AUSTIN, Texas—The 2008 season looks like the Year of the Quarterback in the Big 12.
The league is loaded with talented passers guiding spread offenses that fling the ball left and right, north and south and into the end zone.
Ten Big 12 teams passed for more than 3,000 yards last season and six ranked in the top 13 nationally in total offense. And with hotshot QBs Chase Daniel (Missouri), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), Colt McCoy (Texas) and others, it looks like the league should lead the country again in scoring fireworks.
Won’t somebody please step up and play some defense? Oklahoma usually does, which is why the Sooners own five conference titles since 2000.
The Sooners are again favored to win the South Division and possibly challenge again for a national championship. Last season’s North champ Missouri, is the most likely team to meet the Sooners again in the league title game Dec. 6 in Kansas City, Mo.
It would be a chance for sweet revenge for the Tigers, whose unexpected rise all the way to No. 1 last season was undercut by a 38-17 loss to the Sooners in last season’s title game.
But the road to the Big 12 title is a long one. Consider these questions between now and late November and see how teams answer them on the way:
1) Can Missouri’s Daniel win the Heisman Trophy?
He was a finalist last year when Florida’s Tim Tebow won, throwing for 4,306 passing yards and 33 touchdowns. He’ll likely need another North Division title to win it, and a big game on the road at Texas (Oct. 18) could put him at the top of the list.
Daniel certainly won’t lack for confidence. He’s already called himself the best quarterback in league chock full of great ones.
2) Can Sam Bradford duplicate his super freshman season?
Daniel was great, but Bradford led the nation in pass efficiency and set an NCAA freshman record with 36 TD passes. He even beat Daniel head-to-head twice. Maybe Bradford will get the Heisman attention at the end of the season if he can do it again.
3) Will Kansas’ much tougher schedule prevent another 12-1 season?
Unlike last season, Kansas has to play (gulp!) Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech this year. All three are threats to win the South and all three could be losses for KU.
Throw in rival Mizzou and the best season in school history could be a distant memory by the end of ’08.
4) Can Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee thrive in coach Mike Sherman’s new offense?
The early signs say yes. McGee, a two-year starter, was forced to battle Jerrod Johnson for the job, but Sherman decided to stick with his veteran.
It’s a big decision for Sherman. McGee has won the hearts of A&M fans with his toughness, but he was also very close to former coach Dennis Franchione, who won’t be missed by Aggie fans after five rocky years in College Station.
5) Can Will Muschamp save Texas’ defense?
Muschamp left Auburn to be the Longhorns’ fourth defensive coordinator in five years. That’s the kind of turnover that can decimate a defense or turn it around.
The Longhorns had one of the worst defenses in school history last year. Muschamp’s arrival allows Duane Akina to go back to doing what he does best: coaching the secondary and special teams.
6) Can Texas Tech finally put up the wins to back up those crazy numbers on offense?
Nobody plays pass and catch like the Red Raiders. Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree is the most dynamic combination on offense in the country.
While the Red Raiders can riddle defenses in a heartbeat, they’ve never challenged Texas and Oklahoma for supremacy in the South. With 18 returning starters, this could be the year so long as coach Mike Leach lays off his criticism of the refs. Another outburst like last season’s tirade after the loss at Texas could bring the distraction of a league suspension, not just a big fine.
7) Can Darrell Scott live up to his top-recruit hype at Colorado?
Scott was one of the top running backs in the nation coming out of high school and Buffaloes coach Dan Hawkins won a pitched battle with Texas’ Mack Brown to sign him. And make no mistake, the Longhorns weren’t happy.
If Scott can produce the big rushing yards expected from him, he’d add a nice punch to a team that made significant strides last season and earned a bowl berth.
8) Can Kansas State’s Ron Prince earn his new contract?
The Wildcats stormed into the Big 12 schedule last year by handing Texas’ its worst home loss in 10 years. So how did they finish? Four straight losses to fall to 5-7.
Still, K-State rewarded Prince with a new five-year deal that pays him $1.1 million annually with nearly $1 million more in incentives. Maybe the Longhorns aren’t blowing smoke when they say teams can make their whole season by beating them.
9) Can new Nebraska coach Bo Pelini win back the Husker faithful?
The Bill Callahan disaster is history. The Bo Pelini era began with more than 80,000 checking out the Cornhuskers’ spring game. Pelini’s a defensive whiz and a little improvement on that side of the ball could go a long way toward rebuilding the Big Red Machine.
10) Can Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy put his “I’m a man!” rant behind him?
Until the Cowboys mount a serious challenge for the Big 12 South title, Gundy will be best known for last season’s postgame rant against a reporter, the YouTube highlight of the year.
Meanwhile, West Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens has poured hundreds of millions into this program and Gundy may be running out of time to build a title contender.
The player behind the infamous rant? That was former Cowboys quarterback Bobby Reid, who transferred to Texas Southern.
11) Will Gene Chizik start to think he made a bad decision?
Chizik surprised many in Austin when the former Texas defensive coordinator jumped at the Iowa State head coaching job after the 2006 season. Longhorns fans thought he would have held out for a more prominent program, and his first year in the windy outpost of Ames was a tough one. The Cyclones finished 3-9.
Chizik must find a new quarterback, and his defense gave up 31.8 points per game last season. The bright spot was a two-game winning streak (Kansas State and Colorado) to end 2007.
12) Can Baylor win a conference game?
The bet here is no.
The Bears were 0-8 in the league last year, and don’t expect much more out of first-year coach Art Briles. He left his successful rebuilding job at Houston to try to do the same in Waco. His best shot is Oct. 11 at home against Iowa State.
