2. Coaches Poll 2022: The 2023 Big 12 Looks Strong
What a difference a year makes.
Last year at this time, the Big 12 was still fighting for survival. That might be a huge overstatement, but it was trying to figure out what its next move was with Oklahoma and Texas agreeing to bolt for the SEC.
Oklahoma was third in last year’s preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll, Iowa State was eighth, Texas at 19th, and Oklahoma State was 22nd. In all, if you took out the two defectors, four of the remaining eight Big 12 teams got votes of some sort, and none of them looked like national title contenders from the bleeding conference.
– 2022 Preseason Predictions For Every Big 12 Game
Oklahoma and Texas are still planning on leaving, but at the moment, that’s not happening until 2024. Throw in the new teams scheduled to arrive next season, and the 2023 season – based on how much respect the teams are being given by the Coaches Poll – appears to be a whopper.
This is getting way ahead of things with the 2022 season still to come, but Oklahoma (9), Baylor (10), Oklahoma State (11), Texas (18), Cincinnati (23), and Houston (25) are all in the current preseason top 25.
Throw in BYU (technically, 29th), UCF (32nd), Kansas State (45th), and Iowa State (46th), and there’s a lot for the Big 12 to chirp about with nine of its 2023 14 schools ranked.