Preseason Big 12 poll takeaways: Oklahoma overwhelmingly favored to win 6th straight league title despite change at QB

If the media that cover the Big 12 have any qualms about the Oklahoma quarterback situation, it’s not reflected in the conference’s preseason football poll.

The Sooners were established as overwhelming favorites to win their sixth straight Big 12 championship in the voting released Friday.

Even with uncertainty at quarterback, voters weren’t ready to predict Oklahoma’s downfall. OU received 80 of 90 first-place votes. Oklahoma State was second in the poll and received six first-place votes, while Texas was third in the poll and got the other four first-place votes.

For the first time in Lincoln Riley’s tenure, he won’t have a ready-made experienced quarterback for a seamless plug-and-play transition, like he did from Heisman winner Baker Mayfield to Heisman winner Kyler Murray to Heisman runner-up Jalen Hurts.

Yes, redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler, Hurts’ heir apparent, was ranked the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2019 by 247Sports. Yes, he’s already been anointed the Big 12 newcomer of the year by the media. But he played in just three games last season, throwing 11 passes.

Here are some more takeaways from the poll (and yes, we’re assuming there will be a college football season in some way, shape or form):

— It makes perfect sense that Oklahoma State would be second in the poll. The Cowboys have a ton of returning talent (2,000-yard rusher Chuba Hubbard, elite receiver Tylan Wallace, dual-dimensional Spencer Sanders) and experience but lingering questions from the offseason situation with Mike Gundy.

The Extra Point Newsletter obtained emails this week that showed the reactions at Oklahoma State among players, administration, faculty and donors after Gundy wore an OAN T-shirt on a summer fishing trip.

— Texas was picked third in what could be a must-win season for coach Tom Herman. The good news is that senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger, a starter since his freshman season, is tailor-made to provide stability in the COVID-19 environment that canceled spring practice and limited workouts. The bad news: This might not have been the best season for Herman to make over his coaching staff, including both coordinators.

— If the media is correct — insert snarky response here — Texas’ game at Oklahoma State on Nov. 27 could morph into a play-in opportunity for the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium.

— With this being the Big 12, fully expect someone picked between fourth (Iowa State) and ninth (Texas Tech) to enjoy a breakout season. Sorry, Kansas.

But who emerges? Iowa State was everybody’s darling a year ago and finished 7-6. Based on the NFL draft, TCU underachieved at 5-7 given the talent on hand. Coach Gary Patterson has never suffered back-to-back losing seasons. And what can Texas Tech’s Matt Wells, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and West Virginia’s Neal Brown accomplish in their second seasons?

Big 12 media preseason poll

Note: First-place votes are listed in parenthesis

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