Each morning Longhorns Wire scours the web for the top Big 12 headlines from around the conference. Today’s stories are courtesy of 247Sports, Big 12 Conference and Metro News.
ACC, Big 12, SEC working to save non-conference games
Brandon Marcello of 247Sports is reporting that three of the major five conferences are working to save non-conference games. The three listed have yet to cancel their non-conference games in hopes of having a full slate of games in 2020.
Plans can change, especially with the SEC leading the charge to make a decision at the end of July concerning the upcoming season and the leagues’ football schedules. COVID-19 cases are on the rise and concerns of overloaded hospitals have put the season in danger, prompting college coaches and administrators to ask fans to wear protective masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Four schools could lose games if a nine, plus-one schedule is approved in late July: Florida State, Georgia, West Virginia and Georgia Tech. It seems likely an eight, plus-two schedule would keep all 14 non-conference games among the three Power 5 conferences but would lead to the cancellations of non-conference games against other FBS and FCS opponents. Unless, of course, the conferences decide on an eight-game schedule with one FCS/Group of 5 school plus one against a Power 5 team.
Oklahoma Tops Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll
The 2020 Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll is out. According to Big 12 Sports, Oklahoma is slated to win the conference yet again. The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Texas Longhorns coming in behind them.
OU garnered 80 of the 90 first-place selections while Oklahoma State was picked second with six first-place votes and Texas was third with four first-place nods. Iowa State and Baylor rounded out the top five. TCU was selected sixth followed by Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Kansas. The top two finishers in the league standings will compete in the Big 12 Football Championship Game to determine the Conference title. The game is scheduled for Saturday, December 5 in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
| School | First Place Votes | Total Points |
| Oklahoma | 80 | 888 |
| Oklahoma State | 6 | 742 |
| Texas | 4 | 727 |
| Iowa State | – | 607 |
| Baylor | – | 489 |
| TCU | – | 477 |
| Kansas State | – | 366 |
| West Virginia | – | 287 |
| Texas Tech | – | 267 |
| Kansas | – | 100 |
Darius Stills named Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
One half of the Stills brothers was named Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Can he follow up his All-Big 12 season from a year ago with another monster season?
The defensive lineman was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection as a junior. Stills racked up 47 tackles (14.5 for loss) and 7 sacks.
Stills has appeared in 33 games at WVU. He graduated from FSHS in 2017 after leading the Polar Bears to the 2016 Class AA state championship game.