With Big 12 being so equal and competitive, no one has been able to take the lead. With the defense Coach WF has put together in his first year, and with the change in OC coming, plus their high potential ceiling, I predict the UH Cougars to rise to the top sooner than most expected, maybe as soon as next year!
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Agree, I believe we will be in the mix for the conference title sooner than later
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I agree.
Oklahoma State being this bad is perhaps the weirdest thing I’ve seen in two decades of Big 12 football.
Both Arizona State and BYU were arguably picked to finish lower this year than Houston will probably be for next year IMO.
Things often change very fast here, obviously.
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Perhaps Oklahoma leaving for the SEC impacted Gundy more than he cares to admit.
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It’s funny you say that because Gundy was the very coach who publicly vocalized opposition to adding UH to the Big 12 back in 2016, for fear of UH hogging all the Houston recruits
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For those interested
https://www.chron.com/sports/college/article/Oklahoma-State-s-Mike-Gundy-Big-12-clueless-9139039.php
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Apparently, neither did Dimel
Stoked for the Pac 12 additions to fit like a glove as well as they have. Yormark could not have nailed it any better. I think fans enjoy parity and lore a lot more than conference realignment people like to admit. Southwest matchups almost fit better in the Big12 than they did in the Pac 12.
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Agree! We have a great conference! The 4 corner schools could not have been surpassed by any likely candidates! I’m really excited about Houston’s and the Big 12’s future!
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Parity is fun. Seemed like a lot of the Big 12 parity this year was low level though. Or inconsistency by teams.
Oklahoma State will be horrible in the NIL era.
They are a poor school, in a poor state, with limited marketing opportunities and OSU football never had a blue blood reputation.
They were fringe Big 12 contenders, in some years, but mostly crapped the bed like when UH went up there and beat them when the were ranked #5.
The NIL darlings in the Big 12 will be:
Houston
UCF
Cincinnati
Colorado
TCU
Probably Arizona and Arizona State
Probably Kansas
Possibly Utah
And BYU if they get nationwide Mormon support.
Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, & West Virginia are really going to hate the NIL era.
UH, for example, currently has the #1 2025 basketball recruiting class in the NCAA…only a matter of time before our football squad catches up and we become the #1 NIL darling in the Big 12
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WVU is going to suffer very much. Isn’t WV the most poorest State in the country? And their population in general seems to be shrinking. WVU may have to offer in state tuition to some out of state students to attract them to Morgantown.
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Maybe Boone Pickens can buy them a team.
He passed away 5 years ago…notice where they are today
Then maybe his heirs can buy them a team.
He already gave all his money to OSU
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I agree with the premise that ISU isnt built for the NIL era at all. But they are a little different than the others you would see in their boat:
They have been better than EVER in both sports since NIL started. That should make everyone stop and ask why? Two main things. I call them the doctrine of Self-awareness and the gift of a clean slate.
1)we have a forward thinking visionary AD who has been preparing for money coming into “amateur” athletics since about 2007, as well as being on the wrong side of inevitable realignment. He has been at this like a paranoid doomsday prepper hording non-perishables and ammo in his basement in the face of scrutiny and criticism. He was right all along, and we love him for it. His name is Jamie Pollard and he’s the Big 12 AD Dean for a reason.
2)We have nothing to lose because we never had anything to lose. Im talking prestige here in the old era. Why should we care that the pre-NIL system is gone, exactly? We sucked in it anyways!
IMO this gives us a 2nd half kick to find an edge that wasnt possible before. I know thats how Pollard, Campbell, and Otz look at it. They have no choice anyways, so why not? Others will be a revolving door that ebs and flows, crashes and burns in EPIC anxiety riddled fashion. We can offer a steady high stakes but comfy midwest alternative, and make no mistake you will still get paid… and have everything you need to get to the league.
Kansas State pines for their NCAA student athlete days, so does Nebraska. Now they are blowing money like Congress trying to keep up. ISU can afford to lean on being lean and trying to do more with less. Something we’ve always been better at than winning arms races or beauty contests.
I was very curious last night on how our team would respond after Barbay’s firing. Yes we lost by 12 points but what I take away from this game is how “close” from one another each BIG12 teams are. We actually more than competed. I can’t wait for what the future brings. I have all of the confidence in CWF to bring us the same turn around that ASU is enjoying right now. It might not happen next season but you can actually foresee that it can happen. There were at times last night that I was watching Chriss making great throws and making good decisions. Granted he had some major mistakes but this was by far his best game for me. He is still very raw but the future will tell us if he can step up. Before last night I was not optimistic. Overall both on defense and offense we need to recruit through regular channel and the portal and we will be right there with other potential BIG12 leaders. But will this BIG12 parity be detrimental to our cfp ranking? It sure looks like it right now. We will know more after the final cfp ranking.
Thank you to our team and especially to our seniors for not giving up. I can’t wait for next season.
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BIG12 finished with 8 schools 8-4 or better, SEC had 9. Strong ass league but didbt get the respect in the rankings.
SEC ballet stuffing is so old.
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Some years are like that, just a lot of good teams, no stand outs. Like the Coogs, best defense with the worst offense, how many times will that happen. The interesting thing is how the projections were so far off, the bottom teams at the top and the top teams at the bottom. It will be interesting to see how the B12 Champion does in the playoffs.
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