Saturday night in Austin at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium can’t get here fast enough. However, the impending kickoff isn’t stoping national media outlets like CBS Sports and ESPN from dropping their picks for the College Football Playoffs. First we will look at ESPN’s storylines for the upcoming Big 12 college football season. Mark Schlabach drops his picks from awards, to top games and biggest upsets.
Texas to finish 2nd
Schlabach kicked off his storylines for the Big 12 with the order of finish. No surprises at the top with Oklahoma picked to win the conference for the sixth-year in a row. The top three seem to be well in line with what most of other outlets have put out.
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- Oklahoma State
- Texas Christian
- Iowa State
Texas set to finish second which means a Big 12 Championship appearance. It would be the last opportunity for senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger to take home the Big 12 crown much like the two best Longhorns passers before him. Schlabach continued with individual storylines for the conference.
Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Ossai
Defensive Freshman of the Year: Alfred Collins
Coach on the hot seat: Tom Herman
Game of the Year: Texas vs Oklahoma (Oct. 10)
Upset of the Year: Texas vs Kansas State (Dec. 5)
In his three predictions, Longhorns are picked to upset the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl.
Sooners have won four of the past six games in the Red River Rivalry (along with a 12-point victory over Texas in the 2018 Big 12 championship game), but the contests in Dallas have been exceptionally close. Each of the past six were decided by a touchdown or less. This year’s matchup at the Cotton Bowl will come down to the wire again, so I’ll go with the more experienced quarterback in Longhorns senior Sam Ehlinger, who has already started four times against the Sooners. UT won’t go 2-0 against Oklahoma this season, however, as Spencer Rattler and OU’s improved defense will avenge the loss in the Big 12 title game to punch a ticket to the CFP for the fourth straight season. – Schlabach on the Red River Rivalry
Next we look to the College Football Playoff prediction from CBS Sports.