The Big 12 is going to be one of the hardest conferences to predict this fall. The conference adds BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston this fall. All of the schools have found success but are also in transitions at the same time. The rest of the conference has question marks as well. TCU made the National Championship while Texas and Oklahoma failed to make the Big 12 Championship. Kansas State quietly won the conference and schools such as Texas Tech and Kansas showed real promise. We have three more futures with lines provided by FanDuel. As a reminder, I am not a gambling expert and this is not gambling advice.
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West Virginia: Under 5.5 Wins – How Neal Brown is still the head coach at West Virginia is a major question to me. The offense will need to rely on the run game as the passing offense will have limitations. Garrett Greene is expected to lead West Virginia at quarterback this fall. Greene played in eight games last fall attempting 73 passes. He completed just 55% of his passes but was a dynamic runner rushing for 276 yards and five touchdowns. West Virginia’s defense could not stop anyone through the air last season. The passing defense ranked 111th allowing 263 yards per game. West Virginia brought a few transfers in to help the secondary but none to help significantly improve the team. West Virginia starts the season at Penn State which is a complete uphill battle. This is likely Neal Brown’s last season in Morgantown and they will not be going bowling this fall.
Kansas State: Over 7.5 Wins – Kansas State is an intriguing case heading into next season. Adrian Martinez was expected to be the starting quarterback last season but an injury forced Will Howard to step in and he completed the season. Kansas State ultimately won the Big 12 over TCU. Replacing Deuce Vaughn is the biggest priority for the Wildcats. Treshaun Ward transferred from Florida State and is the odds on favorite to fill the void left by Vaughn. Ward may not be as dynamic as Vaughn but should still provide a spark for the offense. The schedule is favorable for Kansas State this season with three winnable non-conference games against Southeast Missouri State, Troy and Missouri. Kansas State returns enough talent to contend for the Big 12 and will continue to fly under the radar. Eight wins is too easy for the Wildcats.
Kansas: Over 5.5 Wins – The Kansas Jayhawks were one of the best stories early in the season last year before catching the injury bug. Kansas started 5-0 on the back of quarterback Jalon Daniels who was one of the most exciting players in the country last September. The Jayhawks gave TCU a fight before falling just short and losing by seven points. Daniels is back and should have Kansas in a spot to once again be an exciting team. Kansas needed to address the defense after allowing more than 35 points per game last fall. The Jayhawks added seven players from the transfer portal on the defensive side of the ball alone. The schedule is not friendly to Kansas but there is enough talent on this team to make a bowl game. Give me over 5.5 wins for the Jayhawks this season.
