(Big 12) West Virginia Mountaineers
The hottest seat in the Big 12 might belong to coach Dan Holgorsen who has not been able to get the Mountaineers to compete well in their new conference.
The hottest seat in the Big 12 might belong to coach Dan Holgorsen who has not been able to get the Mountaineers to compete well in their new conference.
The Cyclones are rarely a threat in the B12 and 2014 looks no different. What they are is a hard nosed physical football team that always plays with max effort. This year with some changes to the coaching staff they are hoping to the offense.
There is no doubt that Kansas is the worst program in the conference right now. They thought they were making a splashy hire with Charlie Weis but success hasn’t followed.
Their last year in the Mountain West TCU won 11 games. It took them two seasons to reach that total in the Big 12 as things have not gone all that smoothly for the Horned Frogs.
This season will really test what Mike Gundy has been building in Stillwater. In three of the last 4 season they have won 10 or more games but there is a lot of turnover this year so the question is whether they have been recruiting the kind of depth that will let them reload instead of rebuild.
Last year the Red Raiders wilted big time, losing their final 5 regular season games against the better teams in the league before a surprising win against Arizona State.
It is time for a reset down in Austin. There were definitely some good times for Mack Brown but is seems like things got a little stale so in come Charlie Strong to rattle some cages.
The Wildcats fell a notch or two last season but still finished at 8-5, pretty impressive given they lost the best player in program history in Collin Klein at QB.
Oklahoma is thinking big this season and they should be. Last year finished on a high note, Trevor Knight is looking like the answer at QB and a top 25 defense should finish in the top 10 this season. Most important of all they have a great schedule to go a perfect 12-0 and grab a spot in the playoffs this season.
The fans in and Waco have to be wondering just how long the Bears can keep up this level of success. Fueled by an awesome offense they have been on a real good run the last few seasons and it should continue for at least one more. QB Bryce Petty is back and he has more than enough weapons to put up more Nintendo numbers.
Baylor Bears
Head Coach: Art Briles
2013 Record: 11-2
Gambling Odds to win National Championship: 28/1
Gambling Odds to win (B12): 5/2
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The defense won’t keep them from winning 10 or more games so they will be in the hunt.
There are only 6 returning starters but there is little reason to think the Bears will not be as explosive as they have been the past few seasons. Bryce Petty is back and so are three receivers, led by Antwan Goodley who burst on the scene as a junior with more than 1300 yards and 13 TDs.
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This year it will be Shock Linwood’s turn to tote the rock. Like Lache Seastrunk before him Linwood is strong and fast and as a freshman he averaged almost 7 yards per carry.
The Bears are committed to running the ball and he could easily double his 800+ yards from a year ago. He is on the preseason All B12 team.
The Bears may not use him as much as other teams but senior punter Spencer Roth is considered the best in the conference. Their defense may not be as strong as it was the season before so they are going to need him to pin down opponents in those rare occurrences when the offense stalls.
The Bears gave up just 24ppg last season outscoring opponents by nearly 30 points per game. This season only three starters return on defense, testing the depth of the program big time. Linebacker Bryce Hager is going to have to inspire a very young defense to back the offense up to win.
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This is going to be an awfully young team this season. 9 sophomores are expected to start including 4 in the back seven of the defense. As good as coach Art Briles is if he can keep the Bears on their lofty perch he may have done his best coaching job yet with this group.
The key will be using the early part of the season to build confidence.
Their schedule is not very kind this season and could be their undoing. They have to travel to both Norman and Austin this year and their lone regular season loss a year ago was on the road.
They have good leadership but beating both of those teams to capture a title is probably too much to expect from this group.
Gambling Prediction: 10-2
The Bears are not going to fade away just yet.
They should be 4-0 when they venture into Austin but as the third road game in a row I think they will fall just short – which might be a spot to play the Longhorns if they are not the favourite. Look for a massive rebound performance in their shiny new digs against TCU who they play well against.
Against Oklahoma they will likely lose again but it will be close thanks to their offense and some conservative play calling by Big Game Bob.
There is profound enthusiasm over the announcement of Kliff Kingsbury taking the reins as head coach in Lubbock, as Kingsbury is a former record-shattering Tech pivot himself. Undoubtedly, this move has fired up the Red Raiders’ fan base.
Lawrence, Kansas is the home to the University of Kansas, whose reputation is unquestionably as a basketball powerhouse. Year in and year out, it tends to stay that way.
The Cyclones hope to stake improvement on a blue-collar offensive line and an effective running game. Starting RB James White must bounce back from injury, but he brings veteran experience.
Baylor head coach Art Briles has a fantastic pedigree developing signal-callers, but it’s the running backs in Waco that have everyone talking. The duo of Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin might just be the best in America.
There’s no doubt that Kansas State has some talented players sprinkled on its roster. There is also no doubt that aging head coach Bill Snyder deserves all the credit in the world, as he has more than once made this program contend nationally – at a football school that could well be a Bowl Subdivision team (or worse) – without him.
The departure of longtime starting QB Geno Smith signals the departure of a gifted passer and a gifted athlete who put up some mind-numbing statistics. Moreover, it’s not just Smith who says goodbye to Morgantown for the greener pastures of the NFL.