As much as it hurts for me to say, we are already at the halfway point of the season for most teams in the Big 12. It felt like just yesterday the season kicked off and here we are already in mid-October.
I thought it would be a fun to go down the list of Big 12 teams and tell you whether they are a contender, mid-tender or pretender. Let’s get it started shall we.
Contenders
Texas Tech, BYU, Cincinnati, Utah, Arizona State, Houston, and Baylor
There are only three teams left undefeated in Big 12 play which of course are Texas Tech, BYU, and Cincinnati. While Texas Tech and Cincinnati don’t play each other this season, BYU has to play both of them. But either way, all three of them are the cream of the crop in the conference right now.
As for the rest of the teams in this tier, Utah has the slightest edge with a win over Arizona State. Speaking of the Sun Devils, they get a date with Texas Tech this weekend and if Sam Leavitt doesn’t play then they will jump into the mid-tenders group. Houston has been a nice surprise so far this year but at some point, that magic could end as their schedule picks up.
Last, but not least, is Baylor, who may have the best offense out of this entire group, but they also may have the worst defense out of the bunch as well. And just like everyone else, their path to a possible conference championship will only get tougher from here on out and it starts with TCU this weekend in Fort Worth.
Mid-Tenders
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona, and TCU
I know I made up this word which sounds a lot like a mediocre chicken tender, but I had to create a category for all the teams with an outside chance to make it to Jerry World. All of these teams have two losses in conference action which means one more loss would put them in the pretenders section for good.
The good news is that we will find out soon enough which teams will be bumped down because all of them have or will play each other at some point. Iowa State is hanging on for dear life after back-to-back losses and as their schedule picks up. Meanwhile, Kansas and Kansas State play each other next week while Arizona and TCU’s schedules are brutal down the stretch. In all honesty, it wouldn’t shock me one bit to see all five of these teams lose at least one game or more.
Pretenders
Oklahoma State, West Virginia, UCF, and Colorado
Do I really need to say anything about these teams? All of them have three losses in conference play already and I have a better chance of hitting the powerball than these teams do to make it to Arlington.
The one good thing for Colorado is that they have a win and either West Virginia or UCF will join them after this weekend since they play each other. As for Oklahoma State, they do get UCF on the road in late November, which is likely going to be their only chance at a conference win this season.
