Oklahoma State Football: 5 Predictions for the Cowboys' 2012 Season

The college football season is officially over. Never too early for some predictions for next season, right?

The Oklahoma State Cowboys will be coming off the greatest football season in school history next year, after going 12-1 and winning the Big 12 title for the first time in their history. Big questions for the program will also be carried over into next season.

Who will start at quarterback? Will the ground attack take more of a priority? Who will step up to take Justin Blackmon's place? Will the defense continue to improve?

Here are five predictions for the Cowboys' 2012 season.

Clint Chelf Starts at Quarterback

With redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh and incoming freshman Wes Lunt both highly touted quarterback prospects, many fans have forgotten about Clint Chelf, who backed up starter Brandon Weeden this season.

Despite the excitement about the younger guys, Chelf will be the starter next season. Chelf didn't get much playing time this season, but he did complete 20-of-30 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns.

He'll know the offense the best of the three, and that will be what decides the battle for the starting position.

Joseph Randle Rushes for 1,500 Yards

In his first season as the starter, Joseph Randle proved himself to be an absolute beast.

The sophomore rushed for 1,216 yards and 24 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per rush. Randle was a big part of why the Cowboys weren't just another finesse passing team.

Next season, he'll get even more carries as the Cowboys lose experience at the quarterback and receiver positions. He's a big, powerful runner, and he'll use the extra carries to eclipse the 1,500-yard mark.

Justin Blackmon Is Replaced by Committee

The Cowboys are losing Justin Blackmon this season to the NFL. If that wasn't a big enough loss, they'll also be losing Hubert Aniyam and Josh Cooper, who are probably their second-and third-best wide receivers.

Expect the catches to be even more spread out next season, as the Cowboys have a bevy of young wide receivers ready to step up including Michael Harrison, Josh Stewart, Isaiah Anderson and more.

Tracey Moore is a veteran who will also be returning as an inside receiver. The two guys to watch will be Harrison and Stewart in particular, as both are extremely athletic and have good hands.

The Defense Will Improve

Oklahoma State is losing some key pieces of the best turnover-forcing defense in the nation.

Safety Markelle Martin and defensive ends Richetti Jones and Jamie Blatnick were all huge in the Cowboys' Big 12 title run. The good thing is that the rest of the defense will remain in tact.

The interior defensive linemen such as Christian Littlehead and Nigel Nicholas will be back, along with linebackers Alex Elkins, Caleb Lavy and Shaun Lewis.

The Cowboy secondary was very good this year, ranking in the top 20 in the nation in defensive pass efficiency. Martin is the only player they'll lose from that group, with corners Brodrick Brown, Justin Gilbert and Devin Hedgepeth, as well as safeties Johnny Thomas and Dawtawion Lowe all returning.

This defense will improve next season as young guys become more experienced.

Oklahoma State Wins Nine Games...at Least

There won't be a big drop-off in wins this next season.

It will be a bit of a rebuilding year per say, but they'll still be a contender for the Big 12 title. This program used to hope for nine wins; now, nine wins is a rebuilding year.

The schedule for next season is much easier than this year's was, with Texas being at home and the lone tough road game being at Oklahoma.

This program is on top, and it doesn't look like they'll be falling far anytime soon.