Preseason Polls

Preseason polls are about as important and meaningful as Reggie Bush relationships and yet we pore over them like the lives of our family members are at stake. We defend our teams, rip apart our rivals, and explain away any negative national publicity with rational statements like “that [fill in college sports pundit who dissects football for a living] idiot doesn’t know anything about football!”

Yes, as summer reaches its apex and ESPN unloads its stockpile of lists and polls and polls about lists you know college football is closing in on its yearly genesis.

So let’s irrationally break down the Big 12 media preseason poll!!

First, a recap:

1. Oklahoma (41) 428
2. Texas A&M (1) 362
3. Oklahoma State (1) 360
4. Missouri 281
5. Texas 265
6. Baylor 194
7. Texas Tech 191
8. Kansas State 140
9. Iowa State 93
10. Kansas 51

The scoring goes: 10 points for a first place vote, 9 points for second, etc.

Forty-three beat writers and/or media members voted on the ten remaining Big 12 teams and all but two had Oklahoma at the top. It’s the seventh time in the last ten years the Sooners have been favored to win either the Big 12 South or (in this year’s case) the entire Big 12.

With good reason too. Although I do want to know the two writers who had them finishing second just for future reference. And Twitter friendship.

In terms of how this shapes up overall it’s pretty much 1. how I though the media would vote and 2. how I would vote if I had one.

I do wonder if OSU would have gotten a few more first and/or second place votes if the A&M game was in Stillwater instead of College Station. I really think that night game in Aggieland really weighs on everyone’s opinion of how the Big 12 will play out.

The first three teams are so clearly above the rest that the structure of the league is starting to look like the ATP: Djokovic (OU), Nadal (OSU), and Federer (A&M)…then everybody else. Mizzou and Texas are in the same tier (one because of talent and one because of coaching and home field). Baylor, Tech, and KSU have no idea if they’re good, bad, or both.

I think Texas could actually finish higher than 5th if Garrett Gilbert shows any signs of competence beyond “I’m borderline autistic with a football in my hands in conference games.”

Iowa State and KU are clearly the two worst teams in the league and at this point are probably just direct depositing all of their athletic department money into the bank accounts of Bill Byrne and Joe Castiglione in hopes of not ending up in the same conference with Florida Atlantic and Troy in five years.

I need to do some more scheduling research before I release my picks but overall I think the Big 12 media members did a fine job with theirs.

Though this IS the same group that picked OSU to finish 5th in the South last year…and we know how that turned out.