2019 Big 12 predictions

Texas 11-1 (Big 12 8-1)

Biggest win of the season

Oklahoma

Worst loss of the season

Oklahoma State

Reason for prediction

As usual, Texas is going into the season with tons of hype. The hopes of a Big 12 championship and a playoff appearance is a real possibility. If you look at their schedule, their biggest games of the season come at the beginning of the season. LSU, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Oklahoma are in the first six games of the season. If Texas can beat LSU, you would think that momentum would carry over for the rest of the season. After a cupcake game against Rice, Texas will open the conference season against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are Texas’ bogey team and seem to always have their number. Especially in Austin. Oklahoma State has won in Austin five times in a row and beaten Texas in seven out of the last 10. If they’re able to pull off the upset, Texas should be able to go into their bye week with motivation and roll through the rest of their schedule. The game against Oklahoma and road tests against Iowa State and TCU will challenge the Longhorns, but they are good enough to get into the Big 12 championship game as regular season champions.

Oklahoma 11-1 (Big 12 8-1)

Biggest win of the season

Oklahoma State

Worst loss of the season

Texas

Reason for prediction

Oklahoma comes into the season as the national favorite and they have every right to be the favorite. Them and Texas are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. Jalen Hurts from Alabama will be replacing Heisman quarterback Kyler Murray and has the possibility of picking up where it left off last season. The entire season for the Sooners comes down to the matchup versus the Longhorns in Dallas. Nobody wants to lose to their arch rivals, but Texas’ offense will be too much for a weak Oklahoma defense to handle. Besides Texas, not many teams should challenge the Sooners. If Hurts can have the Oklahoma offense just as good as they were with Murray and Mayfield, they will be playing in the Big 12 Championship game.

Iowa State 9-3 (7-2 Big 12)

Biggest win of the season

TCU

Worst loss of the season

Texas

Reason for prediction

The Cyclones are going to contend for an appearance in the Big 12 championship this year. Returning quarterback Brock Purdy and NFL wanted head coach Matt Campbell will have the Cyclone offense playing really well. Coming off a season where they went 8-5, the Cyclones will be looking to improve on that record. They should be able to do that, as they look like the third best team in the conference. Listing Texas as the worst loss of the season seems harsh, as Texas could possibly win the Big 12. The game that will decide if they finish third or fourth will be TCU at home. TCU beat the Cyclones in Fort Worth last season and revenge could be on the cards. Either way, it will be a good season for the Cyclones as they continue to build a winning program around Matt Campbell.

TCU 9-3 (6-3 in Big 12)

Biggest win of the season

Oklahoma State

Worst loss of the season

Iowa State

Reason for prediction

When was the last time Gary Patterson strung together two losing seasons? Never. TCU will be rebound and ready to compete with the big boys of the Big 12. While last year may of been a fluke due to injuries, they get back a lot of important pieces. Even though they were down last season, the Horned Frogs still had the best defense in the conference. Anything besides that in 2019 will be a disappointment. Nearly all of the defense return from last season, some due to injury, will be ready to dominate. While a starting quarterback or running back have not been named, the offensive line and receiving core are experienced and due for huge breakouts. Watch out for TCU to possibly scare the likes of Texas and Oklahoma and even maybe pull of an upset or two.

Oklahoma State 8-4 (Big 12 5-4)

Biggest win of the season

Texas

Worst loss of the season

TCU

Reason for prediction

Oklahoma State is the team I predict to possibly cause chaos for the 2019 season. The Cowboys beat the Longhorns last season and were a botched two point conversion from beating in state rival Oklahoma on the road. There is a lot to like about this year's team. They have one of the best receiving corps in the nation, let alone the Big 12. Tylan Wallace was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in 2018 with 1491 yards and 12 touchdowns. Tryon Johnson is going into his senior year with the Cowboys and averaged nearly 16 yards per reception last year. Their defense was iffy at times last year, but so are most team’s defenses in the conference. The Cowboys should be able to improve from 7-6 last season and surprise a lot of people.

