2021-2022 CFB Big 12 preview part 1: Key players, schedule, predictions
2021-2022 Big 12 preview part 1
The Big 12 Conference is one of the more lopsided ones in college football. The conference is ruled by the Oklahoma Sooners, who don't seem to ever run out of Heisman-worthy quarterbacks. Most conferences have several teams that could battle the best in the NCAA, but the Big 12 seems to just have the "Big 1" in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma hasn't always been the best team in the Big 12 but it has been reigning supreme for the last decade. They have won a conference-best 14 Big 12 championships and have been a featured team in the College Football Playoffs since it was introduced.
Don't let the name fool you, as the Big 12 consists of 10 teams.
- Baylor Bears
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Texas Longhorns
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- West Virginia Mountaineers
Oklahoma is once again the favorite to win the Big 12 title and secure a spot in the playoffs. They have won the last six Big 12 championships. Unlike other conference champions, their path to glory will be mostly untested, if history is anything to go by. The Iowa State Cyclones, though, have been a thorn in Oklahoma's side during their sudden rise.
The Texas Longhorns have the second-most Big 12 titles with just three, dating back to 2009. Other than Oklahoma, Texas is the only current Big 12 team to win a national championship since the BCS was introduced in 1998.
Iowa State had its best season in program history in 2020 but is one of four Big 12 teams without a Big 12 title, the rest being Kansas, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
With COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, colleges are allowing fans back into the stadiums and college football will soon return to normalcy.
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will reignite the Bedlam Series rivalry. Texas Tech and TCU will battle it out in one of the most engaging rivalries in the Big 12. The Governor's Cup will be awarded to the winner of Kansas and Kansas State.
Here's our Big 12 conference preview, starting with the first five teams.