The Big 12 has our preseason #1, the Oklahoma Sooners. It’s been a long offseason for the Sooners after another blowout postseason loss to Clemson. Bob Stoops has to be wearing out his team with reminders over that but he’ll like what he sees in our 2016 Big 12 football predictions.
Baylor dominated the offseason news with controversy that led to Art Briles being dismissed as head coach. How do they respond?
In our Big 12 football predictions, we see seven of the league’s 10 teams going bowling. It should be the another good year for Big 12 football.
2016 Predicted Records and Standings for Big 12 Football:
| RANK | BIG XII | W | L | CONF W | CONF L |
| 1 | Oklahoma Sooners | 12 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 10 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| 12 | TCU Horned Frogs | 10 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| 21 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 9 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 49 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 80 | Kansas State Wildcats | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| 29 | Baylor Bears | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| 52 | Texas Longhorns | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| 84 | Iowa State Cyclones | 4 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| 125 | Kansas Jayhawks | 1 | 11 | 0 | 9 |
2016 Big 12 Football Preview
1. Oklahoma Sooners – With Baker Mayfield and Samaje Perine back, the Sooners offense should again put up big numbers. The questions will be on defense as their top playmakers on that side of the ball are gone. Who steps up to leader the OU defense this season? They’re the class of the Big 12 again and we predict an undefeated season for the Sooners.
2. Oklahoma State Cowboys – Three straight losses to end last season, after 10 wins to start, showed the Cowboys aren’t quite ready for primetime. They were blown out by Oklahoma and Ole Miss so they’ve had all offseason to deal with the disappointment of coming up short in the biggest games. With sixteen starters back, the Cowboys should again be a double digit win team. Will the defense step up and not make the offense win shootouts seemingly every week? That’s the key to the 2016 season.
3. TCU Horned Frogs – Nearly an entire offensive team will be replaced in 2016 for TCU. Texas A&M QB transfer, Kenny Hill, looks to take over the offense and keep things rolling for the Horned Frogs. They come off an epic bowl comeback win that should have kept the Horned Frogs optimistic for 2016. The defense will be solid as always under Gary Patterson. Who makes plays for the offense? If they can score like they did in 2015, they’re Big 12 contenders.
4. West Virginia Mountaineers – Again for West Virginia, the defense is the concern heading into the season. Three starters are back from a unit that played well at times last season. They’re probably going to have to win on offense again this season. A favorable schedule gives them potential at easily making a bowl and finishing in the top half of the Big 12.
5. Texas Tech Red Raiders – The Red Raiders had a frustrating 2015. They had outstanding offense and dismal defense. Giving up nearly 44 points a game, the Red Raiders had to light up the scoreboard to get bowl eligible. The schedule gives them big games at home but can the defense keep them in games against the top tier of the Big 12?
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6. Kansas State Wildcats – Bill Snyder has taken criticism throughout his career for a Charmin soft non-conference schedule. He’s upgraded it this year, at least in week 1 as he takes his Wildcats to Stanford. With single digit starters coming back from a losing season, fans are cautious about 2016. He’s got to find playmakers. He’s always found them in the past but they were lacking last season.
7. Baylor Bears – Baylor is easily the most difficult team to predict in 2016. Scandal rocked the program and forced Art Briles out and Jim Grobe in just a few months before the season kicks off. Will this team be motivated? Are they focused? They have the talent to win double digit games but so many questions surround this team. It will be a lost season for the Bears.
8. Texas Longhorns – Charlie Strong needs to win this season or he’s out. They open with Notre Dame in Austin. A win there can cool down the critics for at least a few weeks. A change on offense should be a major upgrade since things can’t get much worse than last year’s . A freshman at QB could make for a rocky start for the Longhorns.
9. Iowa State Cyclones – New coach Matt Campbell is focused on running the football. That will be tough for a team that finds itself down in a lot of games against explosive Big 12 competition. The defense returns eight starters but ranked 107th nationally in 2015. It must make a drastic improvement for the Cyclones to go to a bowl.
10. Kansas Jayhawks – What can you say about the Jayhawks 2015 season? One letter is all you need to describe it, L. 12 games. 12 losses. Most weren’t close either. We predict the Jayhawks beat FCS Rhode Island week 1, but is followed by 11 straight losses.
Get bowl projections, preseason All-Americans and more in our 2016 College Football Preview. 
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