Welcome back! It’s time to project the Big 12 season for every team once again. Over the next couple of weeks, I will go through the entirety of the upcoming season for each team in the Big 12, pick the conference champion and make bowl projections.
Obviously, there is still a lot that can change, but barring significant injuries for any of the teams, we are in a good spot for some predictions. With that said, let's do this!
- Week 1: Baylor 24, Auburn 21
- Week 2: Baylor 44, SMU 30
- Week 3: Baylor 55, Samford 9
- Week 4: Arizona State 34, Baylor 31
- Week 5: Baylor 37, Oklahoma State 20
- Week 6: Baylor 36, Kansas State 27
- Week 7: BYE WEEK
- Week 8: Baylor 32, TCU 38
- Week 9: Baylor 35, Cincinnati 30
- Week 10: Baylor 44, UCF 20
- Week 11: BYE
- Week 12: Baylor 30, Utah 17
- Week 13: Baylor 34, Arizona 16
Houston has put together two straight 4-8 seasons, but this is Willie Fritz’s second year, so the hope is they take a big step forward. I think they will, which is why I have them as a bowl team, but I am not going to steam this up too much. The Cougars still lost five games by 20-plus points, went 2-1 in one-score games, lost their defensive coordinator, lost a couple of the best secondary players in the league and ended the year on a three-game losing streak. The simplest way to put this is, I think the defense takes a sizable step back and the offense takes a sizable step forward.
I don’t think the Cougars will be playing for much here since they are already bowl eligible, whereas I think the Bears will still be playing for a lot. That starts to matter in these late-season situations. This is usually a big deal, especially when the game is at home for the one with more to play for. I like the Bears in this situation.
- Prediction: Baylor 28, Houston 17
Rest of the Big 12 Slate
Friday, November 28
- Arizona 12 at Arizona State 27
- Utah 28 at Kansas 21
Saturday, November 29
- Colorado 21 at Kansas State 34
- Iowa State 30 at Oklahoma State 27
- Texas Tech 24 at West Virginia 26
- UCF 19 at BYU 24
- Cincinnati 35 at TCU 38
Big 12 Standings
- T1. Baylor — 10-2 (7-2)
- T1. Arizona State – 10-2 (7-2)
- T3. Kansas State — 9-3 (6-3)
- T3. Utah – 9-3 (6-3)
- T3. TCU — 9-3 (6-3)
- T3. Iowa State — 8-4 (6-3)
- T7. Texas Tech — 8-4 (5-4)
- T7. BYU — 8-4 (5-4)
- T7. Kansas — 7-5 (5-4)
- T10. Colorado – 6-6 (4-5)
- T10. Cincinnati — 6-6 (4-5)
- T12. Houston — 6-6 (3-6)
- T12. Oklahoma State — 5-7 (3-6)
- T12. West Virginia — 4-8 (3-6)
- T15. Arizona – 3-9 (1-8)
- T15. UCF — 3-9 (1-8)
