Who is at the bottom of the Big 12? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?
These will be my record predictions for the Big 12. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the Big 12.
Predictions for the top half of the Big 12 can be found here.
*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing
8th – Baylor – O/U win total: 7.5
Texas State – W
Utah – L
LIU – W
Texas – W
At UCF – L
Texas Tech – L
Bye
At Cincinnati – W
Iowa State (HC) – W
Houston – W
At Kansas State – L
At TCU – L
West Virginia – W
Baylor is good. Other than that, I don’t have much to say.
As a middle of the Big 12 team, they can beat anyone they play, and they can lose to anyone they play. Picking this schedule is like throwing darts with a blindfold on.
Record: 7-5 (5-4)
Pick: Don’t Bet
9th – Kansas – O/U win total: 6.5
Missouri State (Friday) – W
Illinois (Friday) – W
At Nevada – W
BYU – W
At Texas – L
UCF – W
At Oklahoma State – L
Bye
Oklahoma (HC) – W
At Iowa State – L
Texas Tech – L
Kansas State – L
At Cincinnati – W
Kansas was a fun story last year. They beat Oklahoma. They won 6 games. They hosted college gameday. They were ranked in the AP for the first time since 2009. It was a good year for a Kansas fan. The CFB world is ready for Kansas to go back to being 1 win Kansas.
I have bad news for them.
Good Kansas is here to stay. I’m not saying they will win the Big 12 or anything. But, they have the coach, Lance Leipold, and the QB, Jalon Daniels. Kansas has graduated from the bottom of the Big 12 as long as Leipold sticks around.
Record: 7-5 (4-5)
Pick: Over 6.5
10th – BYU – O/U win total: 5.5
Sam Houston – W
Southern Utah – W
At Arkansas – L
At Kansas – L
Cincinnati (Friday) – W
Bye
At TCU – L
Texas Tech (HC) – W
At Texas – L
At West Virginia – L
Iowa State – W
Oklahoma – L
At Oklahoma State – W
A new Big 12 team. AKA – a team I don’t know much about. I’ll form an opinion of BYU as the season goes along. My prediction for BYU here is mostly a crap shoot.
Record: 6-6 (4-5)
Pick: Don’t Bet
11th – Cincinnati – O/U win total: 5.5
Eastern Kentucky – W
At Pitt – L
Miami (OH) – W
Oklahoma – L
At BYU (Friday) – L
Bye
Iowa State – W
Baylor – L
At Oklahoma State – L
UCF – L
At Houston – W
At West Virginia – W
Kansas – L
Losing Luke Fickell is a big deal. I think it can’t be overstated how big of a deal it is. He took players and staff with him on his way out the door to Wisconsin.
Cincinnati is due for a large step back. I think some of the wins predicted are generous; West Virginia and Iowa State could just out-talent Cincinnati. Good luck new HC, Scott Satterfield, you’re going to need it.
Record: 5-7 (3-6)
Pick: Under 5.5
12th – Houston – O/U win total: 4.5
UTSA – L
At Rice – W
TCU – L
Sam Houston – W
At Texas Tech – L
Bye
West Virginia (Thursday) – W
Texas – L
At Kansas State – L
At Baylor – L
Cincinnati (HC) – L
Oklahoma State – L
At UCF – L
Houston is bad. Houston knows they are bad too. Dana Holgorsen has been tempering expectations for his 2023 squad. They would be happy to just not get blown out in most of their games this year.
I think they beat someone in Big 12 play though. And weird stuff happens on weekday games. So, West Virginia drew the short straw.
Record: 3-9 (1-8)
Pick: Under 4.5
13th – West Virginia – O/U win total: 4.5
At Penn State – L
Duquesne – W
Pitt – L
Texas Tech – L
At TCU – L
Bye
At Houston (Thursday) – L
Oklahoma State (HC) – L
At UCF – L
BYU – W
At Oklahoma – L
Cincinnati – L
At Baylor – L
If you ask Pat McAfee, this team is blowing out Penn State in week 1, humiliating rival Pitt in week 3, and going 12-0. Pat’s a homer. That’s not a bad thing either, the world needs homers.
Unfortunately for Pat, I see it the other way. This is likely the worst team in the Big 12, and head coach Neal Brown should’ve been fired at the end of last season. They will fix that mistake this season.
BYU is a pity win.
Record: 2-10 (1-8)
Pick: Under 4.5 – Hammer the Under
14st – Iowa State – O/U win total: 5.5
Northern Iowa – W
Iowa – L
At Ohio – W
Oklahoma State – L
At Oklahoma – L
TCU – L
At Cincinnati – L
Bye
At Baylor – L
Kansas (HC) – W
At BYU – L
Texas – L
At Kansas State – L
Iowa State or West Virginia will be at the bottom of the Big 12. Iowa State is last here because BYU is a common opponent (and I have West Virginia winning that one).
The gambling problems at Iowa State are a big deal. Players are being charged with underage gambling, and are being found to have gambled on Iowa State football and basketball games. (Iowa is also having these issues) Iowa State had last year’s leading rusher and this year’s expected starting QB both charged with in the gambling investigation; along with at least 4 other Iowa State players (the situation is constantly changing). And it sounds like things are going to get worse before they get better, as the investigation is still ongoing.
Iowa State will be a shell of the 2022 team after the suspensions are sorted out.
Record: 3-9 (1-8)
Pick: Under 5.5 – Hammer the Under (Unless you play for Iowa State)
Want more Walk On Fan?
Check out yesterday’s article where we predicted every game for every team in the ACC.
This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene