2006 NCAA Football Preview
Big 12 North
1. Nebraska- Bill Callahan, now in his third season with the Cornhuskers, finally has the talent to run his West Coast offense after two years of awkward play by option quarterbacks and wide receivers. Callahan has a great defense and a good system, which has Cornhuskers fans believing that they will be able to push their way up the Top 25 list.
2. Missouri- Brad Smith was an incredibly talented quarterback but his performance in Missouri was similar to that of Michael Vick in the NFL: a few moments of incredibly athletic play that punctuated many broken plays and average performance. Chase Daniels will take over and played well in relief of Smith, giving Missouri a more conventional pocket quarterback to get their pass game going. As well, the defense returns seven starters that will provide experienced run and pass stopping to newcomers to the squad.
3. Iowa State- The Cyclones will have a tough time this season, facing Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Iowa in a schedule that should test whether Dan McCartney’s team has the heart to compete in the Big 12. If they can get two wins out of those five games, they should be in pretty good shape to stay around .500 for the season.
4. Kansas- The offseason NCAA violations against coach Mark Mangino’s program take the steam out of the first winning season in Lawrence in ten years. Mangino needs to contend with a freshman quarterback, Kerry Meier, and the loss of all but three defensive starters from 2005. Iowa State and Missouri will be able to vault Kansas as they return to Earth in 2006.
5. Kansas State- Coach Ron Prince takes over for Bill Snyder and he has some work cut out for him. While Prince has 17 starters returning from a year ago, that group did not perform all that well and their talent level isn’t good enough to compete even in the weakened North division. Prince needs a good three to four years to get his West Coast offense working and ensure that they can compete in the Big 12.
6. Colorado- Dan Hawkins comes from his outstanding performance as coach of Boise State to a team that has been stuck in a rut and mired in turmoil over the last couple of years. Hawkins inherits a Buffalos squad that did not have the heart to play much defense towards the end of last season and will have to put the underdog spirit of Boise State into a much larger venue. The 2006 Big 12 season for Colorado will be one of adjusting with big hopes for the future.
Big 12 South
1. Texas- The loss of Vince Young and the fact that two freshmen are competing for the vacant quarterback spot should not deter Texas from dominating the Big 12. The defense is incredibly talented, the running game will be outstanding enough to offset concerns about young quarterbacks, and Mack Brown has finally found his groove as big game coach.
2. Oklahoma- Adrian Peterson should be able to run circles around most of the competition and, despite the loss of starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, should be able to keep the Sooners competitive in the BCS bowl chase. Bob Stoops needs a year to develop this group before they can truly compete for the NCAA championship but he will have a good product on the field in 2006.
3. Texas Tech- It doesn’t seem to matter who is at quarterback for the Red Raiders, as long as Coach Steve Leach keeps rolling out four and five wide receiver sets and throwing seventy times a game. The Red Raiders would easily win in a number of other conferences but the combination of Texas and Oklahoma, plus a less than stellar defense, will keep the Raiders from getting into the Big 12 championship.
4. Texas A&M – While the Aggies had one of the worst (117th) pass defenses in the nation last year, they do not have a difficult out-of-conference schedule and got some of the easiest contests within the Big 12. Texas A&M needs to sort out their defensive problems before they can advance within the conference, while Reggie McNeal is good enough to carry the offense to the occasional big wins.
5. Oklahoma State- The Cowboys have all four defensive line starters back, talented quarterback Bobby Reid is healthy and ready for competition, and Oklahoma State is trying to be more than a spoiler in the Big 12. While they do have some considerable talent at a few key positions, they were horrendous at keeping the ball out of opponent’s hands (-15 turnover ratio) and Mike Gundy needs time to set the Cowboys on the right path.
6. Baylor- Baylor has the great misfortune of being in one of the toughest divisions in NCAA football and the loss of seven defensive starters in the offseason means that the 2006 Big 12 season may be tough for the Bears. Quarterback Shawn Bell may be the brightest point for fans of Baylor this season but the defense is going to give up big numbers to teams like Texas and Oklahoma.
Big 12 Championship- Texas versus Nebraska- Texas will destroy Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game in 2006, though not to the level that they beat Colorado in last year’s game. Nebraska may be the best team in the North but Texas is the defending national champion and the best team in the strong Southern division.
Final score: Texas 38, Nebraska 17
Best NFL Prospect- Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma- With the absence of a strong quarterback, Peterson is going to get most of the touches on offense this season. While Peterson may have had some injury and off the field issues in the past, he is hard working on the field and has the athletic ability to excel at the next level.
Most improved team- Missouri- Missouri may have added by subtraction with the absence of Brad Smith on the 2006 squad, going with talented Chase Daniel heading into the upcoming season. While Smith was incredibly talented, that talent was wasted on this squad and Daniel, a more conventional pocket quarterback, may get more out of his skills than Smith had during his collegiate career. Missouri also benefits from a weak division and lowered expectations, which means that they will have doubters to disprove.
