With the official release of the first AP Top 25 of the 2022 season on Monday, the college football season has *unofficially* arrived. The Last Word staff has submitted their picks for the Big 12 in 2022. And if you have been following along, the results shouldn’t come as a big shock. And while football is the ultimate team sport, sometimes it takes an individual to bravely branch out. So, I stand (actually currently sitting) before you are ready to declare five Big 12 bold predictions for the upcoming season. We all know college football is too chaotic for chalk to hold serve across the sport. Knowing this, let’s get adventurous in the Big 12.
Big 12 BOLD Predictions
Nine Teams Will Go Bowling
Last season, seven of the ten Big 12 members got to play in an extra football game. Texas and TCU came just short with 5-7 records. The highest ranked Big 12 team in the initial AP poll was nine and only had three total teams in the top 25. Only half of the teams will have the same starting quarterback back from the 2021 season. Oh, have you heard? Oklahoma had its head coach voluntarily leave for another head coaching job in the collegiate ranks for the first time since 1940.
The Big 12 lacks a clear-cut best team in this league. Last year’s conference champions played in five one-score games, in which they went 4-1. Three random ball bounces in three games and the Baylor Bears could have gone 1-4 in those same games. With all teams in the conference possessing the ability to beat any Big 12 member (yes, even Kansas), expect a lot of fun close games and lots of records around .500 by season’s end.
Kansas Will Beat A Ranked Team This Season
Don’t ask me where or when it is happening, but it’s happening. In all seriousness, Kansas football might be the single-most beneficiary of a roster rule change. For the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years, the NCAA has lifted its scholarship limits per recruiting class. Schools are now allowed to sign as many players as it needs to reach the annual 85-scholarship limit. Kansas has yet to have a full roster of 85 scholarship players since Charlie Weis took over in 2010. The Jayhawks proved to be much tougher out in 2021. Now getting a chance to play with a full deck, Kansas will continue its rebuild and take down its first-ranked opponent since 2010 when they took down 15th-ranked Georgia Tech.
West Virginia Wins Backyard Brawl
Pitt hasn’t beat West Virginia since 2008. Of course, these teams haven’t actually played since 2011. But one of college football’s classic rivalries is back. Pitt is coming off its best season since 1981. West Virginia has been hovering around mediocrity ever since head coach Neal Brown took over in 2019. West Virginia has a very talented and very injury-prone transfer quarterback in JT Daniels. All signs point to Pitt starting the 2022 season on a high note. But this Thursday night affair, with the entire college football world watching, gets that first taste of chaos brewing for the 2022 season.
Two Big 12 Running Backs Make All-American Team
Which of the two running backs is the best is really in the eye of the beholder. But make no mistake; Bijan Robinson and Deuce Vaughn are two of the best offensive talents in all of college football. The Texas offense has periods where they looked unstoppable (ask Texas Tech). Year two under Steve Sarkisian means more continuity on the offense. As well as more potential for Robinson to post massive numbers. Vaughn has tormented Big 12 defenses for what feels like the last 15 years. With Adrian Martinez transferring in from Nebraska, the Kansas State Wildcats have become a trendy sleeper pick in the Big 12. If K-State pushes into the nine/ten win range, it means Vaughn will post numbers too good to be ignored by the voters.
Sarkisian Wins Big 12 Coach of the Year
In terms of Big 12 bold predictions, this one stares in the face of over a decade of underperformance. Not to mention, the head coach of the Texas Longhorns hasn’t won the award since 2009. However, with Robinson making the All-American team, Texas will find itself with an offense ranked in the top 15 nationally. Even with lingering struggles on defense, a Longhorn turnaround of eight or nine wins will whip up voters into a frenzy. And while it will feel like a banner year for the Longhorns with all of these accolades, it is worth noting Texas won’t be back if they can’t compete for a Big 12 title before departing to the SEC.
