Earlier this week, the AP Poll came out, and it seems like that is all anyone has been talking about lately. There comes a point in the season where we don’t care about the AP Poll anymore, but since we are all starving for football content, here we are talking about it.
Four teams from our beloved conference made the cut with Arizona State (#11), Kansas State (#17), Iowa State (#22), and Texas Tech (#23). Typically, I would rant about how low the conference is viewed, but I believe the AP voters weren’t too far off here.
The one noticeable difference for the Big 12 with this poll and the Coaches’ Poll that came out earlier is BYU. The Cougars are not in the AP Top 25, and I would agree with that. In fact, I don’t even have BYU finishing in the top half of the Big 12 after losing Jake Retzlaff and accounting for what they lost up front on both sides of the ball.
The four teams inside the top 25 from the Big 12 all deserve to be there. All four of them are serious contenders to compete for a conference crown. But what really caught my eye were the teams outside of the top 25.
BYU, Utah, and Baylor were among the first three teams receiving votes. TCU even received some votes, even though they were further down the list. No,w while I would argue that BYU still doesn’t belong there, it’s nice to see them get some respect from the national media.
Also, Baylor and Utah being up there in that top 30 is great, too. One could make an argument that the Bears belong in the top 25, but I don’t have an issue with them being right on the cusp. Baylor definitely is in that Big 12 title conversation in my mind.
Utah is interesting, but with a new quarterback and a new look offense, the Utes are expected to have a bounce-back year. Plus, they are loaded on defense and have one of, if not the best, offensive lines in the Big 12.
TCU is a team that I thought more people would be fond of. Josh Hoover is one of the best quarterbacks in the conference, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if he walked away as the Big 12 player of the year. However, their defense needs to improve, and their schedule is brutal.
Overall, the Big 12 had seven teams in the top 30, which is nearly half of the conference. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, but the depth of the Big 12 is unmatched. From top to bottom, this is the deepest conference in America, and I am glad that we get to kick off the college football season with a top 25 matchup in Ireland!
