Big 12 Football: Five bold predictions for this upcoming season

The college football season is always full of surprises and this year is poised to include some fantastic moments.

The Big 12 very well may be in its final year, after the two faces of the conference, Texas and Oklahoma, announced they will be leaving for greener pastures in the SEC.

It was certainly breaking news to fans across college football, but it was also news to the other eight teams in the Big 12, and reportedly one team in the SEC (you know the one).

With that being said, ESPN’s Football Power Index, which ranks how teams will finish the season using team strengths along with their offensive, defensive and special teams projected value, ranked the Big 12 as one of the best conferences in the nation. The rankings had six Big 12 teams in the top 35, and seven in the top 40, making it the second-toughest conference in the nation behind the SEC.

There are huge expectations for the conference as a whole, as Oklahoma has a great team that is hoping to get that first elusive playoff win, Iowa State is looking to show they are contenders and not pretenders, and Texas has a new coach in Steve Sarkisian that is expected to lead the team to the promised land.

Here are my five bold predictions for the upcoming football season.

Kansas will win three Big 12 games

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After the disaster of what was the Les Miles experience, the Jayhawks turned to Lance Leipold who is known for uplifting struggling programs. During his time at D-III school Wisconsin-Whitewater, he won a total of six championships. He also had great success at the University of Buffalo. The Jayhawks only averaged a little over 15 points per game last season, and were horrible on the offensive line. There have been reports out of Lawrence that the new strength program there has players making fantastic transformations, and looking much stronger. They also landed North Texas transfer Jason Bean, who is an elite dual-threat, who threw for 14 touchdowns in the seven games he started. I think it will be a new and improved program, that will no longer be the punching bag of the Big 12. I can see them stealing three wins in Big 12 play, which would be the first time they have had more than one since 2008. With the new coach and culture, it will be a refreshed program that will take a much needed positive step in the right direction.

TCU will win 2-of-3 games against Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa State

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The Horned Frogs are probably the most underrated team in the Big 12, and will likely be the source of some chaos in the upcoming season. If Max Duggan can take the next step, after posting an solid stat line of 10 touchdowns through the air and 10 on the ground, TCU will have a much better season. They will have experience at their skill positions, and on defense added a great transfer in T.J. Carter from Memphis that will bolster an already deep defensive unit. Last season was the first time in three years that their defense was not the top ranked in the conference. TCU has owned Texas for the past decade, so that could be one of the wins, but something about that last week matchup on national television against an Iowa State team that likely be in contention to make the Big 12 championship seems like something to look out for. Oklahoma is on a seven game win streak against TCU, and what better year to end that streak than when Oklahoma has their most well-rounded team and a legitimate chance to win it all. TCU has the opportunity to be a dark horse, and potentially make a Big 12 championship appearance if they handle business.

Iowa State will not make Big 12 championship

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A team that likes to play the underdog with "five-star culture but three-star players," is no longer that same program. Last season was the last time they would be able to be the underrated program that exceeded expectations, as they are now starting the season ranked at No. 8 by ESPN. The Cyclones are very much a boom or bust team, and their stretch of games in weeks 8-13 is extremely concerning as that is the gauntlet of the Big 12. They played each of those teams very closely last season, and all of those programs have improved for the most part. Iowa State starts off with Oklahoma State who they beat by three, at West Virginia who is expected to be much improved, Texas who they beat by three, at Texas Tech who is expecting a big season out of Oregon transfer Tyler Shough, at Oklahoma who is the best team in the Big 12 right now, and finally finish it off with a tough TCU game. This Iowa State team is returning seemingly everyone, and it reminds me of last year's Oklahoma State, or even better the Matt Barkley era at USC. It just seems that teams who try to run it back one more time always disappoint, and that tough six week stretch will determine their season.

Spencer Rattler and Bijan Robinson will both be Heisman finalists

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Spencer Rattler is looking to be the third Sooner quarterback to win the Heisman in the past five years, and is currently the favorite to win it. He was exceptional following his benching against Texas, and finished the season with 3,000 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions. Rattler is viewed by many as the best quarterback in the nation, and although lost a couple weapons, Oklahoma has guys like Jadon Haselewood, Denzel Mims, and Arkansas transfer Mike Woods that Rattler will enjoy torching opposing defenses with. Going based off history, the favorite at the beginning of the season is rarely the winner, which is where Bijan Robinson comes in. The running back averaged over 8 yards per carry as a freshman for over 700 yards and four touchdowns. He did this on just 86 carries, as Tom Herman held him back. Under Sarkisian, he will likely get over 200 carries as last season Najee Harris got 251 under Sarkisian. Robinson has shown the ability to make huge plays, and adding more than 160 more opportunities will surely lead to records being broken. I'm expecting record breaking performances from both players, and think they will be two of the Heisman finalists when it's all said and done.

Texas makes the Big 12 championship

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This might be the boldest of them all, but Texas' program seems to be heading in the right direction to do so. Now I'm not predicting they win the conference, but it seems very possible that with Sarkisian calling the plays on offense, there will be an electricity in Austin that has been missing since Colt McCoy left. Sarkisian is going to look to bring the success he had at Alabama to Texas, and honestly has the weapons at his disposal to be very productive. He wants the best players on the field at all times, and unlike Herman, will stick with the hot hand rather than pulling out playmakers for no reason. Although the offense experienced turnover in staff the past couple years, Herman was the constant, so this is their first real offensive system change. On the other hand, the defense experienced different coordinators and schemes every season. Pete Kwiatkowski's scheme is different, but the Longhorns defense has experience all over so they should be able to adapt quickly. Kwiatkowski is known for producing top ranked defenses, as his units often rank near the top in the nation. Given the Longhorns lost by a total of 13 points across three losses, having better play callers and more production on both sides of the ball should be vital in their success. They do have a tough schedule, but all of their games should be winnable.

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