The offseason is creeping close to a close, and then the fun begins again. In the spirit of just surviving these last few football-less weeks, I am going to break down the Big 12 rankings from the bottom all the to the top. With this being the first season for some members, and the last for a few more, there is some serious unknowns. I fully expect these rankings to be at least 70% wrong after we play the games, but screw it I will try my best.

14. Iowa State

The Cyclones are an ugly mess. After last season that can only be described as close but no cigar, the Cyclones (and the entire state of Iowa) have been rocked by the ongoing betting scandal. The extent of what was happening in Iowa at both major universities is pretty wild, and makes you wonder where else is this occurring? Anyways, a football team I already did not expect to be very good is now covered in bad juju and dealing with forced suspensions. Coach Cambpell will do his best, but this looks like a depressing season ahead in Ames.

13. West Virginia

The Climb has been an expedition that has repeatedly been a total failure. Poor coaching decisions and lack of any real talent development have left the head coach on the hottest of seats. This will be the final episode of The Climb as West Virginia looks poised for another disastrous season. Can they pull together and show actual growth for the first time in Coach Brown’s tenure? I sincerely doubt it.

12. Houston

The Coogs are bringing Holgorsen back to his Big 12 backyard, but they are arriving in not great shape. I mean no disrespect to Donovan Smith, he is a fantastic kid who has real athleticism and plays his ass off, but Tech fans are very familiar with what he can and cannot do.  The other issue is that Houston is a team lacking any real playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, and I just do not trust that offensive line as far as I could throw them. Defensively, Houston has some dangerous cats (see what I did there?) but overall this just is not a good ball club. Yet. Give the red bull wonder some time and I suspect they will shape up. But not this year.