Can Anyone Decipher The Big 12 Right Now?

So far, so good (and scary) for my predictions of the Big 12 contenders this season. The weaknesses are glaring and they start in Norman, OK and Morgantown, WV.

Let's start with OU. Anyone not wearing crimson and cream (and even a lot of those) figured the game against Kansas State was going to be a tough one. But I don't think anyone thought OU would under-perform the way that they did. Sloppy turnovers, miscommunication on both sides of the ball, Landry looking a whole lot like---well, Landry. The worst part is that K-State didn't even look all that impressive. They made plays when they had to on offense but again, how much of that was due to the Sooners not being able to put up a solid effort defensively? Collin Klein received foot jibbers from the commentators all night (a transformer, he is not) but what I saw was average to below average throwing ability mixed in with a big body that can run when he has a head full of steam.

Oh, and then there was this:

Whoops.

Basically, what that game told me is that Kansas State is exactly who I thought they were: Gritty, sound, methodical, but lack flash and big play athletes.

As for OU, I went from thinking they would be a two loss team to quite possibly a four, maybe even FIVE loss team. Think that's crazy? Think again. Tell me they can't lose to West Virginia on the road or to Texas in the Red River Shootout (both losses, in my opinion). Now tell me that they can't lose to Notre Dame or Oklahoma State in Norman (both 50/50 games, in my opinion).

What about the other contenders? After the jump.

In a different timezone (and dimension), Maryland made the trip to Morgantown to play West Virginia. Although West Virginia won the game, they did so in unconvincing fashion. The offense sputtered at times and the defense looked God awful as predicted. And keep in mind they were playing Maryland. At home.

Again, I think they'll end up resembling Baylor of 2011. Bad defense and an offense that will only go as far as the QB athlete will take them. Take Geno Smith out of rhythm and West Virginia will fold.

As for Texas and Oklahoma State...well, we'll see what happens this Saturday. I think we are going to find out the identities of each team and where they stand in the conference race. With each team having a bye week, the preparations and gameplans will be interesting to watch. I'm curious to see how much differently the OSU offense looks with JW Walsh taking snaps and how Texas decides to counter with their aggressive style of defense. With all that said, how much different will OSU look with Lunt under center for the rest of season? Will we really know what to expect from the Pokes until the starting QB is back?

Until then, it seems everything is still pretty muddled. The one thing I can say is that OU is not the team that the talking heads thought they would be. In fact, they aren't even the team we predicted them to be.

They're worse.