In some ways its quite the miracle that this conference is still standing. After the shotgun wedding of four Texas based schools with the Big 8 conference brought forth the Big XII. With several schools seeking their own collective good instead of the betterment of the entire conference, cracks and strain began to show. Add into the mix an incompetent commissioner and the recipe for change was complete. First Nebraska, then Colorado left; this past year Missouri and Texas A&M chose to follow another path. While the attrition has been stemmed by adding TCU and West Virginia, the Big XII is a ten team conference without a title game.

Big XII – projected order of finish

Oklahoma – The Sooners should be the class of the conference. A couple of let downs cost the Sooners a big time season last year and with the returning talent Oklahoma may contend for national spotlight time. Landry Jones is a solid NFL prospect and will lead the Sooners to the Big XII title.

West Virginia – One of two newcomers to the conference. WVU was a bit of a mild surprise to be added to the conference and does not seem to be a fit philosophically nor geographically, but stranger things have happened. Barring a letdown loss along the way the meeting with the Sooners should decide the conference champion.

Texas – The Longhorns seem to have most of the tools in place for a solid season. The one tool that seems to be lacking is quarterback. If the horns can get average play at that position they could be tough to handle along the way.

TCU – The Horned Frogs return to join former SWC expats. This was a great addition to the Big XII. TCU runs a clean program and coach Gary Patterson seems to be a class individual. He has turned down several opportunities to move to a larger program, but he has stayed at TCU to build it into his program. It is a bit of a down year for the Frogs, but if things go right for them they could very well surprise teams along the way.

Oklahoma State – The Cowboys lost a lot of talent to the NFL; gone are Brandon Wheedon and Justin Blackmon. While the defense returns most of its unit, if the offense stumbles repeatedly, the defense will tire.

Texas Tech – The Red Raiders will be a middle of the pack team, but this will be a critical year for the future of Tommy Tuberville. If the program takes a step back, Tuberville may be asked to move along, but with a couple of upsets and steps in the right direction could let the Red Raiders be in the conference hunt in the next two years.

Kansas State – The Wildcats were a good team last season, but they were also helped by being a little bit lucky as well. Playing in 9 games that were decided by a touchdown or less the Wildcats were 8-1. A different bounce here or there could have resulted in a 7-6 season. KSU does have Bill Snyder on the sidelines; with him there the Wildcats can never be counted out.

Baylor – The Bears were relevant for the first time in recent memory. While they will miss Robert Griffin III, this team can contend if their defense is not an absolute disaster. Art Briles is a solid coach and the Baylor offense will put up numbers.

Iowa State – The Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads has managed to stay almost .500 with very little talent. Iowa State lost a lot of players from last season, but this is most likely the best talented team that Rhoads has had during his tenure in Ames.

Kansas – The Jayhawks hired Charlie Weis as the head coach last year. The program and Weis are an interesting match, both have no where to go but up. This is probably the last stop for Weis to be in charge of a D-1 program.

Oklahoma wins the conference title outright.