By: David Ware (@Ware)
The time has come again to make some predictions on the Season 21 results, and this time it will be in the Big XII conference. This year the Big XII will see the return of two former teams with LSU just changing conferences and the rebirth of Oklahoma. This year’s final standings will not reflect how competitive the conference is, but more on how balanced they will be. Early on it appears to be a two-horse as four of the teams are projected to have a losing record in the conference. It’s time to dig in and see who the top teams are in the Big XII for Season 21!
6th Texas A&M
Prediction: 2-6 (1-4)
The Aggies have reached the 24-player threshold for the season and have some great talent. Athletic Director Kade Padgett is still learning and should have this team playing better than last season. Realistically, three of their conference games should come down to the wire and they will be in a position to walk away with the win. Ultimately, Colorado will be their sole conference win this season and they will have a huge out-of-conference win against Michigan State. Don’t expect the Aggies to be at the bottom of the Big XII much longer as it’s all uphill from here.
5th Oklahoma
Prediction: 1-7 (1-4)
The Sooners are making a comeback to the CFSL after being away for two seasons. It is fair to say that this recruiting cycle may have been a little tough for Oklahoma, as they have had to start from scratch. The very experienced athletic director Dustin Hall will have the team playing above expectations. At the end of the day though, the Sooners will struggle because of a lack of depth. They will slip by Texas A&M in a battle and that will be their only win on the season as they will lose to Oregon, Notre Dame, and Georgia in the out-of-conference games. This will be a very short time for Oklahoma when it comes to sitting at the bottom.
4th West Virginia
Prediction: 3-5 (2-3)
The Mountaineers are coming off their best season ever and finished second in the conference with only one conference loss. AD Nate Murphy willed his team to outperform all expectations last season. He will have a lot of work to do this year, as he only has 17 players on the roster at the time of this writing. West Virginia will win two conference games (beating Oklahoma and Texas A&M) and will pull what some will call an upset against Virginia Tech out of conference. The experience of Nate Murphy helps steal a win and finish with the third-best overall record in the Big XII, but the loss to Colorado will slip them down to fourth.
3rd Colorado
Prediction: 2-6 (2-3)
Much like West Virginia, Colorado is coming off of their best season yet, after finishing with three wins last season. This year will see a slight dip in wins as they will beat Oklahoma and West Virginia in the conference but will lose all three out-of-conference games. Even without winning an out-of-conference game, the scores will be close and Colorado will be competitive this season and they are only getting stronger.
2nd LSU
Prediction: 5-3 (4-1)
As previously mentioned, LSU makes their return to the Big XII and should be in a great spot to lock in an automatic spot in the playoffs. The Tigers’ only conference loss will be to the Texas Longhorns, but they will lose to Florida State and Auburn in their out-of-conference games. LSU has one of the hardest out-of-conference schedules, but coming away with a win against Michigan will help their resume in the playoff seeding. Athletic Director Drake Babinuea is in his first full season as official AD but served as interim AD for all of last season. The Tigers will be a team to reckon with this year in the playoffs, as they look to rebound from their first-round exit of last season.
1st Texas
Prediction: 7-1 (5-0)
The Longhorns are approaching Notre Dame in most wins in CFSL history. They are currently only down by two games. This is the year they make the pass as they run through the conference undefeated. The out-of-conference games for Texas are almost as brutal as the Tigers have. They play Alabama, Penn State, and North Carolina. All three of these out-of-conference games can play down to the wire. Texas will lose a heartbreaker to North Carolina as their only loss of the season. Don’t worry Longhorns, you should have the number two overall seed in the playoffs and the ability to pick a great first-round matchup. Just don’t forget to hike the ball.
The Big XII out-of-conference schedule is tough and their record will not look great as they will only win five of the 18 out-of-conference games this year. Get ready to hear Texas is back a bunch and it will be their conference to lose as they have one of the deepest teams in the league. The conference games amongst the rest of the conference will be some must-watch football and could be a flip of the coin. Don’t miss those games as they are sure to be exciting and action-packed to the final whistle.
