Big 12 Football Predictions 2011: 12 Bold Predictions

With the 2011 college football season just days away, how about a few predictions for the Big 12 beyond the records and preseason bowl projections?

There's a lot happening in America's heartland, and this edition of Big 12 football could be the most dramatic yet. We gear up with the storylines you'll want to follow as the gridiron action gets under way.

12. Iowa State, Baylor Will Continue to Make Noise

These two Big 12 cellar-dwellers made their case for respect last season. Generally, their dates on opponents' schedules are noted with a chuckle and a confident assumption of victory. But in the new nine-game league format, no one should be overlooking these wild cards.

Iowa State knocked off both Texas Tech and Texas last season, and the Cyclones absolutely shattered the Longhorns' confidence with a win in Austin.

Baylor won four of its first five Big 12 games in 2010 and qualified for a bowl (a BOWL—Baylor!) with a 7-2 start.

11. The Big 12 Will Miss Nebraska

Sure, a lot of folks are grateful to see those cocky Big Red fans wearing out their welcome in another conference home, but the Cornhuskers have a right to be pumped for their inaugural run through the Big Ten.

A bevy of prognosticators have Nebraska already penciled in for the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis.

If Nebraska experiences this kind of success—or anything close to it—Big 12 fans will revel in a quiet enjoyment that comes with seeing what would have been their own league's second-, third- or fourth-best team bust heads in their new digs.

10. The Big 12 Will Miss Colorado

Poor Colorado. A coaching change amid a conference change brings ill tidings for the Buffaloes. To highlight the tough road in the Pac-12, look no further than Colorado's Oct. 15 homecoming matchup—against Oregon. Sheesh.

The Big 12 could have used another punching bag this season to pad those league records in qualifying as many teams as possible for the postseason. Fortunately for those seeking victories, Kansas is still on every Big 12 team's schedule.

9. Kansas State Will Finish in the Top Four of the Big 12 Standings

The Wildcats' resurgence will hit its stride this season. There is talent and depth in Manhattan that has been lacking the past two seasons as Bill Snyder re-stocked K-State's bare cupboards.

A key part of Kansas State's success will be a fortuitous conference slate that features five Big 12 home games, including matchups with Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

Hey, if you've got to play everyone, it's best to get the big ones at home.

8. The Tommy Tuberville Project Will Gain Consistency at Texas Tech

Texas Tech went through a schizophrenic 8-5 transition last season as head coach Tommy Tuberville dealt with a system and a roster he'd inherited from his predecessor, Mike Leach.

Whether to commit to the run or let loose an aerial barrage became a recurring conundrum, as did whether the Red Raiders should stress a defensive mindset at the expense of taking chances offensively.

Tuberville's players are now beginning to appear on the field – and he's got some good ones. Their ability to thrive in Texas Tech's new brand of football will encourage others, both holdovers from the Leach era and Tuberville's recent imports to Lubbock.

7. Landry Jones Is a Heisman Favorite, but Robert Griffin Will Be Feared

Oklahoma's Landry Jones is a talented quarterback who plays well in a system littered with stellar athletes up and down the roster. Baylor's Robert Griffin plays well despite his supporting cast.

The guy is spectacular. Remember, Griffin threw for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another after blowing out his knee in the Bears' third game of the 2009 season.

The most important player on head coach Art Briles' team is what opposing coaches call "special" —code for "I wish I had him on my team because playing against him keeps me up at night."

The Big 12 Will Feature Three of the Top Four Heisman Trophy Vote-Getters

The Big 12 is packed with dynamic playmakers, any of whom could put up the stats and highlights to impact the Heisman Trophy race.

Oklahoma QB Landry Jones is a preseason favorite, but fellow quarterbacks Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State and Robert Griffin of Baylor are also deserving of early consideration. Receivers Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma) and Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State, fifth in Heisman voting last season) will continue to pulverize record books, and Cyrus Gray (Texas A&M) is the league's top returning running back.

Such an event last occurred for the Big 12 in 2008 when Oklahoma's Sam Bradford took home the Heisman, with Texas' Colt McCoy and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell finishing second and fourth, respectively. Tech's Michael Crabtree finished fifth.

5. Texas A&M vs. the World

The Aggies' overt flirtation with the SEC has put a Texas-sized target on head coach Mike Sherman's team, especially since College Station's unhappiness with the Big 12 became public knowledge on the eve of football season.

Luckily for Texas A&M, it secured five league matchups at home, including dates with Oklahoma State, Missouri and Texas.

Expectations are high for the Aggies this season after a 9-4 campaign in 2010. (Ironically, two of those losses were suffered against SEC opponents, Arkansas and LSU.) But A&M administrators did the football team no favors airing their desire for a new conference home.

4. Missouri Will Contend for a Big 12 Title

The Tigers cleared a huge mental hurdle with last season's upset of then-BCS No. 1 Oklahoma in Columbia. Even though they dropped the next two games to take themselves out of the national title hunt, it was confirmation that Gary Pinkel and Missouri were contenders in a restructured Big 12.

This season, Mizzou must make its case on the road, traveling to Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Baylor. Seventeen returning starters will provide critical experience for the Tigers in their quest for that elusive BCS berth.

3. Mack Brown Is Coaching His Last Season in Austin

Last year was an embarrassment for the Texas Longhorns, and there was no shortage of rolling heads as a result.

Head coach Mack Brown has new coordinators on both sides of the ball, an intensifying battle for the starting quarterback job, along with some fallout from his decision to name Garrett Gilbert the starter.

With all these pieces in motion, it's unlikely that Brown can achieve what's expected among the burnt orange faithful. And would even the Holiday Bowl or the Meineke Car Care Bowl satiate a school that became the first in the nation to launch a network to showcase its own perceived greatness?

2. No Big 12 Team Will Survive in the BCS National Title Hunt

Overhauling the Big 12's schedule to accommodate all 10 teams has created a gridiron minefield for each member. Just one team emerging from its gauntlet undefeated would border on the miraculous.

In addition, the conference will suffer from its lack of a championship game. That late-season showdown, presumably between two highly ranked foes, would provide a BCS boost to the victor.

Instead, the Big 12 is more likely to consume itself in a nine-game conference slate, though a pair of BCS bids is not out of the question.

1. The Big 12 Is Entering Its Last Football Season

The renewed chatter of conference realignment has quieted somewhat, but that should be alarming more than anything else. Texas A&M has been given free reign by its board of regents to pursue other options.

When the Aggies depart, it's curtains for the Big 12, and the era of the football superconference will dawn. Texas will not allow itself to be embarrassed for a third time after being jilted first by Nebraska and then by rival A&M. The Longhorns will ply their wares in an enlarged SEC or Pac-12, or strike out as an independent, while the other members look for soft landings elsewhere.