BIG 12 ROUNDUP

(Editor’s note: Your intrepid Big12 beat correspondent was delinquent in turning in his conference preview, claiming he was “busy” (yeah, right). As such, I've changed his title from "Preview" to simply "Roundup", and his pay was docked for the missed assignment. He turned in the following piece of work (or piece of something else) to try to make up for it. Rest assured, in response he received a glare from yours truly on the level of Tommy Lee Jones. Alas, here it is for your consumption, but you might want to take some Kaopectate with it to ward off the after affects. Maybe even some Beano. - Ed) Cowboy’s Wilk Big12 Roundup (South Edition): Looks like the Roundup missed the preseason deadline, and day/week 2 is in the books, so I won’t pretend this is a preview… unless it’s a preview of the rest of the season. (Yeah, that’s the ticket) Teams listed in reverse order of last season’s final ranking: OKLAHOMA STATE coach chainsaw4 Last season: 4-9 (2-6); #61 141 Guess: #67; recruiting #41 The Program: Year 3 of Coach Chainsaw’s return to Stillwater, and fans are ready to see the turnaround they expected. Last season, the Cowboys narrowly missed closing the door on a more established A&M team, and Coach C has turned in his best recruiting class of the return tour, but it remains to be seen if this is the season things start to turn. 141 So Far: (2-0) A good start so far with wins over two SimAI teams, though an OT contest with Michigan State has to give Coach C some cause to grit his teeth. 141 Outlook: After a pretty tough SoS in 140, the AD has eased off the gas a bit. 5 Sims in OOC will help Coach C pile up some wins and, if the SoS doesn’t pull them down too much, expect the Cowboys back in bowl territory. There’s still a distance to go before OSU can pull down one of the Big12 elites, but they should give a challenge to the rest of their Big12 schedule. Predicted finish: 8-5 TEXAS TECH coach darryljones2 Last season: 5-8 (2-6); #58 141 Guess: #50; Recruiting: #35 The Program: Last season the Red Raiders finished 5-8 and missed out on a bowl. Coach slicknick777 couldn’t bring his San Jose State success to Lubbock, and was fired after four seasons, with a .365 winning percentage and no bowls. Coach: Unlike the past, there was interest in the team from some good coaches, so Coach Slick at least has that as a legacy. The Raiders hired darryljones2, who took Ole Miss to 2 bowls in 4 seasons, but was fired after a 5-8 finish last season (good luck with coach Sim, Rebels). Coach DJ2 has a good coaching background throughout WiS, and is working with a more solid foundation at Tech, so there is expectation that he will elevate the program. 141 So Far: (0-2) The Raiders have dropped their first two contests, though put up an impressive opening fight against the more established Temple in game 1. 141 Outlook: There are still many holes in the roster, though there are a few talented players for Coach DJ2 to work with. However, the departing coach left a pretty challenging OOC schedule, so things might look bad this season, but expect things to get better. Predicted finish: 4-9 TEXAS A&M coach arcadecowboy Last season: 9-5 (5-3); #38 141 Guess #16; recruiting #14 The Program: Coach AC has consistently brought in decent talent (according to Guess), but has yet to break through to an L5 bowl, which is what the boosters expect. Last season A&M had wins over very tough teams like Cal and Miami, but couldn’t seal the deal in enough matchups, including another close loss to the Longhorns. 141 So Far: (1-1) The Aggies have so far looked like two different teams: They were stunned in the season opener by a talented Houston team, giving up a staggering 35 in the first half en route to a 32-38 loss, then in game 2, they crushed an equally talented UCLA team 56-13. 141 Outlook: Results could vary wildly depending on which Aggie team shows up for the remaining games. With that kind of uncertainty, I’m not very optimistic. Predicted finish: 8-5 TEXAS coach bkdries Last season: 13-1 (7-1); #15 141 Guess: #14; recruiting #10 The Program: A weak SoS last season kept the Longhorns out of an upper tier bowl. The Horns had a few scares against lower ranked teams such as Ohio, but prevailed in the end. Armchair critics are wondering if Hall of Fame coach BK has checked out and is letting the team coast. After 456 GD seasons, that may be the case, though only he can tell. 141 So Far: (1-1) An opening game loss to Michigan was a pretty big hit, considering the other 4 non conference opponents are sims. A program like Texas shoots for NCs, with CCs as consolation prizes. The Horns are still in the running for a CC, but they’ll need a strong showing from the rest of the Big12 to hope for a boost back in the running. 141 Outlook: Going to go out on a limb and predict a loss to OU and an upset by one of the other Big12 teams. This should be the low end of what UT can accomplish though, as they’ve got the horses to win the conference if their coach puts a little game planning work in. Predicted finish: 10-3 OKLAHOMA coach blitziscomin Last season: 13-2 (8-1); #6 141 Guess: #3; recruiting #3 The Program: The Sooners are the defending Big12 champs. A couple of stumbles last season kept them out of the NC picture, but this program is humming and in contention once again in 141. 141 So Far: (2-0) Wins over SimAI don’t say much for measuring OU, and that’s what we’ve got so far. The big games are looming soon though. Next up: Penn State, Alabama, and Notre Dame, in back to back to back games. If OU makes it through this gauntlet 5-0, they’ll be in frontrunner position for the NC. 141 Outlook: 6-7, including a loss to in-state Oklahoma State. This will be a sad, sad, season for OU. …Yeah, we get April Fools all month long here in the roundup. In the real pretend world of Wilk, OU could well go 13-0, then win the CC. Getting past all 5 elites on the schedule would be quite the accomplishment, but due to the odds against it, despite the talent and coaching level. I do think they’ll win the majority of those games, and if they win 4 of them, they’ll likely be in the NC pitcture. Predicted finish: 12-1