The answer is yes…but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
The biggest challenge to the Sooners’ dominance in the Big 12 is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys return Mason Rudolph as the quarterback with No. 1 receiver James Washington. Washington should be the best receiver in the nation, and Rudolph’s experience should play well again this season.
That’s why oddsmakers have the Cowboys as +450 to win the Big 12, trailing only the Sooners (once again) in hoisting the Big 12 crown at -135. That’s a pretty big discrepancy, but it’s the nature of the beast since the Sooners are pretty much returning everyone, including quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The biggest question mark is how well the Sooners will respond without long-time coach Bob Stoops. It shouldn’t make a difference this season, as evidenced by many teams that lost big-time coaches on loaded teams in recent years in college football (i.e. Oregon). Stoops’ absence will be noticeable next year and beyond, when his recruits start fading away.
For this year, though, the difference should be negligible.
I’m optimistic for a challenge to the Sooners, but I’d still wager my best bet with Oklahoma.
Third Best Bet
Since I’d take the Cowboys with my second-best bet, I’ll look at the third-best team, which happens to have the third-best odds.
Texas is coming in at +850 to win the conference championship. That’s a little higher than I anticipated, but experts are in line with my thought process that the Longhorns will be much improved. Charlie Strong didn’t leave the cupboard empty, and Tom Herman is an offensive whiz.
The Longhorns will be better and will give the best teams all they can handle. Where Longhorns fans should be concerned are the games in which they should win, but yet fail to show up. Those are the games they’ve lost in the past, and this year may feature the same scenario. The talent is there, so watch out for a few upsets on both sides.
Deep Sleeper
If you’re looking for a deep sleeper team, look no further than Kansas State at +1000. The Wildcats were 6-3 in conference last season and pretty much dominated the lesser competition. The offensive line returns four starters and Jesse Ertz plays the way Bill Snyder likes at quarterback.
The Wildcats should be able to beat up on the also-rans in the conference again. And if they can sneak a win or two against the top-tier teams, we could see Kansas State competing for a conference title. Beating Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be difficult, but beating one opens up the opportunity of a tie atop the conference.
Conference title odds
Oklahoma -135
Oklahoma State +450
Texas +850
TCU +900
Kansas State +1000
West Virginia +1400
Baylor +2500
Iowa State +10000
Texas Tech +10000
Kansas +20000
