LAS VEGAS -- Had the pleasure of being credentialed for all of the events taking place in Las Vegas the next two weeks, and after watching USA Basketball a couple of times, spent some time inside Allegiant Stadium for the Big 12 Media Days.Have some thoughts this now 16-team league and where it's headed with the inclusion of four Pac-12 castoffs, that being Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State.The Utes might be the favorites to get things done, but don't be surprised to see Oklahoma State play the spoiler role for everyone, and Kansas State to make some noise.Stacked as it may seem, I don't know if this league is as good as commissioner Brett Yormack made it out to be on Day 1 of the Media Days. He placed the league in the Top 3 of all conferences, and I suppose it's hard to argue when you have 16 teams in your league, but I don't know how much better it is than the ACC.One thing is for sure as we reach the middle of July, I can smell College Football and couldn't be any more pleased with its arrival!Part 1 of my capsule look at the 16 teams in the Big 12 starts today, with last year's straight-up, against the spread and over/under numbers in alphabetical order):ARIZONA STATE (3-9 SU, 5-6-1 ATS, 7-5 Under) - The Sun Devils turned in a second consecutive 3-9 season and will look to regroup under second-year coach Kenny Dillingham. First order of business, settle the quarterback debate under first-year offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo - the team's third OC in as many years. The one positive certainty for Dillingham and Arroyo is returning running back Cameron Skattebo, who rushed for 798 yards and 9 TDs last season."One, I think our guys know each other's names," Dillingham said. "Sounds like a little thing, but they know each other, have relationships with each other."Two is pure strength. Last year we had two guys who could squat over 600 pounds. Now we have six. Last year we had, I think it was 44 guys on our team, squat 400 pounds, now we have upwards of 65, somewhere in the 70s, I believe. So our size and strength of our football team was something that we focused on. And now that we've kind of hit our summer goals from that perspective, I'm excited to see it translate to football."CINCINNATI (3-9 SU, 4-8 ATS, 8-4 Over) - Two years after making the College Football Playoff, the Bearcats won just one game in Big 12 play. The 'Cats are still trying to find their footing in the Big 12, and could do so with sure-footed running back Corey Kiner, who ran for 1,047 yards last season. He and transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby will be counted on to lift ignite Cincinnati's offense."One of the great things that we have going for us, I think, this year is bringing back several of our key players from last year's team, including our starting five offensive linemen coming back and really the two top reserve O linemen coming back," Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. "We have Corey Kiner, 1,000-yard rusher, coming back. Our top receiver, Xzavier Henderson, coming back. We're excited about that."IOWA STATE (7-6 SU, 8-5 ATS,7-6 Under) - The Cyclones were quietly a menace to Big 12 foes last year, finishing 6-3 in conference play, which came close to landing them in the title hunt. Loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, the 'Clones will be bolstered on offense by preseason all-Big 12 selections wide receiver Jayden Higgins and multi-faceted tight end/fullback Stevo Klotz."We've been able to get to the Big 12 Championship game. We've been able to win the regular season conference and we've been really close in a lot of other seasons," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. "I think as our young team coming off a rough year in 2022 and the way our team and football program responded last year, it was really fun to watch this football team come back to really the standard of who we are and what we've been and what we've been has been really special."KANSAS STATE (9-4 SU, 8-4-1 ATS, 7-6 Over) - Veteran quarterback Will Howard entered the transfer portal after the regular season in 2023, and dual-threat signal-caller Avery Johnson proved he was ready to answer the bell. Johnson threw for two touchdowns and ran for one in Kansas State's 28-19 win over North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl."A wealth of experience and a wealth of knowledge with quarterbacks, and I've already seen, in a short period of time, just the second semester, the value of him being with Avery," Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said of co-offensive coordinator Matt Wells. "There's a great mesh there. There's a great comfort between the two guys. They are on the same page an awful lot."OKLAHOMA STATE (10-4 SU, 8-6 ATS, 7-7 O/U) - The Cowboys might quietly be the most dangerous contender to league-favorite Utah, with an expected 20 returning starters smattered across the field. That includes the nation's leading rusher from 2023, Ollie Gordon, who ran for 1,732 yards. With a stacked line to emerge from, and veteran quarterback Alan Bowman also returning, coach Mike Gundy might find his Cowboys in the title game."After the first three games, we changed the concepts of what we were doing up front," Gundy said. "We changed the alignment of our tailback, particularly, what we thought Ollie Gordon would be best at. And we shoved all of our poker chips on the table, and we hit. It worked for us. We made the right decision. Ollie started running like crazy. We were better at blocking those schemes than we were the other ones in the first three games, and that was on the coaches. That was on me. I'm involved in the offense pretty heavily. Not on game day, but prior to getting to game day."TCU (5-7 SU and ATS, 8-4 Over) - The Horned Frogs followed their appearance in the 2022-23 College Football Playoff title game with a 5-7 campaign. TCU coach Sonny Dykes is hoping the competitiveness his team showed in the one-score games it went 0-4 will translate into wins."I think we've come a long way," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. "I just think our attitude, the standard that these players set for each other and hold themselves to is different than last year's team. I just like the leadership of this group. To me, it's a team-oriented team. The guys care about each other. There's not a whole lot of talk about individual accolades or getting to the league or any of that kind of thing. And the guys want to win, and the guys want to lay it on the line for each other and lay it on the line for TCU."TEXAS TECH (7-6 SU and ATS, 8-5 Under) - The Red Raiders lost two of their top three receivers, leaving a vacancy coach Joey McGuire is hoping can be filled by five-star recruit Micah Hudson. Also back is explosive rusher Tahj Brooks, who ran for a nation's fourth-highest 1,538 yards last season."We've got to find ways to win games on the road. I'm fired up. We're going to get tested right off the bat against Washington State," Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "It's going to be a big game for Texas Tech and Washington State. I want to be known as a tough football team that's very physical, that's going to play you every single snap."UTAH (8-5 SU, 6-6-1 ATS, 8-5 Under) - The Utes make the switch from the Pac-12, and bring a healthy résumé along with them, having won 26 conference championships in five different conferences. They most recently won two Pac-12 titles and appeared in a total of four championship games over 13 years in the league. Behind senior quarterback Cam Rising, Utah was the favorite to win the Big 12 crown in the preseason media poll. Rising, who had surgery on his knee in the offseason, threw for 3,034 yards on 249-of-385 passing, while connecting for 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2022."We feel we've got a lot going for us on the offensive side of the ball," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Offensive line is solid. Tight end room is maybe as good as it's ever been at Utah since I've been there and added some real weapons on the outside at receiver. Defensively we should be solid. Played good defense at Utah a lot of years. That's been our calling card. Don't expect it to be any different this year."
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