Baylor 7-5 (Big 12 4-5)

Biggest win of the season

Texas Tech

Worst loss of the season

Oklahoma State

Reason for prediction

Baylor has a really good chance to push for eight or nine wins. Their schedule is one of the easiest in the country and are another one of those teams could be looking to upset Texas and Oklahoma this year. Not only is their schedule favorable, but they return a lot of their top talent. Charlie Brewer threw for 3,000 yards last season and will be able to put up some big time numbers against some of these Big 12 defenses. Despite some of this hype, Baylor still has some tough obstacles to overcome. Even though both are at home, playing Texas and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks is nothing anybody in the conference wants. Road games in Stillwater and Fort Worth will determine if the Bears are near the top of the Big 12.

Texas Tech 6-6 (Big 12 3-6)

Biggest win of the season

West Virginia

Worst loss of the season

Oklahoma State

Reason for prediction

With new head coach Matt Wells from Utah State, Texas Tech is going to be the same usual Texas Tech in the first season since Kliff Kingsbury, some offense, but not a lot of defense. The Red Raiders allowed nearly 30 points a game last season and will be looking to improve a little. As for the offensive side of the ball, Tech will return their quarterback Alex Bowman. No running back on the roster had more than 341 yards. That must improve if the Red Raiders want to have a better record than 2018’s 5-7. One of the keys to that will be when they visit Morgantown and face the Mountaineers. Texas Tech has not beaten WVU since 2013 and could be one of the deciders if they are bowl eligible at the end of the season. This, like most of the teams at the bottom of the conference, will be a building year for the Red Raiders.

Kansas 4-8 (Big 12 2-7)

Biggest win of the season

Kansas State

Worst loss of the season

Texas Tech

Reason for prediction

Les Miles is back and the Kansas football hype has not been this high since 2007 or 2008. A coach with the pedigree of Les Miles will bring a hype to any program, no matter how bad they have been in the past. Pooka Williams is going to be the key to this Kansas football team once again. While there is some controversy around him name, he is still a 1,100+ yard returning weapon that the Jayhawks will be ready to unleash him. They lose a lot of other production, but the lower half of the conference almost gets worse as well. With Kansas State, West Virginia, and Texas Tech at home and easy non-conference opponents of Indiana State and Coastal Carolina, Kansas could be on track for their first four win season since 2009.

Kansas State 3-9 (Big 12 1-8)

Biggest win of the season

West Virginia

Worst loss of the season

Kansas

Reason for prediction

Like many other teams, Kansas State has hired a new head coach and do not have that big of expectations coming into 2019. Hiring Chris Klienman from North Dakota State, the Wildcats are heading in the right direction. Winning four national championships at North Dakota State, Klienman knows how to build a successful program. As for this season, it will be a rough one. Their three wins from last season against the bottom of the league were all at home. Getting Kansas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State on the road makes the schedule that much harder. They return a lot of their production, but other teams within the conference will improve as well. This season does not mean much for the Wildcats, it is all about the future.

West Virginia 2-10 (Big 12 0-9)

Biggest win of the season

Any they can get

Worst loss of the season

Kansas

Reason for prediction

West Virginia is one of the hardest teams to predict in the Big 12. They could go 0-9 like predicted here, or they could muster their way to an average season. Not only are they losing WIll Grier, David Sills, Garry Jennings, and a few starters on defense, but they lost their head coach Dana Holgerson to Houston. Insert Neal Brown and 10 new assistants and there are too many question marks for the Mountaineers. Austin Kendall transfers from Oklahoma and Neal Brown has proven himself at Troy. He will be able to turn the program around, but this year will not be anywhere near a successful one for West Virginia.

Big 12 Championship game

Oklahoma over Texas

Beating Oklahoma once in a season is hard enough. Doing it twice? Not happening. Just like last season, Oklahoma will be the team that will emerge from the Big 12 when it comes to College Football playoff talk. The conversation will then shift to ‘Can Oklahoma get over the semi-final hump?’ and ‘How does Texas push into the College Football Playoff?’ While these Texas-Oklahoma games do not have the same appeal at AT&T Stadium as they do in the Cotton Bowl, but they will still be classics.