People have been paying me to cover and write about sports for 20 years now — it still feels and sounds a little weird saying that — and I’m still not over the idea of voting in polls.
Maybe it’s because that’s what I spent so much of my childhood doing long before people were paying me.
I can remember sitting in classes in junior high and high school and reworking the AP Top 25 or my version of some sport’s power rankings.
In college, my roommates and I, including the KC Star’s Sam Mellinger, lived at 2303 Hawthorn Drive and, therefore, voted on and produced our version of college football’s 2303 Top 23 each week.
One spring break, another friend and I spent what had to be seven or eight straight hours trying to solve the college football playoff system. I still think what we came up would’ve been better than the BCS and, although similar, is still better than the current version of the College Football Playoff.
Anyway, paid for them or not, shown to the masses or displayed on a blank wall above the beat-up couch, polls have always been a big part of my time around sports and that’s why I love voting in them to this day.
With all of that said, here’s a quick look at my contribution to the [Big 12 Conference’s 2020 preseason football poll, which was voted on by the media and released Friday afternoon.][1]
**1 – Oklahoma -** To me, and no doubt countless others, the Sooners are very much the Kansas basketball of Big 12 football. Until someone else proves that they can knock OU out of the top spot on a consistent basis, they’ll be my pick. OU might not have the same national-title contender panache that it normally does, but Lincoln Riley’s squad has a stellar O-Line and there’s no reason to think that Spencer Rattler (what a name!) won’t become the next great OU QB.
**2 – Oklahoma State -** I debated dropping the Cowboys because of all of their off-the-field issues during the past couple of months. But the talent is there and I think talent overcomes chaos and controversy. In short, they’re just too good to put any lower.
**3 – Texas -** This was really all about Sam Ehlinger. He’s terrific. And UT has underachieved with him under center. It’s time for that to change. And I won’t be surprised for a second if the Longhorns contend for the title.
**4 – Iowa State -** In my various drafts of this year’s poll, I put the Cyclones as high as No. 2 and as low as No. 4. I settled on the fourth spot, not because of my thoughts about ISU but more because of how I feel about those teams above them. This should be a fun four-team race, though, and any four of them could wind up playing in the Big 12 title game, provided we have it. ISU having road games at OSU and UT helped settle the order of the top four for me.
**5 – TCU -** After losing a bunch of close games in 2019, it’s bounce-back time for Gary Patterson’s club, which has had a couple of down years but seems poised to correct that in 2020. The Frogs have a lot of holes to fill, but there should be enough there to crack to the top half of the standings.
**6 – Kansas State -** Coach Chris Klieman got his time at K-State off to a terrific start in 2019 and that’s enough for me. I like his mentality. I like the Wildcats’ returning talent. And I think they’re ready to jump back on a pretty solid run of consistency over the next few years. Creeping into the Top 5 is not impossible, but it won’t be easy either.
**7 – Baylor -** This one’s simple. Baylor was basically all the way back under Matt Rhule and they’re in great shape moving forward. But a new coach is a new coach. And even though the long term view looks spectacular under Dave Aranda, it might take a year to build a solid foundation. I’ll be honest; this is the one pick that I felt the worst about, but I stuck with my gut and made it.
**8 – Texas Tech -** Getting quarterback Alan Bowman back from injury is a huge lift and should be enough to keep the Red Raiders in games. Their defense leaves a lot to be desired, but they should be able to score and they played a bunch of close games last year even without Bowman.
**9 – West Virginia -** I like second-year WVU coach Neal Brown a lot and I think he’ll have a great run there. But I don’t think there’s much there yet on the offensive side of the ball and that’s a disaster in this conference.
**10 – Kansas -** There was a lot to like about Les Miles’ first season in Lawrence. But the Jayhawks lost too much from 2019 and have too many questions currently unanswered to pick them any higher.
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2020/jul/17/kansas-football-picked-finish-last-big-12-preseaso/
