: Baylor has always had a tough time competing in the big twelve but this year may be a bit different. They are not going to win any crowns but they do return nine players on offense to include standout quarterback Blake Szymanski. They will do something they have not done in a long time and finish at .500! It’s a start! Projected Finish: Fifth in the South; 6-6

Texas A&M Aggies: The bottom fell out on the Aggies season last year and they ended up going into a free fall and losing their coach at the end of the season. The only highlight was beating Texas for the second year in a row, but don’t look for that to happen again. The team returns just five starters on both sides of the ball and this is a rebuilding year for the Aggies. Projected Finish: Last in the South; 3-9