2006 Big 12 Football

Get more with our 2007 Big 12 Football Predictions!

Baylor was a big surprise last season, but they slipped down the stretch and weren’t able to earn a bowl bid. I expect much the same scenario this season for the Bears as their offense, which returns 8 starters including QB Shawn Bell and running backs Mosley and Whitaker, will remain strong, but there defense which returns just 4 will be exposed.

Oklahoma’s 2005-06 season was a role reversal of Baylor’s. They started slow and finished very strong. Much of their slow start can be attributed to Peterson’s health. When he finally got healthy, the Sooners were a tough egg to crack. He’ll likely be at 100% heading into this season, barring a fluke, and if that’s the case the Big 12 might want to get ready for Oklahoma to regain the leader board in the conference.

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Oklahoma State can improve on last season’s 1-7 conference record and drop the title of the Big 12’s lowest scoring team by simply holding on to the football. They gave it up a ridiculous 35 times last season. They have good weapons in place at receiver in D’Juan Woods and Adarius Bowman, but it won’t make any difference how good there skill players are in 06-07 if they can’t take care of the pigskin.

Can the Longhorns repeat without the nation’s top QB? They still have the talent in place to be one of the nation’s top teams. When you think of Texas traditionally, one tends to think about great rushers such as Ricky Williams. This season Texas will have one of the best receivers corps in the nation led by Billy Pittman and Jordan Shipley who may be the best receiver in the country who nobody knows about. The big question will be if redshirt freshman Colt McCoy or true freshman Jevan Snead can get them the ball. If so, the Longhorns will be back.

The Aggies were a disappointment a season ago and they will remain one until the defense can start holding up their end of the bargain. As long as running back Courtney Lewis can stay eligible the offense appears to be in tact. But the defense gave up 443.8 yards/game including a nation’s worst 304.6 through the air. We’ll see if the 2 new secondary coaches can make a difference for this struggling “D” this season.

It doesn’t seem to matter who the Texas Tech Red Raiders stick it at QB as the endless supply of athletic receivers that they keep bringing in makes these QB’s into All-Americans. You will hear plenty about last season’s leading receiver, with 1007 yards, Joel Filani as well as Robert Johnson and Jarrett Hicks. The loss of running back Taureen Hicks is a concern, but then again everyone knows that Texas Tech is going to split out 5 guys and air it out and they continue to be successful with that. I’m expecting somewhat of a down year, but this high powered offense will still win some big games in the Big 12.

Colorado should once again do well in the Big 12 North, but they will struggle against the South. This is not going to be a team which win pretty. Expect inconsistent QB play from Cox, White, or Jackson, whoever gets the job. I wouldn’t be surprised if early in the season, Coach Dan Hawkins splits up the time between 2 of these guys. Hawkins may be the offensive specialist from Boise State, but it will be Colorado’s defense which will be the more consistent side of the ball. It will be the defense that keeps the Buffs in nearly every game.

Iowa State returns 10 offensive starters so you can expect them to look like a well-oiled machine with Meyer under center. Their running game will improve from last season, but it still isn’t where it needs to be to compete with teams in the South. The lack of a running game will allow teams to sit on the pass. The Cyclones forced a Big 12 best 35 turnover last season, but they return just 4 starters on defense. Their defensive play will be crucial as to whether they can get back in position to take the North which so unsettlingly evaded them last season.

Why will Kansas make a push for the Big 12 North title this season? They will finally have some talent under center in QB Kerry Meier and they have a talented, experienced O-line to give him time to throw. What will the problem be? How ironic that they finally get a talented passer to man the offense and they lose 3 of their top 4 receivers. The Jayhawks also lose 9 starters from their 11th ranked defense in the nation.  I’m optimistic about this team and the talent they have to fill in the holes. They should be near the top of the North.

Kansas State returns 17 of 22 offensive and defensive starters so experience shouldn’t be an issue. But the question still remains if new coach Ron Prince can get this K-State squad back into the national spotlight. In fact, the Wildcats have just 4 conference wins since winning the Big 12 title in 2003. Honestly, it doesn’t look good for this season either. However, I think they’ll make some improvement although their record might not indicate it. They just don’t have a clear favorite to take over the QB position and the O-line is too soft. But simply hanging on to the football will help out both the offense and defense this season. 28 turnovers is way too many and the Wildcats were good at turning over in their own territory last season.

It seemed like Brad Smith was the Missouri QB for 10 seasons, but he’s finally gone after a stellar career and the Tigers are hoping Chase Daniel will be able to step right in and run the show. You can always hope, but rarely are star QB’s born over night, unless you play for Texas Tech and then it seems to happen every year. Brian Smith will again be a terror on the defensive side of the ball and he will look to improve on his 9 sacks while anchoring the defense. Missouri will depend on their defense to get their offense good field position as you shouldn’t expect to see too many quality scoring drives out of the Tigers.

Last but not least- the Big Red Machine. The Nebraska Cornhuskers appear to be back, and it’s not because of a dominant ground attack, it’s because of Zac Taylor’s precision passing. I’m expecting the Huskers to take the North, but if they want to compete with the South, they will have to improve their 107th nationally ranked rushing game. Their line should be better and Glenn and Lucky should be a nice tailback tandem to keep the defense honest. Nebraska should see some more of the national spotlight than they have in recent years.

If you want the up to date schedule, press releases, and news then visit the Big 12 conference football page.