I looked at the top five teams from the Big 12 in my last article. Today I’ll look at the next five teams.
West Virginia Mountaineers: West Virginia’s move to the Big 12 was puzzling. Having an east coast team travel to the Mid-West for every road game did not make sense to me, why not make a pitch to join the ACC? West Virginia would not have to travel, and could keep rivalry’s with Pittsburg and Virginia Tech. Moving to the Big 12 has not been kind to the Mountaineers; West Virginia is two games under .500 in conference play and has racked up millions of dollars in travel money in the process. This is a make or break it year for Dana Holgorsen. Offensively the Mountaineers should be set with quarterback Sklyer Howard coming back; Howard throw for over 3100 yards and ran for close to 700 yards last season. Running Back Rushel Shell returns after rushing for over 700 yards in a part-time role last season. The entire receiving core and four fifths of an offensive line return. West Virginia finished a respectable 61st in the country in total defense last season (considering they in the Big 12 who feature some of the best offenses in college football). That will be difficult to replicate after losing their top three linebackers and three fifths of a secondary. Defensive coordinator will have his hands full trying to find playmakers for his 3-3-5 defense. West Virginia has four swing games this season: BYU, Texas Tech, TCU and Texas. Win two out of four and you have seven wins.
Texas Tech Red Raiders: When Kliff Kingsbury took the job in 2013 Texas Tech offense shot through the roof. Since 2013 the Red Raiders have finished 8th, 10th and 2nd in total offense; returning starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for over 4600 yards last season with 36 touchdowns, chip in 600 yards on the ground and you have a dark horse Heisman candidate. The Red Raiders lose most of their offensive skill position players and offensive linemen, but in a spread offense it is much easier to replace the offensive line due to the fact that quarterbacks get the ball out faster. As great as Texas Tech is offensively this team is just as bad defensively. Outside of Kansas this is the worst defense in the country. Defensive coordinator David Gibbs has to improve a unit that gave up an average of 43 points per game. With an offense as good as Texas Tech the defense just has to make two stops a game.
Kansas State Wildcats: Bill Snyder remarkable career has lasted twenty five years…..twenty five years! When Snyder retired in 2005 the programs sputtered finishing 7-6, 5-7, 5-7. Snyder unretired and in three seasons the Wildcats won ten games. The question is what is going to happen to Kansas State when Snyder retires for good? Does Kansas State have a plan? Kansas State suffered a rough year offensively finishing 113rd overall in total offense. Quarterback Joe Hubener only threw for 1830 yards and only nine touchdowns. With the top two running backs back and Hubener’s rushing ability expect the Wildcats to run on first down, second down and third down. Running the ball, controlling tempo and winning the time of possession battle will help a K-State defense that finished 106th overall in total defense. The Wildcats return three defensive linemen, all three linebackers and three fourth’s of a secondary. Kansas State is only favored in three games this season (Florida Atlantic, Missouri State, and Kansas). Given Snyder’s history with squeezing every ounce of talent of his players; Kansas State may surprise some folks and win six games this season.
Iowa State Cyclones: I wrote about Matt Campbell and some of the best coaches in college football that you have never of a few weeks ago. Campbell won thirty-five games in five years as head coach of Toledo and won back to back conference championships. Campbell may not have the same success at Iowa State but building a consistent winner at Iowa State will lead to higher profile jobs. Campbell inherits a relatively green offense with quarterback Joel Lanning throwing only 193 passes last season while splitting time with Sam Richardson. The rest of the offense is in rebuilding mode as well with new starters at Running Back, Wide Receiver and the offensive line. First year Defensive coordinator Jon Heacock inherits an experienced defense with plenty of depth across the defensive line that includes five seniors. Three starters return in the secondary with experience across the board. The linebacking unit rebuilds but in today’s world of nickel and dime alignments linebackers are being replaced with an extra safety. The Cyclones are favored to win four games with toss-up games against Texas Tech and West Virginia at the end of the season. Campbell may have a rough first year but expect the Cyclones to rise up the Big 12 ladder soon.
Kansas Jayhawks: I mentioned in my Big Ten Preview about team building is that a head coach can either do what everyone else does and be better at it (Nick Saban) or do something different and build your team off that (Paul Johnson and the Triple option, Chip Kelly and the no huddle, etc…) I wrote that Purdue is attempting to recruit and play like Jim Tressel did at Ohio State, which does not work if your Purdue. Purdue’s best years were under Joe Tiller running the spread. Kansas is taking the opposite approach. After the Charlie Weiss disaster Kansas hired David Beaty who worked as the Wide Receivers coach at Texas A&M under Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin runs a version of the Air Raid offense, and that is what Beaty is going to attempt to run at Kansas. The Air Raid is a unique offense that wants to stretch the field horizontally and throw on first, second and third down. Mike Leach, Dana Holgorsen are disciples of the Air Raid. Now Kansas is going to be horrible this season and the next few years but the Air Raid gives them a chance at winning (or at least keeping things relatively close) until more talented players arrive.
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