Big 12 Insider: Which Team Will Be the Best in 2012?

(Note: Nebraska will not be considered here because of its move to the Big 10)

Last year saw a little bit of a shift in power within the Big 12 Conference.  The Texas Longhorns, a team that had dominated the Big 12 for some time, took a fall and left the conference open for other teams to take advantage of.

To end the season in 2010, we saw that the Missouri Tigers ended up being the best team in the Big 12 North while the Oklahoma Sooners took the Big 12 South.  Overall, the Sooners ended up with the best record in the Big 12 last year and are poised to have a solid season once again.

Here are the records of each team in the Big 12 from last year (including Nebraska and Colorado).  Records are also displayed as overall records.

Big 12 North

Missouri (10-3)
Nebraska (10-4)
Kansas State (7-6)
Iowa State (5-7)
Colorado (5-7)
Kansas (3-9)

Big 12 South

Oklahoma (12-2)
Oklahoma State (11-2)
Texas A&M (9-4)
Baylor (7-6)
Texas Tech (8-5)
Texas (5-7)

So which of these teams is going to rise to the top of the new Big 12 next season?  If you listen to the experts they will tell you that the Sooners are the closest thing to what will be a Big 12 champion at the end of the 2011 season.  But they will have some competition.  Oklahoma State isn’t looking too bad and Texas is sure to come back and play much better than they did in 2010.  But is there a dark horse in this group?

One team that did look decent last year and could have an even better season this year is Texas A&M.  Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is back and will be the full time starter now that Jerrod Johnson is no longer in the mix.  The Aggies didn’t lose that much on both sides of the ball (although they did lose a great defender in Von Miller) and so they should be able to have a good season next year.

Another team that looks to make things interesting in the Big 12 is the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  The Cowboys had a good year last year and with ten offensive starters and six defensive starters coming back things will be interesting for them in 2011.  Quarterback Brandon Weeden, along with wide receiver Justin Blackmon, will help a strong offense compete and make things interesting next season.

There are a few other teams that have been part of the bottom of both the Big 12 North and Big 12 South that could have better seasons in 2011.  Two of these teams are Kansas State and Iowa State.  Both have struggled in recent seasons but played better last year and could make some strides again this season. 

Kansas State will bring back six starters on offense and eight on defense making it easier for it to keep some of that momentum from last year rolling forward into this season.  The will have a new quarterback at the helm in Collin Klein now that Carson Coffman is gone and will have to pick it up to have greater success in 2011.  It will also have to replace running back Daniel Thomas and may not quite know what they have to replace him until the season starts.

There are a lot of experts out there that feel that the Cyclones aren’t going to get anywhere in 2011 and if you study them closely, you might think the same thing.  But this team won some games last year and didn’t look as bad as their record might indicate.  They have some work to do, particularly on offense at the quarterback position where Jerome Tiller takes over for Austen Arnaud.

But the Cyclones could reach six or seven wins this season and get to a bowl game.

Finally, the biggest question heading into next season in the Big 12 is whether or not the Longhorns will be able to rise out of the ashes of last year’s 5-7 record and get back to their usual winning ways.  If seeing what they had done in spring drills is any indication then it would appear as if the Longhorns are going to be a much better team next year, especially on offense where they struggled in 2010.

There could easily be another team that rises up and makes things interesting in the Big 12 but for right now the teams mentioned above have the best chance of doing well in the Big 12 next season.