By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
No conference changed more than the Big XII this offseason. They said goodbye to Baylor and welcomed back LSU and Oklahoma. The last two seasons the conference has belonged to Texas, but could this new blood be the end of the Longhorns’ run? Let’s see what the ADs have to say about it.
Note: These rankings were created by asking every AD to rank their conference (except their team). Those rankings were compiled to create this list.
| Rank | Team | First Place Votes |
| 1 | Texas | 5 |
| 2 | Texas A&M | |
| 3 | LSU | 1 |
| 4 | Colorado | |
| 5 | West Virginia | |
| 6 | Oklahoma |
The ADs believe Texas is the favorite to win the conference again. Texas had a strong offseason and has its sights set high. Their tough out-of-conference schedule should give us an idea of just how good the Longhorns are.
This is only the second season of the Texas A&M return, but the coaches around the conference are confident the Aggies are ready to make a big jump. They had a strong off-season after a great one last season. They look poised to make some noise this season.
LSU shocked the SEC going 7-1 last season and finishing second behind Auburn. However, that wasn’t enough to impress the ADs in the Big XII. The Tigers were the only team besides Texas to earn a first-place vote, but they finished just one point behind Texas A&M in the rankings. We will see if their new conference foes are overlooking the Tigers.
Colorado was a popular pick to have a big improvement last season. They never lived up to that hype, unfortunately. However, this could be the year that Colorado starts putting pressure on the top-end teams. Veteran AD Skyler Shearer will look to put them over the top.
West Virginia was Season 20’s Cinderella. However, the coaches don’t think history will repeat itself. This offseason wasn’t the best for the Mountaineers. However, they weren’t exactly the most stacked team in the CFSL last season. That didn’t stop all-world QB Gunner Rice from leading them to the playoffs. Could WVU do it again?
Oklahoma comes back to the CFSL after a few seasons away. New teams normally struggle in the CFSL and the ADs seem to think that could be the case for the Sooners. Long-time AD Dustin Hall will bank on his experience to try to overcome the odds and put some pressure on the top teams of the conference.
